I was in Italy last September, where I had the opportunity to observe my fellow Americans outside their natural habitat. Several rather embarassing facts were brought to my attention. - We (1) seem to have put on a few pounds in the last 40 years. - When it comes to footwear, we're really quite fond of sneakers and sneaker-derivatives. - Our Italian vocabulary spans at least 3 words. - What's all this nonsense about trains. We're renting a car. - Rick Steves. 1 - My use of the pronoun "we" will no doubt incite someone to haughtily respond to the effect of "Not the Americans I choose to associate with!". So, let's be clear. The Americans that *you* choose to associate with are the glorious exceptions.