"You Gotta Go to Italy" Italy by DueSer

It seems almost a cliched place for a vacation, going to Italy, but it's so much more than the pop-culture icons of the David, the Leaning Tower, and the Colosseum. Italy is made up of some of the most amazing history anyone can see nowadays and it's sprinkled in amongst terrific shopping, wonderful restaurants, and delightful people.

It's expensive to get to and not exactly cheap once you get there but the full sensory experience you receive while there is worth all the money in the world.

One of the best things about Italy is the history of the place. It's not just the fact that the country has a long, famous (or maybe infamous?) place in our school books but, it's all right there - next to the market, across the street from the metro station - in full living glory. Some places have markers or plaques but Italy has a pyramid and an entire market street and temples.

Walking down the street in the Forum, for example, you are able to get a real feel for what life was like over 1000 years ago. Where else is that possible? Bright red poppies grow between the ancient cobblestones that lead from an old church to a just-as-old market to a government building. Enough of each structure remains to raise the hairs on the back of your neck, like ghosts whispering all around you. It's a magical place.

Moving at the Speed of Gondolas

Besides the history (and of course the food!), what really makes Italy stand out is its variety of landscapes. Rome is a bustling metropolis. Florence is a quiet college town surrounded by farmland. And then there's Venice.

Venice is like no other place on Earth. One of the first things that dawns on you is how quiet it is because of the lack of cars. The pace is slower and so relaxing. Even though it is a fairly large city with lots of business to be done and A LOT of tourists roaming, the city is peaceful. No horns, no frenetic pace. When trying to hurry to catch the bus (Venice calls them vaporettos), it's still a slow-moving boat and the sounds of the waves slapping against its sides somehow calms the soul and makes a person slow their whole pace down.

An afternoon spent sitting in the sunshine along the Grand Canal eating a slice of pizza and watching the vaporettos and the gonolas mosey past fills you up more than a whole day relaxing at some boring spa.