Back in the USA

I've struggled with how to begin. Time to post seems short, but I find myself wanting to show every photo and include every story from our trip. Despite how wonderful it was for us, and not matter how intriguing I may be able to make things sound, no one will want to spend 3 solid weeks reading about my adventures and looking at my pictures. So, I have to start somewhere. I'll start with some thoughts Michelle and I had our first few days home.

Things I noticed since back from my recent trip to Italy, Austria and Germany.
-the cars are so big!
-the cars are so many colors
-the parking spaces are huge
-public restrooms with toilet seat covers; heck, toilets with seats!
-nothing is older than a few hundred years
-you can buy lunch/dinner at 4, 5 or even 6 pm
-there aren't dozens of motorcycles or scooters whizzing between cars, courting disaster
-can't find decent mozzarella fresca
-the cows don't have bells
-no church bells pealing for all to wake nor chiming the hours
-where are all the castles and walled cities?
-few shutters and window boxes
-I miss the European windows that open two ways
-there are more than 10 channels on my TV and most of them are in English
-no dogs lounging in the restaurants
-much less graffiti here
-overhead wires for electric buses and trains are almost non-existant
-buildings and signs are so plain and ordinary