Italy; What's up with That?

Italy. Huh. I certainly didn't know what to expect before I visited Italy. And I was certainly surprised. Negativity isn't really my thing, but honesty is. And to be perfectly honest, Italy was about as appealing as a root canal. Seriously Italy. The first thing that struck me, and stayed with me throughout my time there, was the unending amount of garbage everywhere. And I mean everywhere. Cigarette butts, trash, and graffiti were plastered over every street corner, every empty wall, and in damn near every town. It's hard to see the character in something when one has to look at it through a wall of dilapidated everything. I'm mean come on. Have a little pride. Now as I traveled north into the champagne region it did improve somewhat. And I'll have to say I had some amazing experiences in Italy. I especially liked Cinque Terre for its beauty ( minus the throng of tourists) Pompeii was a once-in-a-lifetime and deeply moving experience, and hiking Mount Vesuvius gave me some mad bragging rights. So it wasn't all bad. Unfortunately, all my memories will have to be salvaged through a still frame of garbage. So if you're going to Italy for its charm prepare yourself for what you'll actually find; take your visions and then surround it with the unappealing junk which lies beneath, in front, and around every corner. My advice would be to rent a car and head way out into the countryside. Maybe all the beauty I saw from afar really is out there somewhere. But I sure never found most of it. Arrivederci. And good luck.