Tips for Enjoying Italy 37


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It’s always a good idea to research local etiquette before heading to a destination.  It’s a great way to avoid embarrassing situations and possibly insulting your hosts.  With 2013’s Travel Blogger Destination Italy just over a month away, we thought we’d share a few things we’ve learned on our travels through Italy.

Tips for Italy. Go See Write

Italian Bar

Ordering coffee

Ordering coffee sounds easy enough but depending where you are, things may work differently.  In small towns you can usually order first and pay later.  In big cities it’s normal to pay first and give your receipt to the barista to prepare your drink.  Unless they offer table service, in which case you sit or are seated and wait for your server.  Remember that ordering and enjoying your beverage while standing at the bar is cheaper than sitting at a table.

If you order coffee, you’ll be served an espresso so if you’re used to ordering a drip coffee, try an americano.  Want to stick out like a sore thumb? Order a cappuccino in the afternoon.  Milky drinks are reserved for the morning, you may get away with an espresso macchiato after eleven but ordering something with more milk will surely peg you as a foreigner.

Tips for Italy. Go See Write

At The Market

Visiting the market and supermarket

Markets are a great place to observe local culture and discover new foods but don’t touch!  Unlike North American markets where people are usually allowed to touch the produce and pick what they want to buy, in Italy you should not.  Tell the vendor what you would like and they will get it for you, if your Italian isn’t up to snuff, point at the item.  You can always refuse produce that doesn’t look fresh. Some vendors will hand you a plastic bag which means it’s ok to pick your own produce.

If you buy produce at the supermarket make sure to use the plastic gloves (usually found near the weighing station), weigh your produce, print a label and stick it on.  If you bring an unweighed item to the cashier, you will be sent back to weigh it.

In the shops

This one I (Nat) learned the hard way.  If you’re in a nice shop and want to touch something you should ask permission.  Most likely the clerk will get it and hand it to you.  In my case, this is how it happened, the clerk offered me a bag, I pointed at another one and grabbed it myself.  I didn’t realize it was a faux pas and continued to look around with the clerk giving me “the look”.  When I asked for a business card so I could easily find the shop later on I was told they didn’t have any, even though they were clearly placed on the counter.  Learn from my mistake, don’t over step your boundaries.

Tips for Italy - go see write

At The Restaurant

A few things about meals

Repeat after me, dinner starts at 8 pm.  Italians eat late and make it last.  It’s not uncommon for dinners to last 4 or 5 hours but they will never start early.  If you find yourself starving at 6 pm, take part in the wonderful custom of aperitivo, an Italian happy hour of sorts, most bars will give you a snack when you order a drink at this time.

If you want pepperoni on your pizza, don’t ask for peperoni, otherwise you’ll get peppers, not meat.  Ask for salame piccante and you will get something more to your liking.

Another thing that comes to mind is the bill, if you’re done and ready to leave ask for “il conto” otherwise you will find yourself sitting there and getting pissed off when all they’re waiting for is a sign from you.

Tips for Italy. Go See Write

Bologna at Night

Tipping

Although not necessary and not expected, if you get good service it’s ok to leave a little something by rounding up.

Don’t forget your receipt

We were told by several people to always keep receipts from purchases and meals.  Although it never happened to us, the Financial Police in Italy are allowed to stop you and ask for a VAT receipt if they see you leaving an establishment and suspect a transaction took place.  Failure to produce a receipt used to mean that the customer and seller incurred a fine but since 2003 that only applies to the seller.  So if you’re offered a receipt, don’t ask why they insist, just take it.

Tips for Italy. Go See Write

Learning a few key words

We’re always surprised when we hear people talk negatively about their Italian vacation.  We’ve heard it all, Italians are rude, they refuse to speak English, they’re not friendly etc…  We have never had any problems communicating, whether it be with words or sign language, we eventually get our point across.  An effort, as minimal as a smile and a few words, will go a long way.  Here are some words you might find useful:

Per favore: Please

Grazie: Thank you

Prego: You’re welcome

Come sta?: How are you (formal)

Buon giorno: Good morning

Buona sera: Good evening

Buona notte: Good night

Birra: Beer

Cibo: Food

Dove siamo?: Where are we?

Public toilets

Few and far between, public toilets do exist but make sure to bring change as most, if not all, are pay toilets.  If you have to go, you may as well stop at a bar, have a rest and have a coffee or drink and use their toilets.

We hope you find these tips useful.  We believe that a little bit of research and a few simple tips can make a trip much more enjoyable, in any country.  If you go to Italy, let us know if any of these were helpful to you.

What other tips would you add to this list?  

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Together for close to a quarter of a century, A Cook Not Mad‘s Tim and and Nat have indulged their passion for life and experience to the fullest, but they feel most alive when traveling, cooking and eating. An award winning chef, Tim has dedicated his life and career to cooking and the pursuit of honest food. As a professional photographer, Nat records their adventures with incredible pictures of everyday life and the extraordinary. They believe that everyone should get to know a culture by learning about the foods they eat and living like locals as much as they can.

 

 

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About Nat and Tim Harris

Together for close to a quarter of a century, A Cook Not Mad‘s Tim and Nat have indulged their passion for life and experience to the fullest, but they feel most alive when traveling, cooking and eating. An award winning chef, Tim has dedicated his life and career to cooking and the pursuit of honest food. As a professional photographer, Nat records their adventures with incredible pictures of everyday life and the extraordinary. They believe that everyone should get to know a culture by learning about the foods they eat and living like locals as much as they can.

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