I noticed the behavior of the dogs in Italy too, on Saint Days when towns shoot off fireworks, most dogs just ignored the noise and didn't bark.

I noticed that the elderly people in Italy have a place and purpose in society. They are not shuttled off into nursing homes, but sit in squares with their friends and seem interested in life.

I noticed that the Italians (I observe them more) seem to do the same thing in the same routine every day. I think this is what gives them a sense of self and a relaxed attitude. If it is time to passigiata you do it every day and for every year, which keeps their traditions alive.

I noticed that the teenage boys go through a ritual with their fathers whereby they are taught to become men, the fathers take an active roll in their transition from boyhood to manhood.

I noticed that there are more things for the teenagers to do as groups, and their sense of competition is directed to games between different parts of their towns and gives them a legal, positive outlet for competition.

What is a "gutter kid"?

How about bagging your own groceries in Italy and having to pay for the bags.

Going to the post office and waiting for the clerks to finish their cigarettes and espresso while seated and you are the only person in line.

Buses without seats.

Well Italians call them punkabestie (lit. beast-punks). They are the druggie/alcoholic burnouts you see on the street with their dogs and (usually) alcohol. Some live on the street, some don't. It's almost like a society really.

Not really somethin you see in towns, more of a big city thing.

For a few years in a row I would see the same youngish man with his three dogs sitting on that main walking street in Florence. He had his bowl for contributions and I felt so sorry for his poor dogs sitting in the same spot for days on end, they looked so unhappy.
Last trip I didn't see him or the dogs.

I noticed in the countryside of northern Portugal, every house had its own vineyard in the yard, even the smallest most humble abodes. Apparently everyone makes their own wine.

Did you know that:

German men wear very little jewelry-no gaudy rings, chains, etc.

Silver is the predominate car color in Europe.

Germans do not run red lights. Be ready for a quick stop!

It is illegal to pass on the right on the autobahn.

Europeans use the knife and fork quite differently than most Americans.

Dogs on the tables in France--and kissing the owner(S) on the lips!

Regards,

Jinx Hoover

Many Italian women wash there hair only once a week and the wash is done at the beauty parlour. They have it blown out and hairsprayed and it actually stays in pretty good shape for most of the week. Sometimes they do it twice a week. My MIL cannot understand why I wash my hair everyday and style it myself.

Italian women go for regular messages as in weekly not one every decade like most American women.

My sister and I were amused and delighted sitting near a group of elderly gentlemen outside a cafe in Bacharach, Germany, seeing them drink their mugs of beer and laugh and tell stories, and then one-by-one, pedal off on their bicycles for home.

We wouldn't expect to see elderly gentlemen on bicycles here in northeastern Washington State, nor see a group of them regularly enjoying a mug of beer with their pals in the middle of the day. Too bad.

Calamari that is interesting about the Italian women and their massages.

When I wanted to give my Italian boyfriend a massage he thought that was very odd (but ended up enjoying it). Don't the Italian women give their men massages?

My friends in (Munich) Germany do seem to like accessories (earrings, and they like to wear things on their wrist). Maybe it's just a younger generation thing.

Paying to use isn't the same as renting?

In French hypermarches you have to bag and weigh your produce and affix the little price tag the machine spits out.

The first time, we didn't realize this and my poor husband had to stand there at checkout while I ran back, weighed, bagged and tagged all our produce. (They have little pictures of each fruit and vegetable for those who don't know the names in French.) I hadn't a clue what to do but carefully watched as a French 10-year-old explained it to her French mother. When they were done, I followed her directions. Hooray for 10-year-olds!

SalB, same thing in Prague. Bag, weigh, and tag your own produce.

jinx, if Germans don't run red lights it's because there are a gazillion cameras that take photos of traffic offenders at intersections, and you get a ticket in the mail.

It's also illegal to pass in the slower lane on the British motorway.

Rufus, I don't think it's "paying to use" if you get your money back. When I did this in Germany, and also in some places in Italy, you had to put the coin in to free the cart, but when you returned the cart to the line and "plugged" it back in, you got your coin back.

Ohhh I forgot, having to use plastic gloves to pick out your produce! Get yelled at if you dont hehe.

Thi sounded strange to me when I first heard it over 20 years, but a friend of mine, when travelling mad it a point to take oictures of urinals throughout the world. Looking back, several times I wish I dane it...some are quite unique and it would have added a "spin" to my memories...maybe I'll start this year.

Now about the "Tchuss" factor - I gather you were in Swabia?? As a New Englander where we tend to be cold and stand offosh, I found it to be very refreshing.....once I figured out they were not commenting on my shoes!

Marilyn--different markets then. The two we went to didn't give your money back.

Another couple I thought of.

I love the way the elevators are the number 0 at ground floor, positive floors going up and negative floors going down. I was in the circle centre mall in downtown Indy last night and ran into a little old couple that was completely confused by the elevators. The buttons from top to bottom and left to right are "M4 M3," "M2 M1" & "P1 P2". In the US an odd elevator will have an "M" that stands for mezzanine but rarely does an elevator have a letter with each number of the floor. In the mall "P" stands for parking with two underground levels, "M" stands for main with "M1" being the street-level stop. I've helped quite a few confused patrons in those elevators over the years, since I'm always riding from P2 to M4 to see a movie.

People rolling their own cigarettes. They look like funny, little, marijuana joints, but they're rolling cigarettes with real tobacco. Does anybody in the US do that anymore? I remember my grandfather doing it in the sixties, but even then it was a hobby thing for him. He still bought manufactured ones. I'm sure it's a matter of economics. Cigarettes are still relatively inexpensive here. BTW: my grandfather lived to be almost 80 smoking a couple of packs a day, but what good did it do him? Trapped by heart attacks, emphysema & poor circulation he couldn't get out of the house except in an ambulance. He did nothing the last 12 years of his life but smoke.

I was surprised to see so many pregnant women in London smoking and drinking. I think a woman could get arrested in S. Cal for that!!!