My 10 year old nephew, visiting from the United States, burst out with a pretty amazing observation, after we checked into a wonderful apartment in the foothills of the Abruzzi National Park. Obviously following in the footsteps of his dear old aunt (and with a hint of exasperation in his voice, I’d say), he remarked, “Why is it that every single toilet in this entire country has a different way of flushing??!!”
According to Giancarlo, he has yet to flush the same way twice. In fact, even...

You may have noticed I’ve been playing hooky for awhile, but, hopefully all will be forgiven as I have been picking up great experiences (and some not so great - like getting stuck in a passageway at Rome's airport) for the blog…But first, the good news (which does not include finding snackpack-sized Oreos in every airport and bar these days. Although it was seriously about time. I think Marco Polo even with his 20 year stint in China brought noodles here sooner):

While driving to...

Driving around town with a friend today who lives in the UK, she remarked how if she lived here, she would never ever own a car. I have lots of friends who share her sentiments. Some days it seems the entire country could use a refresher course, and Sunday drivers are truly as bad as the theory suggests.

While there's usually less traffic on the roads (a 45 min drive on a good day plus another 20 to find parking, becomes a swift 15 mins on Sundays), its not as if with fewer cars...