Walking in Ferrara, plus. . .is my Italian improving?

We were finally able to get out for a bit today-The weather, by no means balmy, made it very pleasant to walk about the town.
We thought you would like the reflection of the cathedral in the McD's window.



Sidestreet.





My cousin asked if I was able to improve my Italian---an Italian friend asked me the same thing this morning and here is my risposta:

Sono un po' scoraggiata con il mio italiano---pensavo che fosse migliore che sembra qui--Tutti a Roma mi hanno risposta in inglese. So che la gente li e sempre in fretta. . .in Ferrara, poteva capire piu, ma quando ho parlato, mi sono sbagliata frequentamente.

Or, in other words:

I'm a little discouraged. I thought I was doing better than it seems here. In Rome, everyone responded in English--I know that people there are always in a hurry. In Ferrara, I could understand more, but when I spoke, I frequently made mistakes. I'm letting myself off the hook a little bit--it's challenging to learn a new language at age . . .and I didn't work on it as consistently as I might have (something about working). I do need to get more practice speaking and will try to venture into un scambio di lingua via Skype (language exchange) when I get home.
I am able to understand much more on television (a mixed blessing) and was able to follow most of the interview responses.

A presto (see you soon!)