Travel experiences: Italy – Part 2

Travel tips (to Italy) from an Airline Employee who Lives There

On travel:

Don’t bring things that you can buy here or borrow from friends like toiletries, shampoo, soaps, makeup, toothpaste, etc.

When I travel almost everything I bring (clothes, the toiletries that I do bring, etc.) is old and no longer wanted so that I can leave it and refill my bag with the items that I buy there.

I usually bring one pair of black jeans which can be both casual and semi-casual and one nicer outfit (usually black pants) that I recycle over and over. I bring one pair of casual shoes that I wear on the plane and one pair of dressy ones that I recycle.

Be minimal with magazines and books. I recommend bringing only one of each.

Be minimal with other heavy items and items that take up space.

On safety & hotels:

Always carry tissue in your pocket just in case the bathroom (toilette, bagno, WC, washroom) is out.

Don’t leave valuables in your hotel room.

When leaving a hotel room, use the do not disturb sign on the door (unless you want someone to clean while you are out) and say goodbye aloud when leaving the room in case anyone may see or hear you leaving . These safety precautions are to give the illusion that someone is still in the room.

Carry the hotel’s business card with number in case you get lost.

Floor 1 on an elevator is what would actually be Floor 2 in America. Floor 0 is what would be considered the ground floor or floor 1 in America

On meals

An Italian breakfast is usually very light. Most common is a freshly baked croissant or brioche with a coffee. Cookies and sweet breads are also common for breakfast. Cappuccino’s and caf lattes are only ordered by Italians in the morning. . Freshly squeezed orange juice with the pulp (spremuta) is usually always available as well.

Any eating places that you see with names like Ristofit, Ristogrill or Autogrill are gourmet Italian fast food chains. The food is fresh, cooked in front of you and inexpensive. They are all over Italy and are most commonly found on the Altostrati (national highways) or in shopping centres.

When you order gelato in the birthplace of gelato, “gusti” means flavours and you can usually order two flavours on the next to smallest or smallest size and even more flavours the bigger size your order is. “Coppa” is a cup and “Conno” is a cone. You can also ask for a free sample before choosing your flavours.

Tipping is not required unless it says so. Read every menu – Sometimes there is