Thursday, October 1, 2009

Italy part 5 - summary & observations

Basically, it was a wonderful vacation. We saw so many things that I will always remember, learned about Italian culture, & discovered where my home on the New Earth is located. :-) Josh & I really hope to go back one day.

I’ll leave you with the remainder of the notes I took:
-Italians eat their pizza folded. & yes there is a lot of pizza in Italy. Thin crust, not much sauce, with olive oil. Very good.
-Ambulances in Venice are boats. (Josh loved hearing the police car noise in Italy, because he had heard it often in movies & it’s so different than here.)
-Europeans are apparently really into see-through clothing right now. You could definitely see undergarments under the white.
-It is impossible not to get lost in Venice.
-They don’t seem to use ice often. & you have to order (& pay for) water there. It comes out in a big glass bottle. & they ask you, “gas or no gas?” because they drink carbonated.
-Colored denim is very popular there – we saw green & purple pants on men!
-They do time the military way – dinner at 1800.
-I sneezed a lot. Apparently I’m allergic to something there.
-Some public restrooms do not have toilet paper, or the seat part (you know, the part men lift up). Luckily I looked before I sat in the restroom at the Venice train station, so I didn’t get myself stuck in an unpleasant situation.
-Carnival is a big deal in Venice’s history (like when they would wear masks & party lots). They also have lions everywhere; they represent Venice.
-Florence has lots of motorcycles/vespas.
-“Prego” is Italian for: yes; can I help you; you’re welcome; please. Confusing at first, great when you realize you can say it in lots of different scenarios.
-The brooms they use look like our version of witches’ brooms.
-Getting rid of cellulite is apparently very important to Italians. There were advertisements everywhere.
-Americans linger over drinks (like meeting for coffee, going to bars to socialize) while Italians linger over food (they have 2-hour long meals).
-Drivers don’t get angry. They are very aware of pedestrians & other cars. Honking has a purpose (saying “here I am” instead of, like Americans do, “you blankity-blank-blank!”). People help each other without being asked… more of a sense of community, not as individualized as Americans are.
-In some sandwich shops & cafes, it costs money to sit at the table instead of standing at the bar. -We got a cappuccino & an espresso for 1,80 Euro. CHEAP!
-They switch the use of the comma & period in numbers… for one thousand, they do 1.000, & for one-fifty, they do 1,50.
-We watched a Spanish version of Deal or No Deal in Rome. & there were not nude people on European TV like I feel like we are led to believe.
-I love the Fiat cars there. They are super cute.
-There were kissing nuns in Florence that were pretty creepy… they made kissing noises & if they came up to you & you let them kiss you on the cheek, they made you give them money. But we did not encounter gypsies nor we did we feel like we had to be as careful to watch for pickpocketers as we had read we should be.
-Italians are more formal than we are (& so come across as less-friendly sometimes, but our tour guide Todd assured us that is not the case). They are also more laid-back, less schedule-driven.


I hope you enjoyed reading through our trip! I leave you with a few more pictures.



Where Peter's remains are buried under St. Peter's Basilica in Rome

The Doge's Palace in Venice at night
Our espresso & cappuccino... oh I miss Italian cappuccinos, so yummy!

Fiat :-)




1 comment:

Molly Swanson said...

I loved reading these!!!