Basically I just typed a book and it got deleted.

Spark Notes version:

wine tasting at the villa: wine aged since 1999, 2000, 2003, 2008.

late tour guide to the terra cotta 'farm:' Cristy - "OMG why aren't Italians ever on time?" Time is a concept Americans take for granted.

slow waiters: 2+ hour lunches, no one knows who is bringing the checks, separate checks are a no-go. Separate checks are also an American concept taken for granted.

personal space: "you're in my bubble" concept is foreign

driving: fast, hectic, crazy. For people who claim to be on "Italian time" (forget island time) they drive like the streets (what can be deciphered from streets and giant pedestrian walk ways) are a contorted Nascar track.

italian diet: carbs, carbs, carbs, salt and sugar. Oh yea and alcohol. But who can gain any weight walking 190457072 miles per day? BRING ON THE PASTA!

#1 = Italian shopping: Gucci, Armani, Prada, Dior, Burberry, Tiffany's, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana ++++ much more!

My favorite bit of Italian trivia so far is that wine is named after the region in which it is produced. A wine cannot be named after a region unless the grapes used in the wine are only grown in that particular region and all manufacturing/production takes place in the region.