One cannot really experience a true immersion in a place during a 1–2 week vacation, it takes time to go beyond stereotypes and shallow ideas about a nation and culture. My family and I spent all of June and July of this year in Northern Italy, from Milan we explored as far West as Sardegna, as far East as Venice, as far South as Siena (Tuscany) and a dozen places in between.
Full disclosure
This is my home country, I was born in the Italian Alps and left for America at age 11 — just before the language centers of the pre-adolescent brain fully develop. It is for this reason (thankfully) that my English lacks that distinct Italian accent. I speak Italian as a native speaker (someone who has learned the language in its country) so my immersion in this place is quite a bit more than what a typical American would experience. I am atypical.
This allowed for a much deeper experience, for obvious reasons. Unnecessary are the countless events where one is fumbling around for a word or a basic understanding. The cultural differences are substantial enough without a language barrier and a language is a fundamental part of a culture.
