This Is What Dreams Are Made Of

One of the best experiences of my life was traveling abroad to Europe. As my graduation present, my best friend and I visited Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome. Since I was young I have always dreamed of going to Italy. Coming from a very Italian family, I was always told about Italy but never had the chance to experience it.  I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to take on the culture and language of Italy.

Our first stop was Paris. Most of my time in Paris I was jetlagged, but I still had a superb time. We visited the Eiffel Tower, Garden on Versailles, the Louve and many more! We had a nice dinner right near Notre Dame; it was really quite beautiful.

Next we traveled to Venice, I fell in love from the moment I got off the plane.  The city was just so breathtaking. It was very interesting how you can only travel by boat to get from place to place. We got a tour of the city seeing the Saint Mark’s Square and went on a gondola ride. 

Our next stop was Florence. In Florence, we took a cooking class and made pizza and gelato. We spent hours at the leather markets outside and a huge cheese and meat market called Mercato Centrale Firenze.

While in Rome, we visited the Trevi fountain. It is said that if you stand with you back to the fountain and throw a coin over your shoulder while making a wish, your wish will come true.

The food in Italy was so amazing and I had gelato once sometimes even twice a day! I have nothing negative to say about Italy, I sincerely loved it. It was truly an amazing experience. I am so fortunate to have had the experience to travel abroad and can not wait to visit again.

Where is your favorite place to travel?

Vocabulary

Abroad (averb)- to a foreign country

Thrilled (verb)- sudden feeling of excitement

Opportunity (noun)- make it possible to do something

Jetlagged (noun)- tired – occurs when you travel long flights during several time zones

Superb (adjective)- excellent

Breathtaking (adjective) – astonishing- take someone’s breathe away

Gondola (noun)- boat used on Venetian Canals

Gelato (noun)- Italian style ice cream

Negative (adjective)- not desirable

Sincerely (adverb)- genuine way/ honest

Vocabulary Activity:

Match the words with the correct definition.

Negative                                                                      Tired

Superb                                                                         Italian- Style ice cream

Jetlagged                                                                      Boat used on Venetian Canals

Breathtaking                                                                Make it possible to do something

Opportunity                                                               Sudden feeling of excitement

Gondola                                                                      To a foreign country

Sincerely                                                                     Astonishing

Gelato                                                                         Excellent  

Abroad                                                                        Genuine/ honest

Thrilled                                                                       Not desirable

Grammar Point:

Exclamation point:

An exclamation point is a type of punctuation mark that goes at the end of a sentence. They are mostly used to express excitement. They are also used to express surprise, astonishment, or any other such strong emotion.

Grammar Activity:

State if the sentence should have an exclamation point.

I just got a brand new T.V. in my room

I finished my dinner, so now I have to do my homework

My battery on my phone is low, so now I have to charge it

I just found out I am going to Disney World

Can you find the exclamation point in the paragraph above?