So...after all that, we come to the final Italy post...
Overall, Italy was great. It was very different from Ireland, and Roma was strikingly different from Dublin. Roma has a considerably older feel to it, naturally. The city is relatively large, and it is full of people. Speaking of the people, I did notice one thing in particular about the Italian people. In general, they are very well dressed, and they just look good. Overall, a very attractive people, and it came to no surprise that almost every shop on the street was for clothing. Another thing about the people that I noticed was the diversity. Just like Dublin, Roma and Pisa were very diverse in terms of their population. There were people from all over the world living and working in Italy, people of all races and colors. It was quite extraordinary to see. Until I had seen it here in Europe, I had not considered that people immigrated here. Growing up and in school it always seemed that everyone immigrated to the US, although in retrospect it's a little naive.
A routine problem I ran into was the language barrier. Just like Russell Peter's experiences, I think the Italians may have thought I was Italian, so they spoke Italian to me. Thankfully, most of them were very understanding and switched to English for me. But it was still very scary to have people approach me and speak in a language I simply could not understand.
I didn't quite have the same experience as Russell Peters with the hand signals, but the point is the same. It was really scary for me traveling alone in Italy, particularly in Pisa. I realized it is so much better to travel in groups with people, for the company, but also for security. Speaking of which, I thankfully did not have any encounters with pickpockets or gypsies.
The last overall thing I noticed about Italy and Roma is that in some respects, it is not so different from the rest of the world. It's an international place, with the usual problems of crime and homelessness. There are plenty of weird characters, and there's a lot of activity going on.
While my overall experience in Italy was a good one, I must admit my last one was not so. At the airport, I ran into to some problems. There was some glitch in air traffic control in London, so our flight was delayed by about 5 hours. We were boarded on the plane and waiting for the go signal, when the flight attendants were serving food and drinks to keep people comfortable and happy. Then, of course, the old people on the plain started yelling at the flight attendants about their complaints and eventually, someone called the police. They ordered Ryanair to disembark us back to the terminal, where we waited for all of about 10 minutes before being told to get back on the plane. It was really quite stupid.
Now, I know this makes the experience seem dampened, but it really was a great trip. I had fun going around Italy, and I even met some cool people from Canada, Italy, and Amsterdam in the hostel. I also met a girl from Wisconsin who is studying in Limerick on the plane back to Dublin. With meeting new people, seeing sights, and spending time with friends, I had a fantastic time in Italy!
Overall, Italy was great. It was very different from Ireland, and Roma was strikingly different from Dublin. Roma has a considerably older feel to it, naturally. The city is relatively large, and it is full of people. Speaking of the people, I did notice one thing in particular about the Italian people. In general, they are very well dressed, and they just look good. Overall, a very attractive people, and it came to no surprise that almost every shop on the street was for clothing. Another thing about the people that I noticed was the diversity. Just like Dublin, Roma and Pisa were very diverse in terms of their population. There were people from all over the world living and working in Italy, people of all races and colors. It was quite extraordinary to see. Until I had seen it here in Europe, I had not considered that people immigrated here. Growing up and in school it always seemed that everyone immigrated to the US, although in retrospect it's a little naive.
A routine problem I ran into was the language barrier. Just like Russell Peter's experiences, I think the Italians may have thought I was Italian, so they spoke Italian to me. Thankfully, most of them were very understanding and switched to English for me. But it was still very scary to have people approach me and speak in a language I simply could not understand.
I didn't quite have the same experience as Russell Peters with the hand signals, but the point is the same. It was really scary for me traveling alone in Italy, particularly in Pisa. I realized it is so much better to travel in groups with people, for the company, but also for security. Speaking of which, I thankfully did not have any encounters with pickpockets or gypsies.
The last overall thing I noticed about Italy and Roma is that in some respects, it is not so different from the rest of the world. It's an international place, with the usual problems of crime and homelessness. There are plenty of weird characters, and there's a lot of activity going on.
While my overall experience in Italy was a good one, I must admit my last one was not so. At the airport, I ran into to some problems. There was some glitch in air traffic control in London, so our flight was delayed by about 5 hours. We were boarded on the plane and waiting for the go signal, when the flight attendants were serving food and drinks to keep people comfortable and happy. Then, of course, the old people on the plain started yelling at the flight attendants about their complaints and eventually, someone called the police. They ordered Ryanair to disembark us back to the terminal, where we waited for all of about 10 minutes before being told to get back on the plane. It was really quite stupid.
Now, I know this makes the experience seem dampened, but it really was a great trip. I had fun going around Italy, and I even met some cool people from Canada, Italy, and Amsterdam in the hostel. I also met a girl from Wisconsin who is studying in Limerick on the plane back to Dublin. With meeting new people, seeing sights, and spending time with friends, I had a fantastic time in Italy!
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