Although my first trip abroad was in 1994-95, I didn't visit Italy until 9 years later. My brother-in-law Jason, a Navy medic, was stationed at the U.S. military base near Naples, and kindly offered to host me and my wife in his home. Though he wasn't Sicilian, he was certainly making us an offer we couldn't refuse!

Jarrett and I flew over in late February and found the weather to be a pleasant contrast to that of frozen and forbidding Oklahoma City. So long as we were willing to get up at the crack of dawn, we could ride into town in Jason's ancient BMW and wander around sunny Naples all day until his shift finished up in the evening. We toured castles, museums and chuches and browsed through the famous outdoor book market, which stretched for blocks along a narrow alleyway.

The week before we left, Jason rented a van and gave us a whirlwind tour of Florence, Pisa, and Venice. We then had two days in Rome before taking the train back to Naples for our flight home.