Breaking News from the Italian Gazette

June 30, 2018

NEWS REPORTER: This is Raffaella Giovanucchi, with a news flash from a month ago–The Kusses went somewhere other than the U.S. Midwest! Yes, you heard me correctly–Debra, Bret and Carly took a trip and it was out of their own country and into this one here, our own Italia. Before they left to go back to their home, I interviewed Debra on what it was like for her to visit our beloved country. Here’s the transcript just as it happened.

RAFFAELLA: Buongiorno, Debra! My name is Raffaella. We are so happy to have you here in Italia! Would you be so kind for to tell all of our listeners how you decided to visit our country, per favore?

DEBRA: Sure. Grazie for asking. Your name is lovely.

RAFFAELLA: Prego! Your name is, I don’t how you say, shorter? Not so easy to say.

DEBRA: I guess it is a little difficult to put the accent on the first syllable for you all. I’ve noticed you accent the next to last syllable in every word, and when an English word doesn’t have a last syllable, you add one. Your language is beautifully lilting.

RAFFAELLA: Prego. Hmmm. Your language is not so lilting, but we learn it in school for all our tourists. Now back to why you came to Italia.

DEBRA: Oh, yeah. Our middle daughter, Erin, wanted some company while she was touring Europe, and Carly wanted to go to Italy, so we came to Italy.

RAFFAELLA: Soooo, you came all this way to spend some time with your daughter?

DEBRA: Yes, and to see Italy. We’d never been here before. We haven’t been much of anywhere for a long time actually.

RAFFAELLA: Ah, where in the U.S. do you live?

DEBRA: Corbin, Kentucky, the home of the original Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.

RAFFAELLA: KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN!!! There’s a real first Kentucky Fried Chicken? That is so good chicken!!

DEBRA: Yes, Colonel Sanders was a real person and his first restaurant is in Corbin and tourists come to see it and take selfies there.

RAFFAELLA: That is so great! I have to tell my family about this! But let’s get back to your trip here to Italia. Where in Italia have you visited?

DEBRA: Venice, Florence, the Amalfi Coast, and Rome.

RAFFAELLA: Ok, so Venezia, Firenze, Amalfi, and Roma. Very big trip, si?

DEBRA: Yes, exhausting, but amazing!

RAFFAELLA: Which place have you enjoyed the most?

DEBRA: The Amalfi coast was spectacular with the sparkling blue Mediterranean meeting the mountains! The traffic around there was frightening, though, with all those tour buses and cars and motorcycles whizzing around the curves with just inches to spare while people walk along the sides of the road. I had to close my eyes quite a bit. And getting to the beach and back on all those steps and inclines just about did me in, but I managed to live through it.

RAFFAELLA: Si, Si, I understand.

DEBRA: We also really enjoyed the Tuscan countryside around Florence. It’s so green and relaxing out there, with the red poppies growing wild, and the vineyards and olive groves. And those medieval villages! More climbing hills and steps, but wow! What a view!

RAFFAELLA: Si, it is quite beautiful out there.

DEBRA: Oh, and we were surprised that we enjoyed Venice so much! It was our favorite city. We thought all that water might be stinky and gross, but it’s not. That city is absolutely unbelievable! It’s other-worldly with all those narrow streets and canals and lovely bridges. And no cars! What a treat that was! Lots of walking, but worth it. Seeing the glass-blowing on the island of Murano and the lace-making on Burano was a treat as well. And the view from the top of that tower in the Piazza San Marco was fantastic!

RAFFAELLA: Did you not enjoy Roma at all?

DEBRA: Siiiiii, we did. Rome is a BIG bustling city with lots of traffic, but it’s also full of crazy old history around every corner! The Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Forum, the Vatican, the Trevi Fountain with the last working Roman aqueduct, walking on parts of the original Roman roads! We thought we were seeing ancient places in the other areas of Italy with their twelfth to sixteenth century cathedrals, towers, and castles, but in Rome we saw relics from the first century and even B.C. times! And the art in the Vatican museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica was overwhelming. Although there was jaw-dropping art everywhere we went on our trip. Your country is amazing.

RAFFAELLA: What was your least favorite part of your time in Italia?

DEBRA: The only thing I can think of are the few people out to make money by insisting on helping with luggage and then demanding too much for it, or pushing you to buy things you don’t want on the streets. And the crowds. You have a lot of tourists!

RAFFAELLA: Si, our economy is dependent on tourism. We are grateful so many people want to come visit our country.

DEBRA: You have so much to see here! You know, we threw our coins over our shoulders at the Trevi Fountain, so that’s supposed to mean we’ll be back.

RAFFAELLA: Ah, that is good! I hope to see you again sometime. If not here, maybe at Kentucky Fried Chicken where you live! That would be so exciting!

DEBRA: Yep, that would be a real treat.

RAFFAELLA: Grazie, Debra, for speaking with us. I hope you will tell all your American friends and family to come visit us here.

DEBRA: I certainly will! Thank you for putting up with us Americans so graciously!

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