My wife and I each keep  a “top 10” list of the places we most want to visit.  It’s a list of destinations that is the answer to the question, “If you could only make ten more trips in your life, where would they be?”  Once or twice a year, usually fueled by a bottle of red wine, we pull out scraps of paper, recreate our lists, then compare them.   Where they intersect is usually where we focus some planning for an upcoming travel adventure.  A couple of years ago, it’s how we ended up touring Scandinavia for two weeks.  It’s here I have to make a confession – although our big trip this fall is to Italy, that country or any of its charms has never made any of my previous top ten lists.

Flying in and out of Rome, this trip will combine the Eternal City, a quick stop in Naples, and a stretch of time based in Sorrento to explore the Amalfi Coast as well as Mount Vesuvius, the ruins of Pompeii and the island of Capri.  As I’ve been planning this trip, I’ve come to realize the error of my earlier thinking.  I’m giddy at the thought of visits to the Roman Forum, Colosseum and Vatican as much as I am for simply exploring Rome’s neighbourhoods and piazzas.  I have starting creating what seems like a never ending list of food and wine to sample and am wondering how much pizza a man can eat in 24 hours in Naples (I can almost assure you it will be one too many).    I’m practically trembling with anticipation for the Lazio football match on the Sunday afternoon we arrive as a novel way to work through the effects of a red eye flight.  In my mind, I am imagining sitting on patios high up above the Amalfi Coast and Gulf of Naples sipping limoncello and local wines while looking out to sea without a care in the world.

So Italy, I’m sorry you hadn’t made my previous top ten lists.   But I’m coming to visit you anyway and couldn’t be more excited for the experiences I’m about to have.  Here’s to seeing you in October and to a couple of weeks of la dolce vita!