Italy « Lasting Impressions From Around the World

November 4, 2009, 10:26 am
Filed under: Italy

I visited Rome last March and I can tell you that it was just amazing!!! I totally fell in love with the city. And it was a classtrip so at least I had some company. There were two teachers and five moms with us. We had been planning the trip for three years. Visiting Rome is a tradition in my junior high. But only if you take Latin.

I was so thrilled when we took off. And when we arrived in Rome it was so great. At first sight I knew, that I would love it. Everything was just so wonderful! The warmth, the climate, the people and everything. I was on cloud nine the rest of the day. And our hotel was so beautiful. It was this old building with really cute rooms. Only bad thing was, that the room where I slept with my friend smelled like an old cigarette. Luckily it was warm so we kept our window open. And to be honest I missed the smell, when we came home=)

We visited all the most famous sights, such as Colosseum, Fontana di Trevi and many others. We also went in town called Tivoli, which was on the mountains. That was a really funny trip. And honestly we saw like hundreds of churches!!! At first I thought that they were really beautiful, but after few days they all started to look the same. Always the same colorful windows and paintings. But still, it was fun! And all this time our teachers warned us about pick-pockets. But luckily no one got robbed (I guess…)

The Romans were really friendly and polite most of the time. If you were lost they would tell you which way to go. It was really fun to watch them when they talked with their hands. I’ve heard that Italians could be arrogant and rude but I didn’t think so. Or well, maybe sometimes… Anyway one exception was the traffic. That was just crazy!!! Specially when it was rush-hour. Everyone just walked and drove around the place and didn’t follow the signs at all! I almost got hit by a car in there. And the public transport was also quite interesting. The busses were really full! But I got used to that craziness after a while.

And the food! Oh my god!!! It was so good. Italian cuisine is fantastic. The restaurants were wonderful. I could swear that I ate pizza almost every day. I just ate and ate and ate… Either pizza or spaghetti. And of course I ate ice cream more than I will ever eat again. Around every corner there was a “Gelateria”. The ice cream was so delicious! So I was in heaven.=)

And there was a one night which I will remember the rest of my life. There were my three friends, my mom and two other moms, one of our teachers and I. We were eating this great, really good food on a restaurant terrace. I even remember that I ate spaghetti and tomato-sauce. It was so delicious! Suddenly someone started to play an accordion and all the people on the terrace started to sing. It was an old Italian song. I don’t remember the name, but it’s a really beautiful song. I have heard it before. Anyway that night seemed, and still seems, too good to be true. It was one of the greatest nights of my life!!!

When I think about my trip now I have to say that it really was perfect! Well of course there were moments when I was really annoyed or grumpy. And the mornings were little difficult for me. Every morning I had to wake up early. I don’t remember the exact time, but it was depressing! But it was easier to get up, when you knew that a new beautiful day in Rome was waiting for you!