Dining in Firenze

So I have a random hour in between my Italian class and lunch so I thought Id post another quick blog entry...

I think the change of style in my blog posts is favored among my readers, am I right? I would love some more comments with your feedback! I got a suggestion yesterday to talk about the restaurant differences between Italy and America. I think I might have touched base on this topic at some point in previous entries, but I will dedicate a post that highlights some main observances I have made thus far in my trip.

First of all, when you go to a restaurant you are often presented with the option of "self service" or sit down. I was confused for the longest time on what "self service" meant exactly, but basically it means that you go up to the counter, pick up your food right then and there and either take it to go or you can sit down at a nearby table. Sometimes you have the option to sit in the restaurant portion, and it is usually a bit nicer seating and has more decor. The menu is often similiar, but it is significantly more expensive, and you are usually given bread (il pane) before your meal. The bread is usually included in the cover charge, which is anywhere from 2 to 4 euros depending on how nice the restaurant is. The cover charge generally replaces the tip that we would give in America. It is sometimes nice not to worry about doing the math that goes along with a tip, but at the same time if the service is less than acceptable I get frustrated I have to pay the cover charge. Especially if they do not even offer us bread!

Drinks are a whole different topic. Wine is commonly ordered for an entire group at a table either in 1/2 liters or full liters. (it's way cheaper than by the glass). Also, most of you know that in Europe you have to pay for water (or in Italiano acqua minerale). There are two types of water that you can choose from in Italy on a regular basis: natural water and "fizzy" water (which is just like sparkling water). Normally I just say con no frizzate (which means with no FIZZ). If you order water during dinner, you are usually given a glass bottle of water and generally you split it amongst the people at your table. It is usually around 2 to 3 euro per bottle. I find this pretty annoying because it seems like they will charge you for every possible thing they can in Europe. Customer service is definitely not their aim in most of Europe. They realize that us tourists are often desperate and will go through drastic measures to get we want. For this reason, the waitors do not normally come around your table mid meal and ask how your food is. It makes sense though because they are not really working extra for a tip. They usually just offer you minimum service where you have to ask for EVERYthing. Dont get me wrong, the food is amazing! It just comes with its pros and cons.

Thats about it for the dining topic. If you guys have any other comments or observations feel free to post it in the comment section!

I miss you all very much!

Differences between Europe and America

So I decided to take a good friend's advice and perhaps redirect the focus of my everyday blogs. I am now going to only give a day by day description of all my activities when I travel over the weekends. My other blogs while I'm in Florence will have a particular theme to them... of what you may ask? That depends on my mood I guess!

I thought I might start by talking about some of the main differences between Europe (especially Italia) and America. One thing that me and my friend Cierra noticed today is the road conduct in Europe. The vehicle is KING here. If you are a pedestrian-- watch out! There are crosswalks all over the streets of Florence but if you walk in them you still have to watch your back and look BOTH ways several times to make sure no crazy buses, fast vespas (mopeds) or angry cars charge your way. I am used to being able to walk blindly across crosswalks(practically) in Seattle because the drivers are trained to constantly be aware of pedestrians on the streets and if a pedestrian runs right in front of you and you hit them, 95% the time the driver is punished. This is even if this occurs in a non-cross walk zone. Crazy huh? This definitely not how it is done in Italy...

Also, the sidewalks are extremely narrow here in Florence. You have to practically dodge the people around you to get around them, and almost everyone in front of you is walking at what I like to call a glacial pace. I attribute this to the fact that they are on what we like to call "Italian time" a.k.a no rush, very leisurely, without any cares in mind. Us Americans may have something to learn from the natives of Italia, because they seem to be way more easy going, even if they are "fashionably late"-- to EVERYTHING! The Americans are constantly on the go- we always have places to go and people to see. One great example of this was after my last class of the day, which got got out at 12:40, me and Cierra had some essential errands to run before lunch at one. I had to get money from the atm (I was completely out) and she had to put down a deposit on an apartment that she and her boyfriend are going to rent out for 16 days later in January. The real estate agency was relatively close to school but the lady in the office did not understand that we were in a "rush," and had somewhere to be. She asked Cierra a million questions, took her sweet time, answered a phone call, and wrote up a receipt on her computer which took a good five minutes. Cierra thought she could just drop off her 200$ deposit and peace out. The Italians expect you to stay until the task is done-- in a well ordered and timely fashion. If you have somewhere to go, it can wait. After more minutes than we were thinking, she asked "would you like to view the apartment now?" Cierra and I look each other and she responds (again), "No thank you, we have somewhere to be right now...but maybe later?" Ha ha. We ended up booking it back to our pensione, which was a loonngg walk down Cavour. We were about 6 minutes late and our feet hurt so bad. Both of us are getting shin splints from walking long distances without supported shoes. Our own faults I guess ;)

That's about all I have to say. I am going to go to the library for another two hour study session, and right now I am sipping on my second, delicious caffe latte of the day. If you go to Italy, make sure you say you want a CAFFE latte and not just a latte, because they will give you just steamed milk hehe.

Arrivederci!

PS! The above picture is of me in front of a typical "vespa" that you would see on the streets of ITALY!