Thanks for your kind words Ronald! I like the uncle title too By the way,let me warn you as an uncle, be careful, it is too easy to write off a place when something bad happens to you when you are only there for a short time. It once happened to me in New York City and I disliked NYC but then I later moved there and lived there for 6 years and met my wife and we had our first child there and loved it! Also I got ripped off in Barcelona once but then ended up having my honeymoon there. Give Milan another chance, I have had many great experiences there...there are hidden places there like the Sforzescha with columns painted into trees with branches in the vaulted ceiling by Leonardo Da Vinci that few people know about.

Cheers and all the best,

Brian

thanks a lot for the advice, Uncle Brian..

ci sentiamo!

Hello Brian,
Villa whom I know personally forwarded your site and told me about ziramin.com. I read some of your posts and it made me cry (in a good way). I am an Canadian/Iranian living in the U.S. Like you I have lived all over. I went to Iran 12 years ago. As you say, the people are as kind and wonderfull as ever and ever so hungry to meet outsiders like yourself. I have not been back since then but get news now and then. There are quite a lot of Iranian ex patriated who lived in Italy and who are now here in the U.S. Any way Thank you for trying to cut through the bull shit of the media and putting a human face to an otherwise dehumanized group of poeple.

what a lovely story. thanks for sharing.

i think you all are completely correct about why americans love to visit italy.. the US is spacious and modern (and wonderful in its own respect) but italy offers a sense of community and belonging that even the grandest of houses or skyscrapers can't replace.. and i think that's because italians do a much better job of appreciating the things that are important and slowing down to enjoy life and live in the moment