Hi guys!

I have been here for exactly a month tomorrow, which means we have 2 more weeks left in Rome. The other Pitt students and I have absolutely fallen in love with Trastevere, the part of Rome that we are living in. The restaurants, people, and atmosphere are part of the reason that we love it here so much.

There is a restaurant here called “La Tavernetta 29 da Tony and Andrea.” This is definitely our favorite place in Rome. The food is incredible and because we have gone so many times, we have gotten to know Tony and Andrea. They are the restaurant owners and are so kind and generous. I have never gotten something here that I haven’t loved. If anyone reading this is planning a trip to Rome, I highly recommend this spot! This restaurant feels like home and everything is delicious.

We love speaking Italian which has given us the opportunity to meet a lot of new people. We mostly meet Italians our age, but have also sometimes had the chance to meet people outside of our age group. The people that we meet are almost always super nice. I have noticed that a lot of Italians appreciate when people from other countries try to speak to them in their language. A lot of Americans that are in Italy are here on vacation and can only speak English.

The atmosphere here is something that I will miss so much when I leave Italy. During the day, Trastevere has a chill environment with both city parts and grassy areas with trees and beautiful views. When you look around you can see people eating at outside restaurants no matter where you are. You pass open air markets and will often hear music. By night, the streets fill with people of all ages hanging out with friends, going on walks, or eating a late dinner. Walking through the cobblestone streets of Rome at night and seeing everyone enjoying themselves is going to be something that is hard to replace once I am back home.

There are so many things to love about Rome, but the things I mentioned really stuck out to me. I am so excited to finish out my classes and continue to travel around Rome and also Italy as a whole during these last two weeks.

Ciao!

Shannon