Entire towns shut down in the middle of the day to go home, eat lunch, and take a nap. You would think that this would be a nice relaxing tradition. However it becomes quickly inconvenient when you realize none of the stores you want to go to are ever open when you want them to be. Instead they are open at the most obnoxiously unusual hours, which are nearly always when you are in class, or else busy.
2. pee holes and emergency cords
Some of the toilets here are just holes in the ground. really, just holes. thats it! Our group has fondly tagged them "pee holes" we try to avoid them at all costs, and are completely aware of which of our normal establishments have "pee holes" and which have normal civilized toilets. Also toilets, pee holes or otherwise, are very tricky to flush around here. This is partly due to there being NO water pressure at all in all of italy, and partly due to the fact that there are many cords and buttons in each bathroom. Some of them are for flushing number one, some are for flushing number two, and some are EMERGENCY bathroom cords, where if you pull them i imagine some sort of crazy alarm will go off and you will have the whole place, possibly some police officers and firemen too, rushing towards the bathroom to break down the door. Note: none of these cords are labeled of course, as that would take all the fun out of everything.
3. crazy drivers
Ahhh.. Dave Barry
- "Europeans, like some Americans, drive on the right side of the road, except in England, where they drive on both sides of the road; Italy, where they drive on the sidewalk; and France, where if necessary they will follow you right into the hotel lobby."
4. carb overload
i have absolutely no idea how everyone here maintains their figures, every meal consists of bread and pasta, with the occasional exception of rissoto or gnucki, neither of which are probably very good for you...
5. wine is cheaper than water
Literally. Water is not free here. you order either aqua naturale or aqua frizzante, usually by the liter. It is, in most cases, cheaper to just get a glass of wine. fine by me.
6. accessory dogs
Everyone here has these little dogs, and when i say little, i mean teacup chiwawas. They are all rather adorable and people take them into cafe's and shops with them.
7. no tipping
no tips are expected at restaurants or cafes... in fact some waitstaff finds it offensive to leave tips.
8. monitored forests
i need to take a picture of this... all the "forests" here are basically rows of trees, evidently planted all around the same time, because they are all the same height, and all the same type of tree. very peculiar. also... no underbrush for some reason. very manicured forests.
9. the absence of water pressure
literally. no. water. pressure. anywhere. sinks. toilets. showers. baths.
10. no to-go coffee
when you get a caffe, you stand and drink it at the counter or you sit and sip it at a sidewalk table. absolutely NO coffee to go. but people do tend to walk the streets licking at gelato cones, even in the colder weather.
ps- no peanut butter... its completely replaced by nutella
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