Rome: An Italian and an American Perspective

Beatrice travelled to Rome with her family a few months ago. They drove there from her home of Asolo in the Veneto. I took a night train from Paderno with a group of friends. She went with her brother and parents. It was about a five hour drive. She stayed in a hotel in the city center. My friends and I stayed in a cheap hostel outside the city center. Beatrice stayed for one week. I stayed for a weekend. Beatrice went just for shopping. While I was there the guides focused in on Americans and tried to sell us their tours. It was a different case for Beatrice who did not run into this type of haggling. Also while I was there we took a group tour of the Vatican. She did not, she went into St. Peter's church though which is something that my group and I also did. Her family ran into traffic while they were near the center but it got better the farther they moved away from the center. She mostly took a taxi or walked since she was staying in the center. We had to take a train or call a cab to get to Rome's city center. We both ate out for every meal. She ate at her hotel for breakfast. For lunch she had a panino or salad. We had french toast, hot chocolate, and fruit for our breakfast. For lunch we grabbed a quick sandwhich while we were out wandering Rome. For dinner Beatrice and her family enjoyed long meals together. Where as being Americans we are used to eating quickly and not taking our time. However in Rome we adopted the Italian way and had long dinners. The people in Rome targeted us as toruists. For Beatrice it was quite different. The people were "solari", or lively. They tried to comfort her and were very happy and outgoing. They were funny people. Americans in general want to see the tourist attractions. Her family didn't spend a lot of time in musems, which is also the case for other Italians. People from different countries are more apt to go into museums than native Italians. Beatrice just went to shop for a week. My group and I spent most of our time walking down wrong streets and starring at maps. They were both different trips but we both loved our times in Rome.