Hi Joy,
Mark Twain had that one right, along with most everything else. And I fully expect you would find the gory details a bit heavy at this point. But having a basic understanding of rugs as woven fabrics, and the ability to draw helpful conclusions from variations you are able to observe, can go a long way to enhance your appreciation. There are some experienced collectors and such who profess to have no interest in structural analysis, and that sort of thing; different strokes for different folks. But I firmly believe one needs some skills and knowledge in that area to fully appreciate the craft.
Appreciating a beautiful rug fully involves more than simply looking at it in isolation. There is also the supplementary appreciation gained from assessing its qualities in the context of what is known about the traditions from which it sprung. That gets into figuring out who wove it, where, and as much as possible, when. One cannot become very adept in that area without a bag full of tools and the experience of seeing and handling a lot of rugs. It isn't so much a case of missing the sunset because one became hung up on the perigee of the orbit of Mars; rather, it may be that the observer who has the greatest understanding of the universe appreciates the beautiful sunset the most. Or maybe not.
Anyway, I think I can tell that if you continue your keen interest in this subject (and also, separating unwitting pilgrims from their rugs in the most creative ways
), you will have a good facility for grasping the more elusive details. So, I am just trying to nudge you forward in that.
BTW, I suggest you tell the Bulgarian there is nothing wrong with gushing. It's half the fun of rugs. Tell him he should try it!
Rich