Thanks everyone for the kind comments, I'm happy you're enjoying it.

^ So many places...

Thanks! I have the feeling I'll have another one someday.

So do I... and the lady too. I'm afraid I created a monster.

My pleasure ;)

Wow it's easier to choose between the pastas I like ;) Let's say... Bryce, Zion, Yellowstone.

Thanks! Merit goes to LAS for being so crazy, though.

Thanks! I share the feeling, too often I think about remote countries and then forget what's behind the corner.

TY. My photo life changed after I switched:

• to full manual instead of program
• to a GF that is patient enough to wait while I take 10 pics of the same place changing one setting at a time while looking disgruntled /angel

Great TR. We have many TR to exotic places but very few TR on USA. I guess that's what you get when majority of FT are based in US.

Thank You for a TR of a country that Rarely gets reported on in this
thread :~))

I found your comments interesting regarding the Customer Service between
the USA and Italy.I have visited Belgium,The Netherlands,Germany,and
France and only in France have I found the Customer Service indifferent,
bad and occaisionally good. Is the CS in the hotels,restaurants,retail shops
that Bad ?? Please say No,I really want to travel to Italy,but not to see
tourists places. Bologna,Parma,Florence,Sicily,for food and local regular
people ??

Thanks for the great TR! ^

Many of your photos - especially the grand canyon ones belong in the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...t-because.html thread.

I love within a short drive or flight of everything you visited and you've made me appreciate them much more!



M59

Totally agree with Madone59 - I've lived all over the West and seeing this report and the great photos really made me smile. Thanks for posting

Great trip report! I liked reading it. I think I gained about 10 pounds just looking at all that food though.

I work in hotels, and this does happen. Happened at my hotel about a month ago when an Italian guest hung their shirt to dry. Flooded their room, the hallway, three other guest rooms and got some pretty bad water damage in the banquet rooms one floor down. Since it's a sprinkler system, we can't shut it off by ourselves. Can only be shut off by the fire brigade; who first have to make their way to the hotel and then inspect that no fire is present. :(

Thank you all for the great feedback. Indeed I was a bit worried that the majority of FTers would move along, happy to see the result is the opposite!

Italians do it better!
My real concern in fact is not that there is such a sign: my concern is that IF there is such a sign, is because someone has lowered the global IQ with a 'smart' idea turned bad. :D

Ok, fair point. Allow me to elaborate.
My point remains: compared to the level of service I've seen in this holiday, Italy is far below in the ladder. Not everyone is there to screw you, of course, and the majority are honest people, but the difference is still noticeable.

That said, there is a golden rule if you really want to experience Italy.
Visit all the great monuments and churches that you want. But once you're done, don't stop at the restaurant just in front! Walk away 10 minutes, get off the beaten path, stroll in a side street, get lost, trash the map and walk without thinking where you are going ('with the nose in the air', we say). You will be amazed how much more there is to see. You will find plenty of non turistic restaurants that will serve you real Italian food - not the crap you'd get in the middle of the turistic places. You'll find folks selling real hand made souvenirs, or local shops that sell quality dresses for half the price. You will meet great people genuinely interested in you and not in your money.

I realize this is not always possible, you may be on a guided tour or may not have enough time to detour. But if you can, you will be amazed how beautiful our cities can be.

Oh and streets are generally safe, just pay standard attention to pickpockets.

TL;DR: if you see a restaurant with waiters stopping you and trying to get you in, and with the menu with pics of food right in front of the entrance - RUN!

Great trip report...you guys saw and did so much.

Thanks for posting such a wonderful TR, the photos are amazing and stunning, and the contrast from dry roads to snowy ones was a fantastic awakening as to how the different areas change so quickly, we have done many of those trips, and the roads as one can see just go on and on with no traffic at all. Love SFO done the touristy bit many times, Alcatraz, and cable car, are definitely musts when people visit. Thanks again for a fantastic read with pics.:D^

Great report!! Even though I live in the US, I've yet to visit those national parks outside of Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. Looks beautiful!

I also really enjoyed your report. It is fun to see foreigners experience many of the things that we tend to take for granted (burgers, Taco Bell, the National Parks);)

As an aside, if you can find it, I highly recommend watching Ken Burn's documentary film on the National Park system: http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/

I found it to be one of the most fascinating and more moving films that I've ever seen. Very much worth your time.

Thanks for sharing your travels staniero. It was a great read.