Here's the low down on our Italian experience:
Ultimately, though italy is an amazing place and we are glad we went, we preferred Greece. It was cleaner and much more welcoming. But here are a couple of favorites from Italy:
Best destination: both of us: positano, despite the insane stairs; but I also really liked the scenery in Capri personally.
Most livable city: sorrento. You just got such a good vibe walking through the streets.
Best archeological site: Pompeii
Least favorite destination: Naples. It was loud, smelly, dirty, and out of control.
Most unique city: Rome. You just never knew what to expect. The streets were beautiful and you could see the history.
Best shopping: Rome and Naples.
Most interesting experience: riding the train with the nuns.
Most tiring experience: stairs in positano and Capri. We just can never seem to escape them.
Best food: me: pizza in Naples, sandwich in sorrento, gelato in Rome; mom: eggplant Parmesan in positano, and she seconds the sandwich in sorrento and the pizza in Naples.
Best scenic experience: bus along the amalfi coast, chairlift up Mt. Solaro on Capri.
Worst feeling: motion sickness on the amalfi bus. Since when have i ever gotten car sick?
Nicest accommodation: hotel pasitea in positano. Seeing as this is a budget trip, we stayed in hostel-style and cheaper accommodation. But there wasn't budget accommodation in positano, and we enjoyed the stay.
Best hotel breakfast: hotel savoia, sorrento. They made us each a special pancake on our first morning! And they had fresh doughnuts everyday.
Biggest potential disasters: taking all the public transit we did, almost missing our train to Salerno, almost losing our bags to the bus in positano.
Funniest discrimination: going to a restaurant and watching the Italian family get the bread, olive oil, and candle as soon as they sit down. We got nothing. We had to ask. A few times.
Biggest regrets: not being able to bring home bag fulls of pasta and cheese.
Luckiest moments: finding our hotel in positano. I still don't know how we did it.
Weirdest weather: the wind in positano. It was sunny, but the wind was like a freaking tornado!
Funniest things: meat man in Rome. What was he going to do with a pocketful of meat? and mom accidentally bringing a meat sandwich to eat in the Vatican on lent.
Nicest locals: good karma lady on the bus in Rome, happy guy in sorrento, African nun in train to Salerno