Here we go again! The countdown has started.

Italy:  Sunday June 16th, 2013.

It is official!  We are booked for Italy in June and this time we have a new addition... Brian and Sadie!

If you haven't read my blog, yet, please go the first post (6/12/2011) and read your way through it up until today and then follow along as I update it as the trip progresses in June!

We are doing a few things differently this time around...

#1:  Arrive on a Saturday:  We will be arriving in Greve on a Saturday this year, because most villas are rented from Saturday to Saturday.

#2:  Take less luggage:  The activities on this trip will require less dress attire, but I will still be taking less clothes and washing them more often.

#3:  Ask the price:  Ask how much a bottle costs prior to ordering it.  Especially Processo.

#4:  Stock up:  Buy wine, meat, and cheese midday rather than playing Siesta Roulette with the store owners.

#5:  Tips:  Tipping 10% is plenty.  Servers are paid a good wage with benefits.

#6:  Shuttle to Greve, wine tours, etc.:  We booked our shuttle driver BEFORE booking the villa, hotel, or airfare.
That is a HUGE compliment to the service that Monika Iris provides!

#7:  Don't run out of coffee:  Davin is bringing a French Press and we will buy plenty of coffee from Allessandro upon arrival.

#8:  SLR Camera:  I will be buying a new camera for the trip.  I borrowed Davin's SLR and I LOVED it!  I also will be buying a one-point camera sling.

#9:  Italian numbers:  A "1" looks like a "7" and a "4" looks different as well.  I saw a few things that were only 19 Euro, for example, that I really wanted, but I didn't buy them because I thought that the tag read 79 Euro.

#10:  Romans are a little less honest:  Don't pay more than 50 Euro for a cab ride from the airport to the hotel.


Status update on the bold predictions from the last trip that I made during my blog:

Prediction #1:  Flashy tights or nylons.
Since we moved to Seattle, I can't speak for Iowa, but tights and flashy nylons are EVERYWHERE in Seattle.  A stroll through Pike Market will reveal these statements on almost every female at any age.  It doesn't matter if they are going for a stroll, going to work, or going to workout.

Predcition #2:  Visible bras under shirts.
This did hit the red carpet in the spring of 2012 and it did hit Iowa briefly in the summer of 2012.  I think it quickly died off.  The fashion statement on the red carpet this year is "side butt" and yes, that is what they are calling it.  Sheer dresses on the side.  I wonder if this was prominent in Italy last year?

Update on the wine glasses that Davin sent home with the Magnum of Nozzole?
Davin's description of the glasses upon arrival after 5,000 miles of travel:  "Dust."

Go to 6//16/13