Pasta came into my life quite late - all we had in my youth was spaghetti, and I still have a strong aversion to spaghetti bolognaise, which was the only way Australians ate Italian. I later heard Italians completely disowned what Australians cooked up as spaghetti bolognaise.
I am an ignoramus about pasta - all I know is that there is wholemeal and white-flour pasta, and that for some unhealthy reason most pasta lovers prefer white-flour pasta. Much like most Australian men still prefer white bread.
The next thing I have gleaned is that for some unknown reason there are lots of different types of pasta, which I gather is just flour and water. Then people go crazy and pay huge amounts of money for obscure brands and types of this stuff.
Well when we had the restaurant, I made an effort to try one of these specialities, but after making the appropriate enquires and cooking up some special pasta, I couldn't taste the difference.
I'm sure there is a difference, but somehow my palate is in need of training in this area. And living in a country town, we don't have great access to good pasta, cooked or uncooked. It always seemed a bit stodgy to me, so I'd love to try some well prepared varieties somewhere.