Outtakes & Observations: Italy

1. Food grows everywhere... from front lawn tomatoes and side-of-the-road blackberries... ...to farm-fresh cantaloupe and olive tree-lined streets. 2. There's no evidence of human tampering in whole fruits and vegetables.

{Hey, fellow Americans! Remember when watermelon had seeds?}

3. We perfected the art of eating inexpensively in Italy, through... homemade meals... ...and lots of picnics!

{Table for two, please!}

4. Italian breakfast is much like American dessert. Cappuccino with cake, cookies or a croissant is typical.

{Justin adapted well to Italian cuisine.}

5. Wine is good. And cheap. We drank a lot of it. 6. Italian residential trash cans are about a fifth of the size of American trash cans. There's also plastic/paper/glass recycling and curbside compost pick-up. 7. Reusable shopping bags are mandatory. Food stores don't even offer the option of plastic bags. Brilliant. 8. It rained. When It Rains... from Beth Puliti on Vimeo. A lot. ...It Pours! from Beth Puliti on Vimeo. 9. Cars drive FAST. Motorcycles pass on blind turns all day long. 10. We learned some fancy mobile moves of our own. Making The Pass from Beth Puliti on Vimeo. 11. The gate came down at railroad crossings a full five minutes or so before the train actually came. By the time it opened back up, we were in the company of loads of other two-wheeled bikes. 12. We had our first encounter with one of these. 13. We found safe, drinkable water everywhere.

{In a whole month, we never bought water once.}

14. What's with all the gates? Houses, stores, restaurants...it seemed like everyone was trying to keep us out!