Arrivederci Italia!

What a truly spctacular trip we had. I didn't fully appreciate the sites until I came back to the states and could reflect on the food, people, art, history, etc. I think our days were packed with places to see and visit. I felt like I was doing the "when in Rome" thing, needing to check all these things off my to-do list. It was warmer than I had anticipated and that took some wind out of my sail each day. Poor Kim having to have me slow her down.

I hope to get back to Italy some day. Here are some things I would do differently next time.

1. I would take more pictures. I took over 700 pictures but as I look at my pictures I find myself saying "I can't believe I didn't take a picture of this". I wish I would have taken pictures of all the beautiful ceramics in Sorrento and Positano. I didn't bring any ceramics home so I wish I had taken pictures of the shops. I wish I would have taken lots of pictures of the jewelry stores and their display windows. I wish I would have taken more pictures of Kim's family. Everyone had opened their homes and hearts to us.

2. I packed light but I still could have done a better job. My messenger bag was quite heavy, 3 pounds before I even put stuff in it. It was a secure bag to bring on the trip though. I should have left my travel guides at home. That Rick Steves book was heavy. I brought two pairs of shoes but only wore one. Yes, another pair of shoes would have been helpful if we had torrential rain but that didn't happen. I could have scaled down on the cosmetics a little bit. I brought a jacket that I only used in the airplane. I would have bought a pair of cargo pants with larger pockets. I would have just put my camera in the pockets instead of the camera case. That was one more thing around my neck and it ruined my clothes.

3. I wished I could have purchased more Venetian glass, ceramics and the lemon perfume. The shipping costs was high to get stuff back to the states. I also knew that I couldn't carry anything fragile until the last stop. I picked up the lemon perfume in lots of shops but I told myself that I probably wouldn't wear it. Now that I'm back in the states, I want the lemon scent to remind me of the plants, water and food of Italy.

4. I would have opened up my Learn Italian book. My learn Italian book didn't arrive until 30 days before my trip. Needless to say, there was so much going on with Prom, graduation and work, I didn't open up my book. So I need to go back to Italy just so I can use my book.

5. I would do more research. This trip was a big trip to plan. I felt overwhelmed. We were traveling to four different regions of Italy. The history is so immense, I felt like I would never remember the significance of places.

6. I would have purchased my camera sooner. Not a good idea to go to Italy without understanding your camera.