Quirky Italianisms...

Alas, I have returned from the land of sweet smelling Jasmine, cobblestone alleys, numerous catholic cathedrals, and tons of stairs. I swear that the theme of my vacation was stairs.... every day I climbed hundreds--especially in the Cinque Terre region where stairs replace streets. I would have lost 30 pounds in two weeks had we also not eaten pasta or pizza for practically every lunch and dinner. :) I will describe my trip in detail later when I have my pictures with me, but for now I just want to list some of my favorite quirky Italian things.

1. DO NOT SIT ON THE GRASS!!!!! Grass is only for dogs--no people. If you sit on the grass in a park or anywhere, a police person will come and reprimand you immediately and tell you to leave!

2. Do not try to avoid paying to see a Catholic church by saying that you are there to pray...

3. Do NOT eat an apple, sit on the stairs, or take your shoes off at the Memorial Monument in Rome.... it is a BIG NO! We did not make any of these mistakes, but I saw many a guard use their whistle and yell at various tourists for these violations! (Hmmmm.... which is more irreverent at a memorial, yelling and whistle blowing, or eating an apple?)

4. NEVER kiss on the top of a cathedral in Italy! Again, I did not commit this crime, but some tourists behind me did and out came the whistle!

5. Do NOT sit on the floor in St. Peter's catherdral in Vatican City---very, very bad! I actually did commit this one.

6. Never touch merchandise in a store or market without asking permission first. In most cases permission will be denied and the merchant will hold the item for you while you look from at least a foot away---very hard to shop for a leather purse this way. I was just dying to open all the zippers and pockets and such. Oh well.... in the end it did save me money since I didn't feel right about buying something I couldn't touch.

7. DO NOT CROSS THE YELLOW LINE at the train station. I don't know who in their right mind would ever do this anyway, but the loud speakers tell you every few minutes not to do it just in case.

8. Do not try to call or email a hotel to cancel your reservation. For some reason, you MUST use their website or you will be charged anyway--no matter how many people you have personally talked to who work at the hotel.

9. Beware of train strikes! They can really mess up your travel itinerary.

10. Remember to learn as much Italian as possible before your trip--it will come in handy at some point, I promise! I wish that I had learned something other than, "Scuzzi, Parle Englaise?" "Dove Toillette?" "Permisso" "Grazie" "Prego" and "Il Conto Por Favore" Oh, and never buy a Franklin Language Translater---it is stupid!!! No Help at All!!!!

That is all for now!
Ciao