Comparisons.....

Here are some more comparisons from US to Italy for those who have not been .... (AKA, I am avoiding working on my paper that is due Friday).

SUPER MARKET.
So they have no huge Safeway style grocery stores here. There is a new growing trend for these smaller grocery stores that are randomly found on a city block. They are like a maze when you get in them, they are very cramped, no variety in the sense that if you want cheese flavored chips...you got one choice! LOL
You can find a lot of things there, they have meat and veggies too. When you check out they charge you for plastic bags, so most put their groceries in there purse/murse/backpack. etc. And you have to bag yourself, they like throw the bag at you... it is very different.

BOOZE.
Everywhere! Almost every single store you go into has a shelf above the cashier with hard alcohol. Even like Tabbacherias, which is where you go and get stamps, cigarettes, things like that...they have open booze bottles, in case you need a midday shot of whiskey! LOL
Not so much in the touristy city center, but if you get out a little bit they are really into letting you sample booze.
Pat and I have started liking this Italian Liquor called Montenegro. I'm sure they sell it in the states, but it is very common here. BJ jumped on the montenegro wagon here recently too! There was another Italian liquor we were told we should try but we forgot what it was called, so we were at this little 'snack bar' thing in Sorrento, and when we were paying we were staring at the bottles of booze behind the counter trying to remember what the dude from Rome told us to try...and the guy behind the counter got little plastic cups and let us sample a bunch of things. lol It was really cool.
Same thing happened in a liquor store in Rome. They gave us samples of Grappa and wine. Not even a hard sell, just the friendly drinky Italian culture!
Not really something that happens in the states too often.

SMOKING.
Surprisingly to me, there is a smoking ban in all of Italy...similar to WA state smoking ban. And I found out there is one in London and Ireland too! And, as of July 1st, there will be one in Amsterdam. Wow....
It seems like every Italian does smoke, I mean...when that train stops those Italians are running to the exits with the ciggie already in their mouth just waiting to light it.
They have outdoor seating at restaurants that you can smoke at....

LANGUAGE.
Obviously they speak Italian. I would say in Florence about 90 percent also speak some form of English, the further away from the city you go the less people speak the language. In Capri it was about 50/50. But if they know a few words in English and you know a few words in Italian, you can figure most things out.
One of the most Disgusting and Annoying thing that I see far too often are these F**king Americans that walk into these food shops or markets and stuff and are like "umm, okay, I want 2 chicken paninis, 1 slice of pesto pizza, umm and a coke" ... so boisterous so annoying, with NO attempt what so ever to speak the language of the culture they are visiting. Or even speaking slower and pointing and trying to use some BASIC italian like 'Ciao' and 'Grazie'.
I just think it gives Americans a bad name. Granted, there are foreign tourists who come to the U.S. who dont speak English, but I have never seen ... lets say ... a Chinese man walk into an American store and just start speaking Mandarin to the worker there with this expectation that of course we should know Mandarin.
annoying...be courteous.
Before you come here you should learn...Hi, Bye, Thank You, Your Welcome, numbers 1-10, "Check Please", "How do you say", "How much does that cost" at the VERY basic!

You sometimes forget, being in Florence, that English is not the main language, and you go out to a club or something and you have a couple drinks and are talking to some native and you realize .. crap, I don't speak Italian. lol

Pat knows a good amount of Italian, so he has helped us out. We are a little worried about Germany because we have no clue about anything there. But from what we have heard most speak enough English for us to get by. phew...
:)

okay, back to my paper...CIAO