With a week under our belt in Italy, I thought it would be a good time to interview my mom and sister about their impressions of the country. Here’s the transcript from a quick discussion on our balcony in the Amalfi Coast.
If you had to describe Italy in one word, what would it be?
Mom: Gorgeous. Wait – let me rethink it – I forgot about Rome. Gorgeous is for the Amalfi Coast. For Rome – I’d say “masses of humanity.”
Alicia: My word for Rome would be “surprising.” Like the really old parts everywhere, then the park where you don’t expect there to be a park.
Mom: Right – like when you realize the old things you’re seeing are thousands of years old instead of hundreds of years old…
Alicia: And you can touch it all… in DC you can’t even touch the Capitol building – OK, maybe that’s different – but here you can just walk right up to everything, and it’s a lot older.
Selfie-stick, anyone?
What are three things you will always associate with Italy?
Mom (answering immediately): Motorscooters (then pausing to think before continuing)… and I guess Indians selling selfie-sticks; oh – and the red sauce – the fact that everything here has red sauce on it. It’s good food but I get tired of it – everything has red sauce. I need a hamburger!
Alicia: Juniper trees – or whatever those really tall, thin trees were; free [water] fountains; and people saying buongiorno.
Mom (laughing, holding up a beer bottle): And Peroni beer!
Capri – the island that is “no big whoop…”
What advice would you give someone thinking about visiting Italy for the first time?
Mom: Be sure and come to the Amalfi Coast – your tour must include it! Also – the Island of Capri isn’t any different than the towns along the Coast, but getting to and from it was gorgeous.
Alicia: Coming this time of year. I can’t imagine doing this when it’s hotter and more crowded. I was surprised by how busy Rome still was for it being “off season.”
Us, Vesuvius and Pompeii. Boom.
What have you found the most surprising about Italy?
Mom: The climate. I wasn’t expecting it to be like this. This is summer time. And the BLUE WATER of the Mediterranean blew me away.
Alicia: I guess it’s where we’ve been, but it’s been all about tourists. I don’t feel like I’ve gotten to see the real Italy. The other surprise (for the same reason) is that people haven’t been as friendly as I thought – I’ve felt like an imposition a lot of the time.
Mom (whispering): Don’t touch the lemons!
Mom (not whispering any more): You just want to say, “Well, kiss my ass – we’re your payday.”
Alicia: People said they would appreciate it if you try to speak the language. But I’m not getting any points for trying.
Mom: Also – another thing that surprised me is how everything closes up in the middle of the afternoon for a few hours – all the stores and shops. Everything except the restaurants.
Mom: Pompeii was pretty amazing too. That made more of an impression on me than the stuff in Rome. It was a hassle – everything about getting there and leaving there – but it was worth it. Being there [in Pompeii] was pretty cool. Oh – and paying to go to the bathroom. That was a surprise. And the money and fuel they save from driving – they must use that on plastic bottles for their water. It seems like they’d just drink the water coming from the mountain.
Alicia: Another surprise has been how quickly I adjusted to the time.
What is the most unique experience you’ve had on this trip so far?
Mom: Going to a wedding! We didn’t even get them a gift. Geez…
Mom (after a thoughtful pause): But it was pretty cool, wasn’t it?
[More on this later. We crashed a wedding in Minori.]
Alicia (kind of screaming): Jumping off a boat into the Mediterranean where I couldn’t see the bottom.
Mom: Also the bus trip to Minori. It was unique AND scary. I thought I’d die. The drivers probably get paid for each trip they make so they’re just thinking, “more money, more money.”
Making lemonade out of lemons…
What question haven’t I asked?
Mom (smiling and pointing at herself): Who’s been the best trouper?
Alicia: It’s true – you’ve been great! We should get you like a captain’s hat or something to wear that says “Trouper” on it.
And this concludes our interview. I’ll post more thoroughly about the ways in which my mother has been a trouper later. Here’s a hint: Today is the first day in more than a week that we’ve walked fewer than six miles in one day!
pithypants 