I want to start my first blog post from Italy by saying that traveling abroad can be an extremely challenging experience. Culture shock is a real thing and it even affects the way you perceive the authentic cuisine of the country you are in. So far, Italian food is nothing like Italian restaurants in America have made it out to be.

I am currently studying in Urbino, Italy. After being in Italy for about three days, our professors took us on a trip to San Marino which is about an hour or so from Urbino. It is a beautiful town on a hilltop and the sites were amazing. I decided to stop there for a snack after walking up some very steep hills.

Pizza is extremely popular in Italy. They have adopted it at almost every tourist area you come across. I ordered margherita pizza for the first time in a small snack bar called La Torretta. My roommate ordered our pizza in Italian and I was thankful she was there to help with the language barrier. The seating area was outside and the view was gorgeous.

The pizza was served on a flat wooden board which made it look even more authentic. After tasting the pizza I found it pleasing, but at the same time not ultimately fulfilling in the flavor department. The ingredients tasted very natural, but also under seasoned to me. The bread was fluffy and took over most of the pizza.

Overall, the pizza wasn’t the best. It is possible that I chose the wrong region of Italy to try my first pizza, but my trip isn’t over with and I plan on exploring more pizza places while I’m in Italy. Nonetheless San Marino has amazing gelato and even better hilltops sites to see.

Even though I didn’t find my dream pizza I did experience a beautiful town.

Jessica Carr is a rising junior in journalism and electronic media. She is studying abroad in Urbino, Italy for the second summer session. She can be reached at [email protected] or followed on Twitter at @JCarr_94.