Summer is coming and with it waves and waves of visitors to Italy. Understandably so. Italy is beautiful in summer and that’s when most of us have the chance to take some time off. Unfortunately, it also inevitably means news stories about tourists not living their best life. There’s the one that broke an ancient statue,… Read more »
Let’s dedicate some time to … time. We all generally follow the same societal standards of time: a decade, year, month, week, day. Seasons, minutes, appointments, dates. And yet how we relate to those standards of time is radically different across cultures. “On time” in Germany seems to mean at least five minutes early. On… Read more »
You’re in Italy, you’ve got your rental car and you’re ready to go. Seatbelt buckled, car in gear, you begin to slowly ease into the traffic when seven cars zoom past you. Two turn even though you have the right of way, others begin to swerve into your lane with nary a signal. Welcome to… Read more »
Every experience in a new culture comes with a heavy dose of judgement. Some more politically correct than me wouldn’t admit to such a thing, but we all know it’s true. Read: 50 Things Americans First Think About Italy As humans we need to tackle novelty and mold it into a shape that makes sense to… Read more »
We already have a very succinct, but very precise Manifesto for any and all travelers in Italy (Check it out here, it’s important) but I believe there’s more explanation needed for first-time travelers in Italy (and even repeat offenders!) Everyone wants to seem like a local when they travel, here are some ways to help:… Read more »
Any trip to a new country ignites a storm of comments and questions. It’s only natural to compare, to delight in the novelty and be shocked by the foreignness. After my recent post, 50 Things Italians Think About America, I realized that that’s really only half of the story. For every time an Italian is marveling at the… Read more »
Finally, what you’re all coming to this blog to find out: How to marry an Italian. I did it. Here’s how you can, too! First, woo him with your exotic American ways When I first arrived in Italy I was wide-eyed, easily excited, and plastered with a big smile. I was bold, dazzled by the smallest… Read more »
While I’m always hesitant for such sweeping statements about an entire culture and ethnicity, if you’re interested in a sort of How To Be an Italian Guide for Dummies, this would be a good start. Espresso is a way of life, food is important (it truly is all about prosciutto) and those expressions are very useful, but… Read more »
The first time I walked around Marco’s house without shoes or socks on I thought his mother was going to faint. I hadn’t the faintest idea why – my feet weren’t even that dirty! She scurried away and was back with the worst pair of slippers I’ve ever seen. They were pink with little purple… Read more »
“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” It’s easy to form concrete opinions about a person or place from the one story we have about them. In my opinion the beauty of travel – and what separates… Read more »
