Observations in Rome

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I've noticed many things in Rome that are different than the U.S.

First, all of the cars are very different. They are much smaller- there are no trucks or SUVs.I think most of the cars are hybrids. There really aren't painted road lanes on the streets. The drivers are crazy! I SAW A 3 WHEELED CAR!!!! It had one wheel in the front middle and 2 in the back. There are no gas stations either. There are pumps on the side of the road like newspaper stands.

Second, customer service is much different here. No one really is willing to go out of their way to help you out. they charge for bread without telling you and if they bring out water and you don't drink it they still charge you! Also, one of the restaurants made a group pay for NAPKINS!! The glass of coke is about $5.00, but wine is like water and only $2.75. one of the girls ordered tortilleni and expected it to be cheese inside and it came out with meat inside and she was a vegetarian. So she asked for something else and the waiter said he was still going to charge her for her original meal!!! That definately wouldn't happen in the states!!

The Pope is treated like a celebrity. On wednesday we saw him at the Vatican Papal Audience and everyone was screaming and going crazy! It was like 12 year old girls at a boy band concert! Also, today we went to the Epiphany Mass at St. Peter's Cathedral. The mass was a little over an hour and a half. There were thousands of people there!! To my surprise, people were not wearing their 'Sunday best.' Most were dressed in jeans and sneakers! It was mostly in Latin, but there were little readings in english, italian, spanish, greek, french, german and some languages I couldn't even recognize!

That's all for now! I miss you all! 😊

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Comments

[Yolanda]

Miss U
Hey Natalie..I miss u already...work is so much different without u there..yesterday I went to Deer Park and I saw Mary and Alexis; they're really nice..but I hope that you are having a wonderful time in Italy!!! Hey by the way...where are the pics from New Years??? K...I'll keep checking your blog it will be my way of staying in contact with u....

[Mom]

wow
Natalie Sounds so interesting the way you describe the differences...it gives me a good perspective of your experiences. I am so glad you are enjoying this trip!! Keep the blogs coming! I love you! Be safe Love Mom

[Debby Andrews]

Ciao!
Keep up the good observations, Natalie. See you this afternoon.