A Final Retrospective

As my time in Italy is over, I offer a final retrospective on the 3 topics I chose to cover during my stay. I will attempt to summarize as best I can the basics of the beverages in Italy, soccer in Italy and Europe and Campo de' Fiori and other piazzas.
The beverages in Italy are varied and unique. Not only the beverages you get are different, often times the way you order them (i.e. cafés) is different. Wine and coffee, as you might have been guessing, is one of the best deals you can get. Other beverages, such as water at dinner, can be costly. My advice would be to try a wide variety when you can. You will never know what you might like until you try it. And if you don’t, it will only increase your appreciation for American beverages.
Soccer in Italy is truly a way of life. It is often times at the center of conversation and weekend entertainment. It is a pastime for youth, and a lifelong love for adults. The local players are celebrities, which is not a surprise given the adoring support their clubs receive. One doesn’t have to go much further than to stop at Campo de’ Fiori on a Sunday afternoon during the season to see the excitement and emotions of these fans who seem to live and die on every goal. While soccer may not be one’s sport of choice, the respect for its importance in Italy cannot be denied.
Lastly, piazzas in Italy are a source of much interaction in Rome. A quintessential example of a piazza is the one in Campo de’ Fiori. The campo changes into different this depending on the hour of the day. In the morning it is a vibrant open air market, as you get a true taste of Italy as you struggle to order prosciutto from an elderly woman who speaks only Italy. At night, it is an area filled with tourists and Italy young people alike. In a given night you will meet a diverse variety of people. And one can’t even count the number of times a walking vendor will come up to them with the same old sales pitch in a given night. The campo and piazzas in general, are experiences not to be missed.