This Thanksgiving was different from every other one. Instead of eating turkey and spending time with my family in Iowa, I was taking a tour of Rome, Italy.

My sister is student teaching in Rome this semester, so my parents and I decided to visit her.

When we arrived in Italy we went through customs and found our luggage, which was quite interesting because we had no idea where to go and everything was in Italian — very confusing.

Once we left the airport we discovered something: The driving there is insane. I don’t recall seeing a speed limit sign, and they drive and park wherever they want — I would never try driving there myself.

On our first day, we walked around our neighborhood. The first place I ate at was a pizzeria where the employees didn’t speak much English, so I just pointed to a picture on the wall.

While there, I got a slice of margherita pizza, a pastry, a Sprite and a coffee for four Euros. It’s pretty reasonable to eat out, although the exchange rate was around $1.30 per Euro.

My sister took us around the city, and to Vatican City, which was amazing and even more beautiful at night.

We took a full-day tour through Rome also. Some of the big things we saw were the Vatican City, Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum and Pantheon.

It was amazing to me all the detail they put into every square inch of the monuments, statues and pieces of artwork. Every corner you turn, you see another piece of work — something you can’t get in Iowa.

We took one day to go to Florence. It’s fairly cheap once you get to Italy to travel to other places nearby.

Even though it rained almost every day I was there and my feet killed by the end, Rome is the most amazing place I’ve ever been to and I definitely plan on going back as soon as I can.

— Danielle Gibbons is a freshman is pre-journalism and mass communication from Johnston

SIDEBARS:

Major differences:

Bathrooms:

Companies don’t let people use their bathroom unless they’ve purchased something

Pedals are located below the sink, instead of knobs on the top

Men and women’s restrooms are sometimes together

A wall button, instead of a handle on the tank, to flush toilets

Many toilets didn’t have toilet seats

Many places didn’t have bathrooms open to the public

Restaurants:

Water is carbonated, unless “natural” water is requested.

A large bottle of water is supplied for the whole table, rather than a server who brings refills.

Waiters don’t bring the check until diners ask for it.

Gelato is common, and very tasty.

Traffic:

Almost everyone drives tiny cars so that they can weave in and out of traffic

Motorbikes are common

The roads are made of cobblestone, which are very hard to walk on in heels

Dogs are everywhere — people bring them into stores and some restaurants

Favorites:

Trevi Fountain … but not the plane ride

Vatican City … but not the language barrier

Tips:

Don’t plan things for each day; plans will always change. There are so many things to see and there are always tours you can join when you get there.

Learn a few main phrases and words in Italian before you arrive.