Bari Pearlman is a student at the University of Nebraska and an ISA Featured Blogger. She studied abroad with ISA in Rome, Italy.
You start to dream about gelato.
When you come to Rome, a gelato shop will probably be the first place you visit-and it should be. Back home we have ice cream, but here in Rome, gelato is the craze. After the first lick, gelato will probably start to creep into your dreams and you’ll find yourself having the best sleep of your life. At the moment, my dreams have consisted of gelato shops with hundreds of flavors.
Gelato becomes your main meal.
Sorry mom, but I’ve lost track of how many times that I have substituted a real dinner for a large and delicious cone of strawberry and chocolate gelato. To be honest, the serving sizes are so huge here that it makes total sense for a cone of gelato to take the place of a panini or pasta dish. Sometimes I even feel like it’s easier to find a gelato shop than a restaurant that isn’t too busy or full of tourists!
You develop a gelato sense.
No joke. I’ve been here in Rome for about two weeks and I can pretty much guess where a gelato shop is going to be. I like to think that I’ve developed a gelato radar that allows me to tune in on some special gelato frequency. It’s either that or there is basically a gelato shop every few stores in whichever direction you choose.
You start combining radical flavors.
Everyone knows the basic strawberry and chocolate combination, but you know the obsession is real when you just start pointing to random flavors to create new combinations. There’s so much gelato here, why stop at your average flavors? I have yet to find a flavor that doesn’t go well with nutella…
You always carry 2 euros with you.
I have yet to visit a gelato shop where a cone of gelato is more than 2 euros, so now I always make sure I keep that amount with me at all times. Let’s be honest, you never know when you’re going to need a dose of gelato to get you through these hot Italian days!
You think you smell gelato even when you’re nowhere near it: It’s happened to me and I’m not ashamed. Gellaterias have a specific smell when you enter. The smell of fresh baked waffle cones overwhelm you the moment you walk through the door; I swear I have smelt that waffle cone smell even when I’ve been nowhere near gelato…
The world awaits…discover it.
Yessss this is the best!