Sketchbook: Italy Prep

“Operation Mincemeat” is the title of an audio book I’m listening to on NPR’s “Radio Reader” as I drive to work in the mornings. It’s a very detailed account of an elaborate ruse set up by British intelligence during WWII to cover for the planned 1943 Allied invasion of Italy. We’re finding out just how much planning goes into invading Italy.

Okay, we’re new at this. Three months ago we didn’t even have passports. Never needed any. Maybe if we were seasoned international travelers, maybe if we’d been anticipating and planning a trip to Italy in the first place, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. But this trip is a surprise gift. Which is part of the fun.

Each little thing we learn about traveling brings a feeling of accomplishment and a more secure sense that we probably won’t get shot when we hit the beach… or the plane exit ramp at Rome. Or Da Vinci. Or Fiumicino. Whatever. Now we know how to get a passport. No biggie! Now we know the difference between a ristorante, a trattoria, and an osteria. I think. We kinda know what to pack. And what not to. We’ve been gathering maps, guidebooks and lots of advice from friends who’ve been there. I’ve even dug up some old college books on Italian painting to remind myself about the Renaissance. I’m getting excited about personally meeting some of the great art I’ve only heard about. Sandra wants to see the Coliseum. I want to see the Sistine Chapel. We both want to eat… a lot!

But we can over prepare. Think about it too much. Anticipate too heavily. Wind up seeing only what we expect to see; mostly what we’ve been told to see. Spend our precious time looking only for the sites that go with the pictures in the guides. Mistake the map for the country. That’s how the Brits fooled the Germans in ’43. The Germans only saw what they wanted to see.

They missed a lot!