*Hike Cinque Terre, stopping often to take photographs. <BR>*Drive a rental car in and out of every small town you can find...stopping at the smallest Tratoria for fabulous meals. <BR>*Travel with a picnic backpack--fill it with food from the local deli and pack a local bottle of vino. <BR>*Feel the presence of God in the tomb of St. Francis. <BR>*Visit the Massimo Cruciani art gallery in either Assisi or Gubbio. Drool. Buy a piece to have shipped home. (Visit the web site at www.cruciani.com <BR>*Don't travel with a tight agenda. Go with the flow.

Spend a relaxing evening on the Piazza San Marco sipping a cappacino and listening to the battle of the bands. This is a true Venice experience you will relish for a lifetime.

Find your mother's house which she hasn't seen in 55 years. Go inside and stand on the balcony with your mother. Look out at Mt. Vesuvius together and cry your eyes out.

Prego! This is a wonderful list! Should we change it to the 200 best things about Italy? I printed the list of yesterday to keep. Ciao!! J

Oh my god Mari, that was a great one! I started weeping with you!

#200 <BR>After the most wonderful month in your life with the person you love the most, spend your entire plane ride home planning your return to Italy.

Jessyca, hello. Thanks for wishing me "buono notte" last night. Well, we could go up to 200 but what about "100 best things to do in NYC?" I've been to NYC quite a long time ago and plan to return later this year or in 2002. Like Europe is sometimes difficult for you, the States are the same for us Europeans (BTW: I am Swiss not German). Except maybe that a lot of Europeans speak English which makes travelling easier. So what about New York City?? Might be even interesting for Americans not living in NYC.

Oh Mari! <BR>how lucky you are to have had that experience with your mother!! <BR>Ursula, <BR>Great idea about the New York/100 things. <BR>If you start it here , you might get some rude remarks directed at you, but try it on the U.S. board!! <BR>I think the 100 things is a great idea for any city/country. <BR> <BR>

I don't mind about rude remarks; that's the way you improve a language. Rude remarks are always got to know even if you don't use them yourself. OK, I better skip to the US forum.

Nancy: how right you were about the US forum. I can do it without. These forums is just a great thing and I do not understand how people can mess them up with their stupid contributions. Maybe they just envy those who can travel!

Well Ursula, <BR>Stick around the Europe board long enough and you will definitely read some rude replies. <BR>They are not all restricted to the U.S. board. <BR>But, overall, I have found people here much more friendly, more willing to help, and to have fun! <BR>Someone did once ask a question here about Seattle, Washington, and explained that she was getting no responses on the U.S board. <BR>People were more than happy to help here, and no one critisized her. <BR> <BR>When are you going to NYC?

Nancy good morning: Thanks for your nice words. I plan to go to NYC later this year (before it's Paris in May, wow) or maybe only in 2002. A very good friend of ours moves to NYC to work in an art gallery somewhere downtown in Soho. So we will wait until she's well installed. Don't worry we shall know what to do in NYC. But I definitely would like to find out about some nice places before. In-places change so quickly. But I'll check all the forums before leaving. Bye for now. BTW: If ever you should need advice regarding Europe (I am Swiss) I'll be happy to help you.

Ursula, <BR>thanks so much for the help offer. <BR>Enjoy *all* your travels, now and in the future. <BR>and I know you would never run out of things to do in the City!! <BR>If you ever want Vermont advice, contact me. :) <BR>Have you checked your post on the U.S board? <BR>You got a few more postings, (helpful ones this time) <BR>But they seemed to delete my one post to you, and it certainly wasn't a mean one, or had bad words in it, weird!

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My wife says "buy shoes." I concur with the person who said find a beautiful Italian girl, but I already have one. (She is standing right here watching me post this.) Door knockers are good too.

Mari, your note was amazing! I am bringing my Mom back to her hometown for the first time in 42 years and I can't wait to go to her house and cry with her. Thanks again for your sweet posting.

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Hi everyone, <BR>I haven't been able to find this post in awhile.. So Ursuala....Did you start the NY post? I was there about 9 years ago.. now I'm about 3,000 miles away. So, <BR>Now I know where I'll stay when I get to Switzerland! What time is it there? Are you 9 hours ahead of me? I'm Pacific time and it's 8:42 am here. <BR> <BR>

Len, I hope your trip is as wonderful as ours was. Very strange thing happened - we were driving down the Via Nazionale in Torre Del Grecco and my mother was trying to remember where she lived. It was all so confusing to her after so many years. We were just about to turn around and go back when I suddenly reached over to my husband who was driving, grabbed his arm and demanded that we stop the car. My mother got out of the car and faced a beautiful fence. She gasped and could not speak. After a minute she told me that her best friend's villa was behind that fence and that her house was directly across the street! The story still amazes me after 12 years. Take pictures or videos. I wrote a narrative of our journey and put together a photo album. It is a wonderful momento of our journey. We are all returning to Italy in July (mom is 80 now) and hope to repeat visit to her house. I hope you have a truly wonderful trip with your mother, too.

Take the ferry from Bellagio to Villa Carlotta on Lake Como <BR> <BR>Visit Dante's home in Florence <BR> <BR>Watch the glass blowing in Murano <BR> <BR>Visit the Etruscan Museum in Rome <BR> <BR>Eat lots of grilled fish and drink prosecco.