97 Days, 12 Countries, 1 Kangoo

After spending the better part of a month exploring Taice's heritage in efficient, beer drinking Germany, it was finally time to explore the Perrotti side.

I have confirmed that I have italian blood running through my veins based on the following:

• I like to talk, sometimes with enthusiasm
• I like to talk with my hands (Hands-free phones are really appreciated here)
• Trucks barreling at me on roads that are barely wide enough to squeeze past with a cliff on the other side gets me excited.
• Talking Christmas trees are sold in all the rest stops, just like my own Douglas Fir. Dad - there are untapped markets over here.

I'll get into the food that we have been enjoying here in a sec, but I want to explain how backwards some things are here in Italy - and maybe it just feels like it after the German juggernaut of efficiency.

We had a hotel reservation outside Venice that included parking, but when I pulled into the small lot behind the hotel, there were no spots available. This might have been due to the assorted mattresses and lawn chairs piled on one side - who knows. After explaining that we booked this specific hotel because it included parking, the manager agreed to reimburse us to park on the side street. This was at 2 pm and he told us that it was no problem, only pay till 6 and then the next day it would only be 5 euros for the day.

So, we moved the car to the street and then could not figure out where we were supposed to pay for the spot. There was no machine. All the other cars did have a cardboard clock on their dashboard. We returned to the front desk and asked the woman where we paid for the spot. "Oh, you need to buy tickets in the tobacco shop" Obviously! "But they are all closed" (This was during the 3 hours in the middle of the day that everything is closed and clearly no one would be parking their car and therefore need such tickets). So, we moved the car again to the lot across the street that had an automated machine - Brilliant!!. Please tell me why selling these things in tobacco shops that are rarely open is a better idea than installing some ticket machines?

And it gets better - to get into Venice - we needed to take a bus. Our informative front desk lady assured us that you could buy tickets on the bus (Since you can't buy them at the stop). Not quite. After boarding the bus, I asked the driver to buy 2 tickets. He replied "No tickets!'. OK... So we rode illegally for a few stops until an official looking man got on the the bus using the front door. Taice and I slipped off the back door to avoid a possible 60 euros in fines. We walked to what appeared to be a bus station - buses, passengers, luggage, etc. Again, not quite - we were told that it was not the bus station and we could not buy tickets there either. After walking further to the train station, we purchased tickets on the train to finally get into Venice.

I have some other transportation issues that still have me scratching my head but that sounded like a bit of a rant, so I'll hand the baton to Taice to talk about the amazing food.

Okay, on to everyone's favorite topic - FOOD!
In the first 6 days in Italy we managed to try 6 kinds of gelato: tiramisu, lemon, panna cotta, caremello, nutella, and coconut. If we continue on this pace I think we may be able to taste all the varieties by the time we head off towards Spain.

We are also on a quest to find the best pizza in the world. Chris still thinks New Haven's pizza is a strong contender, but after sampling a few true Italian pizzas I am thinking Trieste gets the award. I have two more weeks of pizza eating before handing out the trophy though! Stay tuned.

If anyone wants to share stories of their favorite Italian meals, we'd love to hear them and we'll be sure to order up your suggestions!

Here's a link to the pictures:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=183864383/a=7226152_7226152/t_=7226152

Ciao!