Submitted by Alexandra Cortes on the 2017 winter session program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Psychology …
Hopefully, this program is the beginning of many adventures for me as my goal in life is to travel the world and see as much of it as I can. This is only my second time abroad and it’s the first time that I am doing it on my own. There are already so many things that I have noticed that are different here than back at home. The hardest thing to adjust to is that there is a specific time in the day when almost all of the restaurants and shops close. Between the hours of 3:00 -7:00 pm most of the stores and restaurants close, and so I have to keep that in mind when planning things. After walking around Rome a lot, which is very comparable to New York City, I noticed that a lot of the restaurants are the same. Pretty much every restaurant is your basic pizza and pasta place, and it’s so hard to find some diversity. When I think of my choices back home, there is a little bit of everything and I have so many options at my fingertips.
What’s great about Rome is the easy access to so much history all around you. I have always been fascinated by ruins, with the history and just the overall looks of them being so intriguing. All of the history around Rome really makes me think about how young our own country is, there aren’t any ruins back home that date back nearly as far as anything in Italy. The easy access to all of the sites in Rome is also amazing to me. With just a 25 minute walk, we were able to pass the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and Spanish Steps, and then right down the street we are able to walk to the Colosseum and Roman Forum.
We recently arrived in Florence and I’m already loving this city even more. Rome, when comparing it to Florence, almost seems dirty and too tight. In Florence, everything is so wide open and clean and just calmer. I’m excited to explore Florence and I hope to find even more history and beauty within this city!