It's Already/Only Been a Week?

A week ago today I left DC. It has been the longest, yet quickest, week of my life and I have loved pretty much every second of it. All I did today was go to a shopping mall, seeing as going to the storage unit sick did not provide me with a clear head to pack well, but to be honest I was not impressed by many of the Italian stores and only walked away with 2 sweaters.
As a recap of my first week, here are things I learned about Italy, Italian culture and being abroad:
1. It doesn't really matter what you eat, you'll walk it off and be hungry like an hour later. Whether it is a giant plate of gnocchi or pasta, or a cone with two scoops of gelato, with all the walking you eat just about every hour to hour and a half.
2. A cappuccino a day keeps the grumpiness away. The corner illy coffee shop's cappuccino's are only 1 euro and are the best I've had in my entire life. (I thought I made really good ones, but they win by far. They are Artisti del Gusto also!)
3. There is no such thing as a parking lot, or parking space in the eyes of an Italian driver. People park anywhere they want. Parallel, perpendicular, double park, sometimes they just pull over in their lane.
4. If you want to cross the street, you'll have to own the crosswalk. Make Tyra proud and have a confident walk as you cross the street. It's not Hawaii, no one is going to stop for you to let you cross. They may be going fast, but they'll stop before they hit you.
5. Shhh. Obey the quiet hours. From 10pm-7am and 12:30pm-4 don't even think about showering, doing laundry, being noisy in your apartment or even wearing boots in the apartment. National quiet hours shut down most shops and allow for a relaxing nap time.
6. It's not DC, it costs money to see extra the cool things. DC has spoiled me by making their museums free and amazing. The Colosseum may cost 12 euro, but it is 12 euro well spent. Splurge to see the sites.
7. Only pay for the transportation if the ATAC guards are on the bus/tram/train. If you don't want to stick out as a tourist, don't validate any of your tickets when you get on the train or tram or bus. No one pays unless the guards are on the bus to check. If you get caught, have a story or claim you forgot. Just remember to carry extra tickets in your bag.
8. Everything tastes better. The pasta, the produce and even the milk are so much more fresh here. Groceries are cheap and the locals only get a few things at a time. Within a 2 block radius of my apartment there are at least 2 frutterie (fruit shops), 3 main grocery stores, a bread store and a cheese store. Only the Americans shop in large quantities.
9. Book trips through agencies, or find people to stay with. It will save a lot of money and stress if you either have someone to stay with for a vacation weekend, or book through a company like bus2alps so that they deal with getting the hotels and it reduces the price a lot. Going to Florence for the weekend next weekend for 90 euro total, or all of spring break to Greece and the Isles for 550 euro... not too shabby if you ask me.
10. Learn key phrases before venturing out. Whether it is, "How much does this cost?" or "Can I have 2 cappuccinos?" practice makes perfect and some shop owners (like the owner of the corner coffee shop) may think it's cute/entertaining to listen to you try to speak their language.

My 7 week vacation ends tomorrow at 9am with my first class... Ciao.