Oh Me! Oh My! Oh Almafi!

Wow, it has been a while since my last blog post, but boy have I been busy! The Monday following my return from Croatia, I had Italian class in the morning (as always), but instead of having it in the classroom, my professor took us to Mercado Centrale for a scavenger hunt where we got to locate the specific prices of different common groceries like "pomodoro" (tomato) or "fragole" (strawberry). It was a nice change of pace compared to normal class and my group came in second so we got bonus points! The rest of the day I just played catch-up from missing the weekend with work and homework and then I was also able to row too.

On Tuesday, I had Oil Painting class where we worked on our painting of statues of various Italians (mine looked like a sickly patient in a hospital), so I was glad when our professor decided that we could be finished with that painting and get ready for a new still-life painting the following week. Since Tuesdays are normally my busiest days, I would generally be running off to cooking class right after my painting class was finished, but this week, my professor for cooking, (who is actually a total boss) knows many of the local popular restaurants in Florence and so he organized for us to go out to dinner for a typical Italian-style meal that night right by the Duomo. Before dinner, I was able to take a double out on the Arno with Massimo and I am so proud to say my blisters are coming back!!! (its a rowing thing...if you don't get it well then you just don't get it).

Don't mind me, I'm just rowing on the Arno

What a sad looking painting

I GOT A FIRENZE UNI

Dinner Selfie

 The dinner that we were able to enjoy was comprised of five different courses and unlimited wine topped off with a shot of Limoncello at the end. Normally, we were told, a dinner like this would cost 50 euros per person...but because my professor is such a boss, we each got the meal for 25 euros. The first course was a ricotta and egg souffle with edamame, extra virgin olive oil, and tomatoes (literally melt in your mouth goodness). The second course was comprised of a flaky pastry-like dish. It was much like a croissant topped with Mushroom Marsala sauce. The third course was my second favorite for sure. This included a cheesy risotto with asparagus and tomatoes as well as an al-dente pasta with meat sauce. Yes. It was that good. The fourth course was a very rare steak (filet cut) topped with Parmesan flakes and basil , Zach for sure would have liked it. Lastly, the grand finale. The dessert at this ristorante is one that I will surely be returning for. Made of a dark chocolate shell, it was filled with a light lemon creme and topped with strawberries...honestly tantalizing. Then of course, the Chianti wine was super dry and super good and the Limoncello was good as well but definitely not as good as that found in Sorrento (I talk about this trip later in the blog) . I have become quite the wine connoisseur here. After dinner, I went home and studied for my Italian quiz the next morning, and then watched a couple of episodes of Scandal--my mom got me hooked on the show--and then went to bed.

 Wednesday went as usual, I got up, went to Italian class, took my quiz, and went to the boathouse. After my workout, I went home and made some of the risotto that I learned how to make in cooking class for my roommates (and they loved it--I mean come on, I made it). Then I went to drawing class and drew a stump for three hours...it was about as entertaining as it sounds. I grabbed groceries with Krista, and came home and worked on some design homework. Thursday, I had design from 9am-2:30pm but it seemed to fly by and then I went to row and kind of hung out for a while.

Friday is when things started to get exciting. Realizing that I literally had no responsibilities, no trips, and no prior commitments, I decided to sleep in...SHOCKING...I know.  I slept in while my roommates did an extra-curricular through school and we planned on eating together at the Central Market to try "Trippa" (thats cow stomach on a sandwich...they told me it was good) for lunch. A little while after I woke up, I noticed that the sky was looking gloomy so I got dressed and made sure to put on a rain coat, when all of a sudden, THIS happened:

Florence...not prepared

Yeah, so that is hail. A freak hailstorm happened on Friday. My roommates came tearing into the apartment, lucky enough to have just missed all of the hail that was falling to the ground. One of my classmates has a professor that has lived in Florence for 49 years and he said that he "has never seen anything like it". So you could say that I was here when history was made. Nbd. Since there was a freak storm, the top of the Mercado Centrale was flooded so we had to settle for Trippa from a food truck. It was not good. I will be going back for the good stuff.

Panino Trippa

The rest of the day on Friday, we got prepared for our trip to the Almafi Coast which would include Pompeii, Sorrento (where Reese Witherspoon recently vacationed as informed by my mom), and Capri. In two days. So it was a lot. First, our bus left Florence at 6am on Saturday morning and we had about a 5 1/2 ride to get to Pompeii-- after a 12 hour ride each way to and from Split, Croatia on a bus, literally nothing can phase me. We arrived in Pompeii at about 12:15pm and we were given time to grab some lunch before we started our tour. It is crazy to think that in a place like Pompeii, where the nation was so strong and mostly wealthy, that something as crazy as what happened COULD happen. It was certainly a humbling experience to walk the ruins.

After the tour was over, we were all told to meet at a specific location and get ready to get on the bus for our ride to Sorrento. I saw a really cool rock up against a column that I wanted a picture on...so I climbed onto the rock and asked my friend to take one. No more than five seconds later, a little guard about 5 feet tall came running in my direction using all of the air in his lungs to blow his whistle and shake his finger at me (imagine an exasperated Oompa Loopa). So I got down. Granted, my professor was sitting on the same rock so I thought everything was kosher...I was clearly wrong.

The people of Pompeii had a sense of humor

 The picture on the left was seen during the walking tour. It is kind of difficult to see, but there is male genitalia carved into the rock between the street signs. Our guide told us that the Pompeian people were very open about sexuality and that they had quite the sense of humor. 

Wanna take a bath? The bathhouse in Pompeii

Pizza in Sorrento, Italy...what a great face.

When we arrived in Sorrento, we were given the keys to our rooms and we had about two hours before we were going to be going to dinner. The professor on the trip was super familiar with a restaurant there and so we got to have pizza in Sorrento. I do have to say that this pizza closely rivaled the pizza that I tried in Split Croatia but I certainly cannot choose a determined victor.

Afterwards, the professor, (whose name is Luca...not that you need to know that but he is great and it adds character to my blog), took us to a Limoncello factory where...yeah you guessed it, they make Limoncello. There, we got to try Limoncello, Meloncello, Limoncello candies, chocolate-covered Limoncello, frozen Limoncello...basically anything you can imagine with Limoncello, we tried.

Limoncello Factory in Sorrento, Italy

Following our tour of the Limoncello factory, we went back to our hotel, got changed, and explored the nightlife of Sorrento which really is nothing to brag about, then we went to bed.
 We got up and were ready for our ferry ride to Capri at 8am. After about an hour ride, we arrived in Capri...its gorgeous. We were given a private boat tour around the island and we got to see all sorts of amazing things. We went to the blue gratto, (if you do not know what that is, google it), and it was just as gorgeous as all of the pictures you see online. Following the blue gratto, we went back to the main port and we were given a tour at the top of the mountain of Capri by Luca. There, I am convinced, is the best gelato in the world. To top off the fact that their gelato is delicious, they hand-make all of their icecream cones. That's right. In a waffle maker. Hand-rolled. Still warm when you eat it. Amazing.

We then hung out at the beach for a couple of hours and got to explore until it was time to take the ferry back to Naples. Once we got to Naples, we got on our bus and headed home to Florence...we arrived at 12am. It was a long weekend for sure, but totally 100% definitely worth it.

An underwater shot of my fraaaands in the Mediterranean

"The cave of Lovers"

After thinking about it for a little while, I have been to the Mediterranean, Dalmatian, and Almafi coasts all in one month. While taking classes in Italy and rowing on the Arno River. To top it off, I will be going to Switzerland and Lake Como this weekend and I was able to score a discount code that has given me the ability to afford Oktoberfest for next weekend where I will be meeting a fellow classmate from Marietta and Zach's cousin Matt. 

HOW CRAZY IS MY LIFE RIGHT NOW?! I mean never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I could work to make all of this happen, but I did it! I am beyond grateful for this opportunity but it is a sad realization that it is already 1/3 of the way over.

Some more fun facts about Italy and me (mostly me):

1. Smoking is a very common thing here and I hate smoke.

2. If you form relationships with locals, in my case at the boathouse, you are LITERALLY set for help with any troubles you may have.

3. Pompeii has very aggressive street vendors that scoff at you if you try to haggle with them for stickers.

4. The beaches of Capri are all rocks, so bringing your hand-towel thinking it will be small, easy to pack and useful for drying off is wrong. Just wrong. 

5. Some Florentines have this funny way of erging at the boathouse but it would be inappropriate to laugh since, ya know, you are using their facilities and all.

6. I take back what I said about the water in Cinque Terre. The water surrounding Capri was saltier.

7.  Yes, I still carry my nalgene with me everywhere. Yes, sometimes I get weird looks.

8. Converse are all the rage in Florence...as well as a "90's grunge" look (as my roommate refers to it...then again she is a fashion major so she knows all of that technical terminology for a specific style).

9. I miss Chobani still.

10.  I am so glad I took 5 years of Spanish because Italian is extremely similar to Spanish.

11. My apartment is not even 100 yards from the Ponte Vecchio, and its tourist season still. Enough said.

12. I found (okay so Zach found) a site in which I am able to use Netflix!!!!! ...my wifi is still the same though, haha.

13. Thanks again for reading my blog! Get ready for some craziness in Switzerland and Lake Como, Oktoberfest, and many more places to come! (There will be GoPro pics...get excited)

Come on, can you say beautiful or what?
 (on top of Capri)

In Capri they hand-make perfume from their
 flowers, "Carthusia"...it smells divine.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

The morning after the long walk to McDonald's with no success, most of my roommates relaxed during the day and hung around the apartment. When I woke up at about 10am, we had a meeting with one of the representatives from our school and I went to the boathouse to get in a good workout and be able to relax. After some good cardio, I came back to our place, napped, and my roommates and I went to Conad to grab some groceries. We decided on making pizza, although we never really thought about the fact that the Barilla Pizza Kits would be in Italian (imagine that)...so we spent about 45 minutes online looking for the directions in English. Finally, we found the directions, in English, on Pinterest, pinned by a British woman. It was not the usual, pasta, and I can honestly say that the pizza was delicious. We got fresh mozzarella, pesto, vodka sauce, and vegetables. We had leftover pasta and so one pizza became vodka sauce pizza with penne noodles tossed in pesto sauce with mozzarella on top and the other had vegetables, mozzarella, and prosciutto. Natalie, Krista and I were quite impressed with our creation, but then again, how can you mess up pizza?

Natalie and I eating the Penne tossed in pesto

 

Have you ever seen two better-looking pizzas?

After dinner, Nina came over and her, Krista and I decided (very late might I add) that we would take a spur of the moment trip on Saturday to Pisa. After doing some research, we came to the conclusion that Pisa only had its most famous attraction and so we also decided that we would stop by Lucca that day too. Lucca is not known for anything particularly significant but it is a beautiful little town that is only a 20 minute train ride from Lucca so why not? We left for Pisa from the Santa Maria Novella train station at 9:05AM. The train ride took about an hour and twenty minutes and we arrived in Pisa. Sure enough, if you are ever curious as to what all is in Pisa, it is the leaning tower. That's it. We walked around by the leaning tower with tourists upon tourists doing the same pose and expression for every selfie and photo you can think of. I tried photo-bombing, and was quite successful.

Clearly I was strong enough to hold up this building

Me, Krista, and Nina in Pisa

I like my men with rock-hard abs

I was able to get a lot of shots with my GoPro on my trip this day, I would highly, highly suggest a GoPro to anyone that is interested in the ability to take selfies in any situation.

Oh hey there, leanin' tower

We wandered around Pisa for a while and then we got on the train again for our 20 minute ride to Lucca. Once we arrived in Lucca, we were overwhelmed by the city walls surrounding the entirety of the city itself. We were all hungry so we stopped by a local Trattoria (cafe/restaurant in Italy) for some lunch. There, I had the absolute best Pasta a la Bolognese that I believe I will ever have in my life. The handmade pasta and Bolognese sauce certainly hit the spot. After, we explored Lucca a little bit before our train back to Florence (Firenze). We found a huge annual farmer's market was going on and it was really really cool. I guess I didn't realize that pumpkins were a thing in Italy, but believe me, they are. I don't speak very much Italian, but it was quite clear that there was a competition for the largest pumpkin, and these things were massive!

 

These things were absolutely HUGE

We tried to do this new thing where we take a video at every new place we go saying basically the same thing. So that's what that is.

Before leaving for Florence again, we were all very excited that there was a free bathroom, (going to a public restroom in Europe almost always costs money...), but we were all very shocked at what we found. I will just let the picture do it justice. When we got back to Firenze, we were all tired so we went to bed. On Sunday, we worked on homework in the apartment, I went rowing, and then Krista and I went to explore Florence. We ran into a red carpet event that was going on, a concert for Andre Bocelli, where we were kindly asked to take a picture of a beautiful couple. We found Piazza de Michelangelo and after climbing a mountain, its views were so absolutely incredible. We were also able to do some writing in our respective journals at the Santa Croce (gorgeous as well).  

Santa Croce

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Fountain of Neptune

Panorama at Piazza de Michaelangelo

  

Monday was pretty dull. I went to class, got food at the Mercado Centrale, went rowing, and then relaxed. Florence can not always be rainbows and butterflies and I have begun to experience some FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) recently so it has been difficult. I do not want to sound ungrateful because I am so so so happy to be here but missing out is certainly difficult. Tuesday was really busy as usual. Cooking class was fun though! We learned how to make some awesome Risotto con Salsiccia and homemade Hazelnut cake with our cooking uniforms...delicious! I went rowing after class and then chilled at the apartment. Wednesday was one of my friends' 21st birthday, and conveniently T-Pain his very first concert ever in Florence, at Club Space, so we all went of course!

Hazelnut cake preparation

 On Thursday, I had my usual Graphic Design course from 9AM-2:30PM. I really enjoy that class. Then, I went rowing, showered, packed, scarfed down some dinner, and headed for the bus for my 12 hour ride to Split, Croatia. (12 hours is crazy, I know, but it is Croatia, come on) -- Also, for those who were concerned about my safety (my family especially), Croatia is 96%  Roman Catholic, and not Muslim. There was a civil war that occurred there roughly 10 years ago in the north, I was in the south, I was safe.-- My hostel was located in Dioklecijan's Palace which dates back to the 5th century (can you say AMAZING?!)...where Game of Thrones was being filmed as I was there!! When we arrived on Friday, I decided to go white-water rafting on the Cetina River (come on, we all know I would do that). We spent most all of the day rafting and cliff jumping and it was really very very awesome.

Nina, Me, and Krista in our wetsuits

Mid-Rafting Shot

Cliff jumping happened, much to the chagrin of some of my relatives, and it was so so worth it. We got to go through a natural waterfall and drink water from the Cetina River. Afterwards, we had a local Croatian lunch of cod, potatoes, wine, and bread. I have never had the experience of eating a whole fish before, but that happened. Once we got back to the hostel, we showered, relaxed and hung out. At about 9PM, we went out to look for some dinner. We found a pizza place and I can honestly say that Croatian pizza is far better than Italian pizza. Afterwards, we found a local pub and it was jammin. We met a guy named Nick who was from an area of Michigan where Nina was close to! He invited us to come back on Saturday night too and he would show us around. 

On Saturday morning, we woke up, ate the free breakfast provided to us, and then we waited for an island-hopping trip through the Adriatic Sea to a couple different islands of Croatia. It was breath-taking to see all of the different land there and the water was a blue color that seemed almost unreal.

Nina, Krista and I on the island-hopping cruise

I got to use my GoPro for some awesome shots again and it was a lot of fun. While island-hopping, the chef on the boat cooked us lunch and I had the cod again (only this time I felt like a pro because I had done it before). We had lunch, and headed back to our hostel where we were able to shower and relax some more before we found food for dinner. We got a Mediterranean wrap made with pizza crust (SO GOOD) and then headed back to get changed for the night. We got changed and then headed out into Deoklecijan's palace where a restaurant had its doors open with live music playing. The performer was playing "Rollin' on the River" and "Stand By Me" ...not simultaneously of course, that would be quite difficult.

Nina, Me, and Krista at Krka National Park

Nina, Krista and I thought, "What the heck?!" so, we decided to dance in the middle of Deoklecijan's Palace, under the stars to Stand By Me and a few other popularized American songs, with a couple other people while tons of people watched. It was pretty surreal...I mean, I, Katie Williams, was just dancing in this building that dates back to the 5th century with two great friends and an Englishman (He proudly announced this during a song and followed it with a 'Yeehaw') IN CROATIA.

Easy, Breezy, Beautiful...Croatia

After a few more songs, we decided to head back to the pub where we each got a stein of beer and hung out with Nick again from the previous night, as well as two German guys that we met, Alexander and Ernie. It was very very fun. The next morning at 8AM, we left Split, Croatia to head back to Italy. On the way back, we stopped by Krka National Park where we got to see some incredible waterfalls and great scenery. Then, we got back onto the bus to get to Florence. We crossed through Slovenia where we had our passports checked (Another stamp in my Passport!), and then we promptly arrived in Florence at 12AM. Needless to say, it was a long weekend, but one that I will honestly cherish forever.

More Fun Facts about Florence:

1. The Euro will make you feel like you have no money when compared to the Croatian Kuna.

2. Croatians are much nicer than I expected.

3. Italian rowing unis are much more comfortable than American unis.

4. I saw a nude beach in Croatia. You don't want to see it. 

5. Sunscreen costs the equivalent of about 25 dollars in Italy. Be grateful.

6. It took me 5 hours to load all of the pictures and video in this blog because the wifi in Italy is very slow. If you didn't read all of this, please do so.

7. I am so grateful for people that follow my story, so thanks for that.

8. Croatian Pizza, Seafood, and potatoes....BOMB.

9. If you ever meet Marco, our white-water rafting instructor in Croatia, do not mention my boat, he was quite annoyed with us.

10. Lastly, go. Just go travel and do whatever you can to do it while you still have time. I have learned more about myself in the past three weeks when compared to the same amount of time in the States.

The water in Croatia really is this blue...

At the Pub in Croatia (I now have that Stein)

Imagine Your Most Embarrassing Moment and Multiply it By Five

Ciao! Italia sta bellisima. Mi chiamo Katie. Dove Mars, Pennsylvania. Studio a Marietta College e io studio graphic design. So basically, what I just said was, Hello! Italy is beautiful. My name is Katie. I am from Mars, Pennsylvania. I go to Marietta College where I study graphic design. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the extent of my knowledge of Italian language...with the exception of numbers and letters and things like "please" and "thank you" of course. As of today, Friday September 5th, 2014, I have officially completed my first week on classes, and boy was it a whirlwind.

So when I left off, I  had somehow been mistaken for J-Lo on my first night in Florence, casual I know. On Thursday, my roommates and I had orientation for a good majority of the day so after it was over, it was nice to come back and relax. On Friday, I woke up and checked out the boathouse that I will be rowing out of. Located a few minutes from my apartment, it is situated right along the Arno river. There, I met Alberto who gave me a grand tour of the boathouse and everything it had to offer (which really is quite impressive once you are inside).

Soooo this is part of the weight room

Alberto showing me the boathouse

One of the many produce stands in Mercado Centrale

I was also able to meet Massimo, who thankfully speaks fluent Italian and English, (which made me feel very comfortable while there). I warmed up and did a few 1000m pieces with him on the erg and then I was able to go ahead and lift. Later that day, my roommates and I found a grocery store called "Despar" and after seeing the cost, you must be "DESPAR-ATE" to go there. I would later find out from Massimo that this grocery was a common tourist trap. When we got back with all of our groceries (minus chicken breast that I had been craving), we made our first apartment dinner and cheered to a successful semester with a bottle of Chianti from "our dude" down the street.

Basically, there is a tiny shop that a man runs down the street from our apartment that has fresh fruits, vegetables, some lunch meats, alcohol and other small items. From day 1, we called him our dude, and after introducing myself to him purely through gestures and such, I found his name to be Marcella. I quite like him because he gave me an extra tomato and a pepper for simply introducing myself. He also said "Ciao, Bella" to me as I left...pretty much a day-maker.

Monterosso in Cinque Terre (GoPro Edition)

On Saturday morning, some of my roommates, along with other people in the Athena program, signed up with an organization called "Bus2alps" to go on a day trip to Cinque Terre (Chiin-quay Tear-ae; meaning Five Cities). Many people are probably familiar with this location due to it topping the charts as one of the many beautiful places in the world, characterized by colorful buildings built into the countryside. We left on a bus at 7am for the two hour drive to La Spezia. From there, we took a quick train to Cinque and started the day. I can quite easily say that nothing compares to the beauty of Cinque. This is also where Foccacia and Pesto was invented, so naturally, that's what you've got to get there, no Italian restaurant in the States can ever come close to comparing to these dishes in Cinque.

 

About 1/3 of the way up the mountain on our hike

After lunch, each of us were given the option to either hike to the next city or take a train and relax on the beach. Naturally, I hiked, and it really was A HIKE. The views though, were absolutely incredible. Once we got to the end of the trail, we began singing "We Are the Champions" with many stares from the Italians there. Soaked in sweat from the hike, I grabbed a drink from the popular bar there, and got into the Mediterranean to cool off (the water is suuuuuper salty and I would highly recommend NOT opening one's eyes underwater). When it was time to head back to Florence, we were all so tired and crashed once we got to our apartment.

 

On Sunday, I decided to go rowing...and so marks the most embarrassing moment of my life. I wanted to go out on the water instead of training on the ergs and so I got out a single and one of the workers at the boathouse was pushing me off the dock. He was pushing me off while simultaneously lifting my blade into the air. If you know anything about rowing, you know this is not going to be good. Just as I began my decent into the gross Arno, a quad of four 60+ year old men were docking. They saw what was happening and began to violently throw their hands into the air (you think Italians speak with their hands? They do. Very much so.). When I came back up from under the water, totally ready for my close-up, I lifted myself up onto the dock and got the boat out. It just so happened that Massimo and one of his friends decided to dock at the same moment as well. Massimo interpreted the situation and spoke to Mauro (the most intimidating of the four men). Mauro, who has a good 70 pounds on me, said that from now on, I would row with him. In a double. Did I mention he speaks no English? Afterwards, Massimo was nice enough to go out in a double with me and I was so grateful. That night, we had a potluck dinner with some other people in our program to kickoff the semester. We also got gelato (my first time) and it really is something else, totally delicious.

On Monday, I only had Italian class at 9AM-10:15AM, so afterwards, I went to the boathouse again and then came back and cleaned my room, haggled for a leather bag, and then just did some stuff around the apartment and explored a little bit around Florence.

Tuesday is my busiest day of the week, so I have Oil Painting from 9AM-2:30PM and then I have Italian Cooking class from 3-5:30PM. Italian Cooking class is going to be totally awesome. My professor has cooked from the age of 13 and is super into what he does. We get an official chef jacket and hat and apron and we get to cook in Mercado Centrale  in the brand new state-of-the-art kitchen there (the Central Market with fresh produce and meats and basically anything you can imagine). After class, I went to the boathouse again and got in a workout and met a couple of the rowers there.







On Wednesday, I had Italian Language again at 9AM and then I had drawing 101 with one of my roommates from 3-6:40PM. Bus2alps was holding a dinner at Al Gatto for 15 euros with unlimited wine and water, antipasto, four types of pasta, and some great people. My roommates and I went and then after, we were given a free drink at a local bar. We got our free drink and then spent some time together out with some of the Bus2alps reps.

Left to Right: Nina, Natalie, Krista and Me at Niama

Yesterday, I had graphic design class from 9AM-2:30PM. My professor was "known as the best designer in Italy for quite some time" so that was pretty awesome. When I got back to my room, I took a nap and then headed to the boathouse. There, I finally met Filippo, who I had been emailing back and forth with for a while about coming to the boathouse...very much a Jesse Williams look alike. I also met Pedro, a rower out of school in Seattle...such a small world. Afterwards, I came back to the apartment, we cooked dinner, and then some friends came over and we went out to "Club Blanco" which was a pretty nice venue for a club for sure. There was a 70+ year old man out the night before when we went out and sure enough, he was at Blanco last night. Imagine Bob Barker plus 75 pounds and an even cheesier suit. Italian men in general, feel entitled at bars and I'm quick to give them a dose of reality if they try to do anything more than talk to me. When we got back to our apartment, some of my roommates wanted McDonalds (at 3AM) so we decided to walk there. Not knowing the precise location was our first downfall. After about a mile walk, I made the executive decision to go back to the apartment. So that's pretty much it since last time, haha.

Fun Facts about Florence:
1. Toilets do not have handles to flush, they have buttons on the wall.
2. If for some reason you thought that Italians drive on the opposite side of the road, they do not.
3. Police Officers can ask you anytime and anywhere to see your passport, and if you dont have it, you will be fined (I'm convinced they see it as a game).
4. There is not a microwave in our apartment, its like going back to the 50's, only, I don't make a good housewife.
5. Nutella is so much of a thing that it comes in big glass jars.
6. In some cases, wine is cheaper than bottled water.
7. Skype, Hulu, and any other video/tv show/movie streaming program "Has not reached" Italy yet.
8. The Italian accent is very cute when spoken by little children.