As a Spanish speaker I find it much easier to understand spoken Italian than spoken Portuguese. However it's much easier to read Portuguese than Italian.

Also same grammar and even many expressions are the same (for example, we both ask people's name by saying what translates as "how do you call yourself", which is also the same as the French).

Then there are also all sorts of quirky cultural similarities - I remember being in this tiny village in the mountains in Peru and they had a bullfight in this tiny arena were the "bull" was really more of a calf and a guy playing a clarinette when the bullfighter went in, with people joking about how that seriously scrawny looking bull was a "cow", and all of that was just like it would happen in Portugal, up to and including the music being played on the clarinette. Bullfighting isn't even all that big in Portugal anymore, but it was funny how in a Spanish-speaking country a continent away there were so many cultural similarities in this, even down to how people made fun of the "cow".

I'm so confused. But thank you and I love you for helping try and understand.