Italian Adventures
I spent from 5:30 in the afternoon on Saturday, May 9, 2009 to 10:00 in the morning on Sunday, May 17, 2009 in Italy with my parents, my aunt, and my sister. We went there to visit my sister who was there taking classes. She had finished classes the week before we arrived. The people in Italy are similar to us Americans, just slightly different. We went to both Florence and Rome. The food was similar to what we call “Italian” food, but it was a little different.
The people in Italy are a lot like us. However, there were a few big differences. The first difference is that everyone there speaks Italian. This was especially hard for me because I can not understand Italian but also because I read lips a lot and could not understand them. Another difference is that they do not drive everywhere. Most people there walk a lot. They also take the metro and buses. When we were there we took some taxis but we mostly walked. There is one more huge difference, the people there smoke a lot of cigarettes and they are allowed to smoke everywhere you go. Plus, they drink a lot of wine.
While we were in Italy we went to two different cities, Florence and Rome. In Florence, the weather seemed to be a lot clearer than it is here. Usually it is pretty cloudy and overcast here because of the beach but also smoggy because of the city. Florence had really tall and old buildings. I also noticed that the roads in Florence were very narrow and made of cobblestone. The whole city was busy with lots of people. Also, even during the late evening hours, it was still pretty active. Even past midnight! While we were in this city we went to see some churches and we went up to the bell tower which was 414 steps to the top. We also saw the Duomo and the world famous statue, the David by Michelangelo. We went to an exhibit at Florence Palazzo Strozzi about Galileo and the telescope and calendar. It was fascinating! In Rome, the weather was similar to Florence but the last day it was cloudy and a bit rainy. In Rome the roads were a lot wider than in Florence but there were still a few narrow ones. They were also mostly cobblestone. The people in Rome were still pretty active but not as late as the people in Florence. Overall, Rome was a lot bigger than Florence. While we were in Rome we went to the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. We also went to the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. My favorite part of Rome was the Colosseum because it was huge and so old, after all these years, it still exists.
Although the food was very similar to the food we call “Italian”, it had some differences. The meals in Italy were a lot more delicious, plus they were tasty. This was probably because they were like homemade cooking. Furthermore, they are Italian recipes and we were in Italy! Every meal we had had bread and all of our dinners had pasta. The sizes of the meals were average. The meals that we ate, took longer than most of the meals that we have at home. It is more popular to take your time eating. In general, I enjoyed the meals there, most of them were much better than here.
I enjoyed my time in Italy for a week. The people were like us, the cities were very different than ours, and of course, their Italian food is better than our “Italian” food.
And there you have it, my italian essay.