Grazie, Italia!

Ciao da Italia!  Oggi si celebra due giorni della settimana Mondiale della Gratitudine.  Grazie per I'talia per...

For the non-bilingual or those who don't have time to visit Google's translator, let me make it easy for you...

Hello from Italy!  Today we celebrate day two of World Gratitude Week.  

Thanks to Italy for...

The thermometer

The famous children's story, Pinocchio

Pizza

The piano

Cologne

The ice cream cone!!!!!

Eyeglasses

The espresso machine

The telephone

The typewriter

A national diet whose diet is comprised of pasta, bread, and wine

How about you?  Have any of you been to Italy and for which Italian inventions/contributions are you most grateful?  Do tell.

Richard and I spent our honeymoon in Italy, so maybe I can start.  To Italy I am grateful for the best margarita pizzas; the Vatican; beautiful handmade paper; museums, museums, and more museums; hot chocolate; great shopping, Murano glass, and the lush rolling hills of Tuscany.

The two things we could have done without.  First, Aqua Alta - the high tides that leave Venice flooded (yes, we happened to have been there for one of only a handful that occur each year).  And, second.  The narrow, cobblestone streets that rendered our feet useless at the end of each day!

A final proposal for the week.  What a shame it would be for us to spend the week showing gratitude for the contributions of these five countries and not have a single native know.  Consider adding to the fun of the week by finding someone from the day's featured country to make a post.  Pull it off and there will be something in it for you! 

As for Italy...  We've had five visitors over the past ten months.  They have hailed from Torino, Palermo, Augusta, and Rome. 

Firma fuori fino a domani...