This is a guest blog post from Chelsea, who studied abroad with CEA Global Education in Rome during the summer of 2012.
I just wanted to take the time to express my love for one of my absolute favorite things that Italy has to offer! I’m not talking about the architecture or the language, or even the beauty it has. I’m talking about gelato!
Before coming to Italy, I had never had it before and I knew very little about it. But I knew that I wanted to try it. Ever since I can remember, I have been an avid ice cream connoisseur. So being I knew that gelato was kind of like ice cream, I knew I ha to test it out. I remember the first time going to go get it; I had no idea how to order, how much, or even which flavor. It didn’t help that everything was written in Italian so ordering was a big challenge. I didn’t know that you could get three flavors, let alone whipped cream on top! Needless to say, once I ordered gelato once, doing it again came very easily for me.
The next problem I faced when getting gelato was where to get it, and which flavors! The best place to get gelato, in my opinion, is a little shop near the Vatican. Our professor showed it to us one day and the rest was history. Their Nutella flavor became my all-time favorite flavor, followed by Strawberry and Pistachio. This place was also the best deal because for the huge amount that you get, you only had to pay 2 Euros, a very good deal in my mind. The next best place to get it was near the Pantheon. They had over 140 flavors, and I was never let down.
I could go on and on about this but I’d never stop. Gelato has now changed my views on ice cream and puts American ice cream to shame. I miss it so I’m on a mission to find the closest thing to it here in the U.S. So far, no such luck. I guess it’s just another special gem unique to Italy.