Things to Do in Italy Before You Die...

That's us up there... yes, it's our balloon.

We all have bucket lists. Some are very long, containing a list of odd, exotic or strange things, many of which we'll never get a chance to do--sad, but probably true. Some of my bucket list items I've already done:
I found a great lady to share my life, a fantastic, sweet son, too.  I've scuba dived with colorful fish, shark and barracuda. I've been to see the Glacier up near Mont Blanc. I've seen fireworks on Bastille Day in Normandy and Fireworks from the harbor in Manhattan. I've driven all sorts of cars, motorcycles and boats--including a vintage 60 foot tugboat. I've jet skied under the George Washington bridge.  I've learned how to make the world's best pizza at home. (Lucas tells me so.) I've also done some of my bucket list items in Italy: drove the Amalfi Coast, hot-air ballooned over Tuscany, I've blessed myself in the waters of Molfetta where my father was born. I missed a few too... just not enough time to rent a boat in Amalfi, didn't get to see the David in Florence. There are many things that would be great to include on a bucket list for Italy. I thought it would be fun to explore some ideas...

• Rent a boat and cruise from the the Amalfi Coast to the Isle of Capri (perhaps next time, for me).
• Go SCUBA diving in Portofino Marine Park – unique marine life, walls, caverns, and wrecks from World War II.
• Go hot air ballooning over hilltowns in Umbria.
• Attend an opera under the stars at the Roman arena in Verona.
• Climb to the top of Mt. Etna in Sicily (or watch it erupting lava the next time it erupts)
• Attend a concert thousands of feet above the Amalfi Coast in Ravello.
• Climb to the top of St. Peter's dome in Rome, do the same with the Duomo in Florence. (I'd force my knees to cooperate!)
• Attend the Carnivale di Venezia and bring home a fantastic mask.

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• Eat an authentic pizza (or two or three or four) in Naples, where pizza was born.

• See an authentic Marionette show in Sicily.
• Have a romantic kiss and seal our love with a lock on the railing of the Via dell'Amore in the Cinque Terre.
• Drive a classic Italian convertible on the Italian Riviera or the Amalfi Coast.
• Rent a gondola and kiss under the Bridge of Sighs in Venice just as the bells of the Campanile toll.
• Drive a red Vespa scooter around Rome to see the sights. (In Paris my vehicle was a French moped).
  
• Have an audience with the Pope at St. Peters.
• Vacation at one of the rugged coastal beaches of Italy and swim in grottoes.
• Spend a week at an organic agriturismo and take pasta, bread and cheese making lessons.
• Visit Puglia in winter just to see snow fall on the magical Trulli villages there.
• Select five of the best wines, cheeses and breads of Italy, and enjoy one of each during picnics in five different hilltowns watching the sunset. 
• Spend Christmas in Florence.
  
• Travel Southern Italy in a quest to find the oldest living olive trees.
• Cycle on the Appian Way in Rome.
• Rent a vintage Fiat 500 (a Cinque Cento) and drive through Sicily.
• Ride the half mile long, thousand foot high, 70 mph zipline from Castelmezzano to Pietrapertosa among the Dolomites of Basilicata. 
• Have dinner in the cave restaurant overlooking the sea in Polignano al Mare in Puglia.

I hope you will be as lucky as I have in doing just a few of the things on this list... Make your own list and then set about trying to get them all done, and I highly recommend making Italy a part of the things in your bucket...


--Jerry Finzi


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