Sometimes it's the simple pleasures that make a tourist's day even better. Those of you who have traveled in Rome know that the aqueduct systems the Romans set up millennia ago still provide today's modern Romans with fresh, drinkable water. Bring a bottle and refill it all day long at the dozens of free, fresh drinking water fountains around the city. Thanks, Sarah Beth!

Entrepreneurship 101: A Guide for New College Grads Looking to Fly Solo - DailyFinance

Entrepreneurship 101: A Guide for New College Grads Looking to Fly Solo - DailyFinance: "Out of a group of 1,000 college students and recent grads, more than a third of them (36%) were side-preneurs -- they started businesses while getting their degrees, and about 1 in 5 (21%) started businesses after college because they couldn't find a job."

Postcard from Aaron Norris - Lamborghini Reflections

This postcard comes from Aaron Norris, whose passion for Lamborghini is obvious in his story. Thanks, Aaron!

"May 23, 2011: Today we did a tour of the Lamborghini Museum and Factory, in Bologna. I led a group of 8 people, including myself, on what was supposed to be a 3-hour trek there and 3-hours more back from where we were staying in Venice. The people that attended the tour were Andrew Slusser, Will Mims, James Woods, Ronnie Norris, Wil Bromberg, Lonnie Key, Trey Newman, and myself- Aaron Norris. Leaving from Venice, to Bologna and then to the factory proved to be of a little difficult because of the "language barrier". Not knowing that I was supposed to be at terminal 3 WEST, and staying at terminal 3 central, caused us to miss two trains. Not a pleasant way to start off my Lamborghini trip tour. We eventually made it, having to skip our 2 o'clock tour time and move it to 4 pm instead. Thankfully the guys were ok and we finally got there.

"Once we arrived at the Lamborghini Museum and Factory we were astounded by this magnificent black marble and glass structure that seemed to come out of nowhere. The factory is way out of the way. We were able to feast our eyes on every model of Lamborghini ever made. What a treat. We saw everything from the first Lamborghini all the way to two concepts, one of which most likely won't ever be built. There is even a Lamborghini Gallardo hanging up at a 45 degree angle on the wall (picture at left). Like I stated, we saw basically every model, including special editions, ever made. We were able to feast our eyes on the $1.6 million Lamborghini Reventon, of which only 20 were ever produced. The car is essentially a Lamborghini Murcielago beefed up with new technology and new looks. The car was designed after the unstoppable US Air Force stealth super jet, the F-22 Raptor. As you can imagine, it's got amazing sharp angles everywhere. We were also able to see a special "one off" Lamborghini, the Miura Concept. It is a revision and modern day version of the Miura P 400 S that was built from 1969 to 1971, the concept car was built to celebrate the original car's 40th. 

"Another noteworthy car was Lamborghini's 4-door super car, the Estoque. It is one of the most beautiful cars I have ever laid my eyes on. A Lamborghini that you may find shocking is the LM 002, which is a beast of a 4x4 that was built from 1986 to 1992. This vehicle took most by surprise because who puts Lamborghini and SUV in the same sentence? And let me say, this is nothing like Porsche's Cayenne SUV that is built to handle the streets, these LM 002s were built to tackle anything you could throw at them; dirt, mud, and even sand. The Museum was jaw dropping.

Factory Tour

"The tour began for us around 4:30. We were forced to lock our cameras and phones up before we were allowed to go into the factory and see the R&D department. We didn't actually go into the R&D department but saw outside of it, and the cars that were part of R&D. An interesting fact about our tour was that, Lamborghini just last month (April 2011) reopened its doors to the public. Before then they had been working on their new "top secret" super car, the Aventador. This car was just introduced to the world in March at the Paris Auto Show. The Aventadors that we saw were all preproduction; none have been released to the public yet. Lamborghini's new “crown jewel” is something to urn for. It is one of the most powerful cars I have ever seen and in the world, boasting 700hp, and by far the sexiest. I feel that no other word can describe the Aventador better than that. 

"After checking out the cars in R&D we moved into the production facility. It was cool to see how they hand build their cars. The entire car's unibody frame and engine, including components, are produced locally in Italy. Basically every part of the car is from Italy, but the body is built somewhere in Germany (this is likely because Lamborghini is owed by Volkswagen- who also owns other car companies such as Audi).

"The production line for Lamborghini's "little" super car, the Gallardo, consists of 21 "stops" on the line each lasting an hour and ten minutes. It was pretty cool to see because at the end of the Gallardo being "birthed" we got to watch and listen to the car's first “breaths” of life. They cranked one up right in front of us for the first time. The new "big boy" on the streets, the Aventador, is put together over about 8 stops, if my memory serves me correctly. This car is unique for many reasons. It is 100% new from its protestor, the Murcielago. They have an "in house" dyno, where they dial the cars in and make sure it’s running correctly, according to the computer. After all, the parts have been assembled and the cars dialed in, they test drive every single car on the open, mountainous, streets around the factory before delivering it to the dealers or customers. I've been to Tuscaloosa's Mercedes plant and seen how a mass produced vehicle is made, Lamborghini does it in some similar ways, but in reality its completely different. Lamborghini creates "tailor made" super cars for a lucky and select few. Lamborghini creates the "big boy" toy that almost all of us would love to have. 

Intrigue and Side Note

"*An interesting side note during the tour there was this Taiwanese guy, mid 20's, that knew a lot and asked a lot of questions. So I approached him and asked him how he knew so much and he gave me some “bull” about reading it in "Euro Mag". I asked him what he or his father did, because he claimed to own a Ferrari 360 Modena and a Lamborghini Gallardo, and he said that they were in the plastics industry - a believable story. Once, we left the factory and were done with the tour he proceeds to tell me that he is actually a "spy" from Ferrari. He was wearing Puma Ferrari shoes, but that’s still not enough to "sell" me on his story, but then he pulls out his massive camera and shows me a couple of Ferraris, him driving one. He also shows me a picture of himself wearing a photo name tag, standing next to his father (who also has a photo name tag) and someone else (with the same type of name tag), and they are all at the Ferrari factory.

"If your'e not aware, no one can tour the Ferrari Factory unless they have previously bought/ordered a Ferrari from the factory- no used Ferraris count. So maybe the guy did work for Ferrari and was "scoping out" Lamborghini's next super car and what all the hype is about. There is no way of knowing the truth but it’s interesting to say the least..."

Five Tremendous Travel Projects - Instructables Blog

Five Tremendous Travel Projects - Instructables Blog:

"Entrepreneurship Italy" study-abroad students may have returned to Alabama from their time in Italy, but there's still time to take those experiences and memories and make a great travel project. Instructables.com is offering a great prize for your idea.

From the Instructables site: "We’re in the middle of a contest with one of the greatest prizes we’ve ever given away: a 7 day vacation to Club Med in Florida for a family of four. Check out the WeJustBack.com description of the prize.

Awesome, right? $5,500 worth of awesomeness, contingent upon your enjoyment of the following: sunshine, your own family, free things, relaxation, and cool activities. You’ve got until June 19th to enter a project related to family fun, games, crafts, or travel. Get moving."

Why not make something memorable and mind-blowingly cool from your trip to Italy and win another trip?

A slice of Italy in Rochester, NY - A "simple" story of Italian entrepreneurship

I'm listening to Joe Capogreco's Italian Carousel to hear some Italiano and some Italian music, and their promotions (quaint!) highlight Salvatore's "Old Fashioned" Pizzeria in Rochester, New York. For anyone who wants to get a grounded perspective on how institutions like this arise from nowhere, visit Salvatore's "history" page - how many teenagers today would sacrifice like "Soccer Sam" did to help his pizano (uncle) and then risk everything to realize his vision for a pizzeria? After you read the history, click on the "locations" link to see how Salvatore's (aka "Sam's") has expanded.

Murano - Imagining a future beyond glass

The tradition of generations of Murano residents learning the craft of glass making is facing an uncertain future, reports the New York Times, as future generations may find themselves learning how to provide guest services at luxury hotels on their home island. I got to visit the island to see them make glass firsthand in a stiflingly hot shop, then gawk in amazement at their finished products in the factory store. The NY Times story describes how Murano failed to recognize trends in the future and adapt to them, but I wonder why and how it would occur to the Muranese to shut down their ovens and build hotels for tourists. Visit this island as soon as you can.

Click here for a slideshow of Murano courtesy of the New York Times.

The grand canal of Murano

Postcard from Italy - Car Shopping with Andrew Slusser

Andrew was one of a brave, car-loving group of students who traversed the trains and buses from Venice to Sant'Agata to tour the Lamborghini factory. Why? Apparently to shop. For those of you who are not familiar with Lamborghini's history, they have modestly posted a detailed explanation of their rise to legend, as shown in the lower caption of the picture below.

Postcard from Italy - "Colossal" Will Bromberg

Will Bromberg reports "This was definitely my favorite place we visited while in Rome. During the Roman Empire, this ancient, elliptical amphitheatre served as the battleground of many gladiatorial contests and games. Admission was free to the public, and the unemployed occupied many of the 50,000 seats. This was brilliant because instead of causing trouble, these citizens were entertained daily."

The 2,000-year-old colosseum will be renovated over the next several months to the tune of 30 million euro, and will recruit at least one corporate sponsor who will be able to license the colosseum's image in its own products or services.

Postcard from Italy - The Unflappable Pryce Scarborough

Most of us can relate to luggage malfunctions during the course a long trip, but Pryce Scarborough's suit case met its end about the same time as our study-abroad trip met its own end. Unfazed by this dilemma and unswayed by offers of indestructible luggage from Milan's upscale stores, Pryce found a perfect solution. Does Louis Vuitton make bungee?

Postcards from Italy - Samantha Eurton

Samantha Eurton's postcard moment comes to us from Verona, which is about an hour west of Venice on the A4 Autostrada. Unlike Milan, which was severely damaged during WWII, Verona maintains much of its historical features, such as the Castel Vecchio and Arena; and unlike in Rome, the city is much less crowded, and Arena is in much better condition that its identical twin in Rome - the coliseum. The Arena is still used throughout the summer to host operas and other musical productions. If these aren't enough attractions to draw you to Verona, recall that Shakespeare's Rome and Juliet was set in this town. Juliet's balcony is just a few minute's walk away from the Arena.