Things that I've learned so far about Italy..

1. You must be making a ton of money to live here. Even the poorest towns have ridiculous prices.

2. Saying, "I'm American!," to anyone isn't really that effective.

3. Italians love charging Americans more than any other nationality. (i.e Paying 3 Euro for a bottle of water makes you feel better about paying $2.50 for the same thing at an American movie theater.)

4. Venice does not smell as bad as many people will say.

5. but Deodorant means nothing here. Sometimes showers, too.

6. Manual cars rule in Italy and people cringe over using the brakes.

7. There is a very good reason as to why the red traffic light is 3x larger than the yellow and green.

8. The amount of puppies exceed the amount of children and I really like that.

9. Italians love American music. They know all the words. My favorites that I've heard so far are:

-"Mmmm," Crash Test Dummies

-"Crazy," Seal

-"I Can't Dance," Genesis

-"Toxic," Britney Spears

-"She Bangs," Ricky Martin

10. They really love to clean as early as possible in this hotel, even if it is just to make the bed and give you extra towels.

11. The bread really isn't too bad, unless its stale.

12. I really love Angus fillet.

13. Flies love Fructis hair products, not just cheese and vegetables.

14. The concept of my name having a "ph" instead of an "f" is baffling to people. I also find that I have this same problem in America and I can't quite figure it out yet.

15. In order to blend in as a local, keeping a cigarette handy is the key.

Oh, I'm sure there are more...check back.