A month away from Irvine

Away for a month. Found myself in a place between Singapore and US: Italy - a place with a long history, so long that ruins stood unnoticed.

The thought of going to Italy wasan exotic one. It is also a popular Americans destination, judging from the number we saw in Venice and Lake Como. Beautiful to see in picture, but the journey wastiresome. I haven't spent so many days tasting hunger, thirst, and tiredness. If you think that the 15% tips 'required' in US restaurants is questionable, then you would find the 'Caputo,' or cover charges in Italy ridiculous. Our first encounter waswith a Chinese restaurant in Venice, where $24 euros order turned into $36.

So we walked to find cheaper food. We walked to find stairs to sit. We walked to find toilets. Not those that charge 0.80 - $1 per entrance. But free ones rarely exist. A subway trip costs $1 euro regardless of distance. So we kept walking. It is hard to imagine in Europe where it is supposedly social heaven, that basic needs cost so much. The obvious solution was to drink less, eat less, and just keep moving. Perhaps this is why Europeans walk a lot, and they seemingly like streets friendly to pedestrians. But I developed lesser desire to be among the gods.

Me hiding from the hot sun.

Walking, we pretended the hardships weren't there, and also invisible were the million tourists. We turned our attention to the interesting - the monuments. Endless of them. Most interesting to me is the rich history stretching up to about 2500 years ago, at the time of creation of Roman empire. You witnessed the size of the Roman city and sophistication of the arenas, baths, market place, aqueduct, and churches. As you walk, you can imagine how the people lived (your imagination supplemented by movies, books, etc).

Arena at Verona

Best of Italy? Gelato, Pasta, Pizza, and Cappuccino! I haven't know what they mean, until I tasted them there. The Gelato (real ones) are thick and tasty (not creamy). Pasta is favorful (not cheesy or tomato--eey). Pizza is thin and even, and a sip from Cappuccino catches your attention. Nothing makes your walk worth more than finding a good cafe or restaurant in Italy. When we tasted the ice cream, pasta, pizza, and coffee on our Delta flight back, we knew we are leaving Italy.

Irvine - Home sweet home.