Can we get a bit precise here please.

Idiot imbecile moron cretin etc.

http://englishchamber.blogspot.com.a...s-cretins.html

Wanker and tosser are not defined, it would seem.

I think we should take this" wanker" conversation out of the shower, particularly if there's a razor nearby!

<I think we should take this" wanker" conversation out of the shower,>
Oh, myyyyyyyy... :-D

I too have never seen a foot rest in any hotel shower and I've stayed at quite a few hotels including Four Seasons, Peninsula, St Regis, Mandarin, Park Hyatt..>>

perhaps it's an alternative use for those little stools they provide in the restaurants of such establishment for ladies to rest their handbags on. [or so I am told!]

FWIW, Italy was not what I expected either. It was about seven thousand degrees, I developed a sinus infection three days in that lasted the entire trip, I had a hard time adjusting culturally, I was shocked that the food did not, in fact, blow my mind, etc. Some people love to explore but once they're there they find that they are creatures of comfort and habit. I've traveled extensively and it surprised me that I felt that way in Italy.

Looking back, there are many wonderful things to rave about from my truly spectacular trip, but in the moment there were times where I was absolutely miserable. That's human nature! And had I been writing an email or review, I likely would have come across equally as miserable. (I remember coming home and my go-to response when anyone asked was "it was hot.")

Maybe posting in the heat of the moment on a board filled with travel-lovers wouldn't have been the best idea, though...

Hopefully when he looks back, the OP can find some moments to look fondly upon.

PS - Canadian here who needs somewhere to rest my leg when I shave! Usually the faucet will suffice in a shower but when there's nothing I do practically kill myself. Legitimate first world problem.

Streamliner,
You really should have gone on and on about the St Regis architecture...

<Canadian here who needs somewhere to rest my leg when I shave! Usually the faucet will suffice in a shower but when there's nothing I do practically kill myself. Legitimate first world problem.>

Thank you! The voice of reason rings out from the frozen north!
:-D

Seriously, this was eminently reasonable, too:
<Maybe posting in the heat of the moment on a board filled with travel-lovers wouldn't have been the best idea, though...

Hopefully when he looks back, the OP can find some moments to look fondly upon.>

Well said.

OK, OK, I'll respond and I'll try to be more clear:

I hated Rome and I've said why.

We stayed at Borgo Santo Pietro in Tuscany which was magnificent, please look for my TR on that coming soon. The Tuscan countryside was beautiful, BUT, take away the ancient, hilltop towns and it looked just like Napa Valley to me, but I truly believe that virtually everything is better in Napa, sorry. Borgo was amazing, but I don't need to fly half way around the world to experience something similar.

Florence was way better than Rome, but still not my cup of tea. We stayed at the Four Seasons, which sits on ACRES in the middle of the city, with its own, private park, which we loved. But, again, I can get that much closer to home. My TR on Florence coming up.

For those of you so seemingly upset at our ability to afford these places, let me say that I came from a lower middle class family. I started with nothing, but worked, saved, built a business, worked 7 days a week for decades. My wife worked in an elementary school for decades. Now, in later life, we are enjoying the fruits of our labor. We live in Newport Beach, CA, so I guess we are spoiled for many luxuries. The best food I have ever had has been in California, the best ITALIAN food I've ever had has been in California, along with the best wines, best climate, best roads, best shopping and gorgeous Pacific Ocean sunsets. To those of you who find Italy to be wonderful, I'm happy for you, I just didn't like it. I'm sure many of you would find Newport Beach not to your liking, but we love it. To each his own! Jerk, signing off.

Streamliner -Fair enough.

It seems to me you've learnt something useful on this trip. Despite the lovely hotels Italy isn't really for you, you may well feel much the same way about the rest of Europe. Travel, even at the high end can be irksome, it demands change and it seems that you know what you like and it's the things you're already familiar with - I say that without a value judgement.

Travel isn't a moral hierarchy but it is a skill set and it isn't for everyone. I live in California and I love it too but it doesn't have everything I'm looking for <take away the ancient, hilltop towns and it looked just like Napa Valley to me> I guess it's a lot harder for me to equate Tuscany with Napa, but as you say, "each to their own"

Did your wife feel the same way? Do you enjoy places like New York and London? You might enjoy somewhere like Bora Bora which is very physically different to California but is very beautiful, relatively easy to get to from LA with very luxurious resorts.

Streamliner - thanks for the reply.

It sounds like you weren't interested in the history, art, architecture or culture, which are the reasons many people go to Europe in general and Italy in particular. I do wonder what you were expecting?

As I posted, I have pretty much given up on art galleries - I will be in Madrid this weekend, but I will not revisit the Prado or the Reina Sofia - but I find the architecture, and the variety of architecture, endlessly interesting. If you take the hill towns out of Tuscany, based on the photos I have seen, I don't know that there would be much point in visiting. If your interest is primarily in scenery you would have been better off seeing the Amalfi Coast or the Italian Lakes. I don't eat Italian food very often in the US, but I would think it was Americanized Italian, just as Chinese food in the US is (very) Americanized.

It is possible that travel is just not your thing. I am tempted to point out that Asia is closer than Europe, but the culture shock would be much greater. Singapore, perhaps, or maybe Beijing. Or if you just want relaxation, the Maldives. But you certainly don't have to travel.

Obviously, the OP just LOVES where he lives...and has no interest in history, art, or architecture of the " old world ".
It was a good ( and expensive) lesson for him and an interesting read for those
of us who enjoy Europe.

"For those of you so seemingly upset at our ability to afford these places. . ."

Ummm. Who suggested they were upset about that? YOU did present that you might be more upset without such luxurious surroundings, but I didn't see anyone suggesting that they were "upset" in the least with you for staying there. I think you're trying to read something into the idea that people commented "too bad, the only think you liked was your hotel". And I, for one, commented that you could have had a great hotel staying at home, but that has nothing to do with suggesting you shouldn't stay at a 5 star! Not at all.

And you have to admit (well, maybe you won't) that it IS a little pretentious of you to mention the disappointment of not having a special place to place a leg when shaving in the shower -- as if that's one of your most vivid memories of your trip to Italy. I think some here may have been a bit put off with your pretentiousness, but that's not suggesting they are upset that you stay at great hotels.

You have the right to stay wherever you desire and then, to dislike the places where you travel. Personally, I can't get enough of traveling to different places in the world. Many of my friends don't like to travel and would rather stay home. But, for me, a trip to Napa , nor anywhere in California, does not begin to compare with Italy where I recently spent three weeks, my seventh trip there. Thanks for writing a different impression of travel. Each to their own.

Thanks for coming back Streamliner.

I am absolutely not upset by the fact that you have (or not) money - good for you if you have. Better still if you worked hard for it - proof that one can evolve and get rich in this world.

What upset me is that you just denigrate everything in Italy. Now you made it clear : you just don't like to travel.

So stay in California, which is a great place to be BTW.
Been to Nappa myself and prefer my own country - nothing wrong with that I guess.

I live in CA and have visited every single wine region in the State - and I enjoy most of them (Napa is getting harder though) . . . And I love LOVE the Pacific coast, and Yosemite and Tahoe and and and and.

But none of them are 'better' than Europe/Italy. I have traveled to the UK/France/Italy w/ a couple of friends who never actually 'left home' during the trips. "We do that better back home." "How much is that in real money?" "Can we see American Idol (the Voice, etc)." It seems you are like them

They just don't overly enjoy foreign travel or get very much out of it. Not wrong - just different and they should stick to CA which can fill a life time w/ places to see/do. BUT not 'getting' Italy is one thing - being totally disdainful is another.

I recently traveled in the US with some Italians who did the same thing in reverse: "In Rome you can buy metro tickets in shops". "In Rome the bums don't stink". (I'm making that up!)

Are you not comparing apples and pears, Streamliner?

If I were to come to the Nappa Valley and complain about the lack of ancient buildings, you'd rightly tell me I was an idiot. That's not what you visit the Nappa Valley for. Similarly, one of the main points of visiting Rome is to see the works of antiquity and enjoy the bustle of a city that is over 1000 years old. To arrive in Rome and be surprised that it's not like California strikes me as a little naive.

Back to the lack of a footrest in the shower, I just put my leg up on the wall, doesn't anyone else do that?

raincity.
Strange that nobody yet said that we don't sahve our legs in Europe - we like our girls' legs hairy.

Strange that nobody yet said that we don't sahve our legs in Europe - we like our girls' legs hairy.>>

Given that I've never shaved my legs, pariswat, it did occur to me, but I thought that coming after the OP's experiences in Rome, the culture shock might have been too much for him to take.