What I learned during my 2 weeks in Europe

• Any price multiplied by 65 = frickin' expensive.
  
• All electrical sockets in Europe are round. An adaptor is a must for charging cell phones and digicams.
• Hotel towels have a sour stink (except for the ones in our hotel in Rome).
• Europeans drive around in small, cute hatchback cars...
• ...except in Monaco, where Ferraris and Porsches rule the roads.
  
• Tour guides have very little patience for camwhoring.
• There is a Chinese restaurant in even the tiniest, most obscure town.
• Tap water and dirty drinking glasses don't affect Filipino stomachs.
• All public toilets have toilet paper.
  
• Most elevators in Spain have no ">|<" button. So if an ax murderer is hot on your heels, best take the stairs.
• There is something different to be bought in every Zara store. Even the ones located in the same city.
• It's good to be king. Or queen.
  
• English spoken with a French accent sounds better than a Spanish or Italian accent. Even when they're being condescending, the French sound good.
  
• Evian tastes like plain old water.
• Not everyone on the streets of Italy look like Armani models. In fact, very very few qualify.
• Italian sales clerks don't like it when you touch store merchandise.
• Forget about avoiding pigeon poop on the ground; be more concerned about a pigeon pooping on your head.
• In relation to the previous point: always bring a hat.
• Some places you have to see with someone; the Tuscan countryside is not one of those places. Best enjoyed alone, optimal for quiet moments of introspection and reflection. Frances Mayes had the right idea.
• Gondolas are overrated, but Venice most certainly isn't. Ciao bella, indeed.
• Real parmesan cheese doesn't stink.
• Governing rule in a Prada outlet store: you snooze, you lose. Get in, grab everything that catches your eye, and don't let go until you're dead sure you don't want it.
• Naples is a very shady place. Scratch from all future itineraries.
• The Sistine Chapel is smaller than what I expected... yet it made me feel utterly, insignificantly puny. My brain cannot even begin to apprehend Michelangelo's genius.
• Starbucks doesn't exist in Italy. It has no right to.
• Grey's Anatomy in Spanish and CSI in Italian are just as compelling to watch, even if you haven't the foggiest what the hell they're saying. (Also, Meredith dubbed in Spanish doesn't sound half as annoying.)
• Contrary to popular notion, the Italians' greatest contribution to mankind is not art, or fashion, or even pasta. It's GELATO, and it's evil.
  
• Two 1Gig memory cards (AND one 256MB card for back-up) are not enough to store all the photos of a camwhore vacationing in Europe. [click for pix]