Italy holiday

GG · 17th May 08, 03:34 AM

A week ago my adorable wife and I came back home from a terrific holiday in Italy by car.
We enjoyed the driving to Italy, taking us time to relax, then followed by a one week stay in a little, beautiful house in a very small community outside of Lucca (Tuscany), where by the way Puccini 150 years ago was born. (Later he settled down round 25 kilometres away at Torre del Lago where he wrote most of his operas).
After that we went to Rome for a little week and on our way home we spent some nights in Umbria and one in Munich.

I was kilted most of the 18 days, even if not all day long. After all I also like wearing shorts and jeans. The first day the local people of “our”small Tuscan village seemed somewhat confused seeing me in a kilt, but already from the second day most of them would greet me friendly or even heartedly when recognizing me.

Rome was something quite special. A wonderful city it is, with all its spectacular reminiscences from the Roman Empire – created by men in kilt-like garments - and St. Peter’s Basilica where we were lucky to see the pope from a distance of just a few meters.
In Rome there were no reactions to my kilt wearing at all; absolutely none. Not at the hotel reception desk, not in shops or in the streets. At bus stops people would often stand reading a newspaper. They would look up, when I was coming along but long before I had passed by them, they would be reading again.
Even when suddenly being amidst about thirty teenage school boys and girls on their way to Colosseum I heard no giggling, whispering or comments whatsoever. To them I was obviously nothing but an ordinary elderly man like so many else.
I really have come to the conclusion that Italy and especially Rome must be one of the most men-in-kilts friendly places in the world.

The same impression I got of Munich. But that might be more understandable, because here you see people in all kinds of garments, including men in “Lederhosen” and women in “Dirndls”. Munich, by the way, is also having a concentration of men in skirts, themselves calling it “the skirt capital”. I didn’t see any of them, however.
My wife was of the opinion that in Munich you could certainly wear anything without disturbing anyone.
I wore my tan Utilikilt. It could have been because of Munich, otherwise I should say that a Utilikilt in a German city causes by far less attention than a tartan kilt.

I include a few pictures to illustrate the trip: The Trevi Fountain, Pantheon from outside and inside, Colosseum, Pope Benedict XVI and some Roman statues and columns. The last picture is from Munich. In some of the pics I will appear in a kilt.

Have a nice weekend all of you!

Greg

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Colosseum

The pope

Me and Caesar

I couldn’t help making a comparison between men’s clothing in ancient Rome and nowadays men’s kilts even if not quite the same.

Columns

Utilikilt in Munich

**SteveB** · 17th May 08, 04:03 AM

Muncheun was very kilt neutral in 1975 when I was there. The only Deutch city where I was even noticed at all was Frankfurt am Main. I was stationed in Deutchland for three years with a few trips to Italia and France. No one even noticed that a dozen young men wandered through the area in the kilt. (Worn by us as soon as we were off duty, in our colorful collection of tartans including one Loud McLeod.)

**Une** · 17th May 08, 05:09 AM

Beautiful photos l really like the one of the Pope.

**JRB** · 17th May 08, 06:51 AM

Those are great photos. I really want to visit Rome someday. Thanks for posting.

**James MacMillan** · 17th May 08, 07:03 AM

Great flix! Thanks for posting.

**Finn** · 17th May 08, 07:56 AM

Fantastic photos, sir! Thanks!

**Ancienne Alliance** · 17th May 08, 09:22 AM

Fantastic pics ! If you ever come to France, don't hesitate to PM me !

**TheSp8** · 17th May 08, 09:28 AM

Great pics. Sounds like a great visit. I don't recall getting much if any reaction to wearing a kilt in Germany. I liked the swish pic with the coloseum in the background.

YMOS,
Tony