“Shoot a Travel TV Series” has been hanging at the top of my life list for a while.  Now that JS0 Italy is in production (pinch me) it’s time to attack a new list, the definitive JS0 Italy Bucket List.

Even the most ambitious bucket listers would find it difficult to narrow down all of the must-do experiences in a country as soul-feeding as Italy.  But we’ve managed to conjure up nine.  The 10th is up to YOU!

Send us YOUR ULTIMATE ITALIAN EXPERIENCE via Twitter @jetsetzero (include #js0italy) or via Facebook.  The best one wins a sweet Jet Set Zero t-shirt and the glory of watching me, Perrin, Sarah and Lynne attempt to carry out your awesome idea.

Time is ticking and we’ve only got one Italian summer to live out our weirdest and wildest dreams so without further ado, The Bucket List:

1.  Ride bikes through the Italian countryside ACCOMPLISHED

2.  Appear on the Italian news ACCOMPLISHED

3.  Cruise the canals of Venice ( Perrin & Sarah) ACCOMPLISHED

4.  Crash a Miss Italia pageant

5. Find and wear the ultimate Mumuu (Courtney & Lynne)

6.  Make pasta with an Italian grandma

7.  Sail the Amalfi coast

8.  Take a Nutella bath

9. Fit the cast in a vintage cinquecento

10.  ??? VIEWER VOTED ???

[Photo:  David]

In Vietnamese culture, it is expected that children care for their parents when they become too old to care for themselves. Unfortunately, many older people find themselves without family after losing them in the Vietnam War or simply by outliving them (life expectancy is 69 for a Vietnamese man and 75 for a woman, compared to Canada which is 79 for men and 84 for women). Serene, Jen and I visited the home for the elderly after hearing about it from our friend, Ngan. The experience was one I won’t soon forget.

The home itself is run by Catholic missionaries. We brought the ladies cookies and milk and handed them out which was fun and made me feel a bit like Santa Claus. Many looked thrilled to see us and even more excited that we brought them treats. The home was much cleaner than I had imagined – I suppose I was thinking “third world old age home” and expected the worst. But the facilities were very simple and actually reminded me of scenes in “M*A*S*H”. Many bedridden women were lying in these compartment things (I hesitate to call them beds) that were lined with linoleum and had a drain in the centre. This is where they spend their days. On the morning we went, the women were getting haircuts from volunteers which made me smile because they do the same thing at home. Despite their simple surroundings and lack of family and visitors, most of the women seemed in very good spirits and were happy to talk to us (through a translator) about their experiences. I even pulled out a bit of a capella singing for them. Mostly, there were just lots of smiles passed back and forth.

I could feel my karma-meter climbing. And what a treat it was to see something truly local and memorable that we would not normally experience as tourists.