Spending money in Italy?
Jul 28th, 2014, 06:34 AM
#41
Join Date: Apr 2013
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bilbo: I should have known that. As we Yanks say, "My bad."
There's a whole humor industry built on what Brits say and what it should really mean to a Yank, especially in the workplace. A few examples:
British say, “With all due respect ...”
Americans say, “You’re wrong.”
British: “Perhaps you would
think about ...”
American: “That’s an order.”
British: “Very interesting idea.”
American: “I don’t like it.”
British: “Please think about that
some more.”
American: “Don’t do it.”
That's why I always laugh when some of the more chauvinistic Brits insist there' no such thing as "American English."
There's a whole humor industry built on what Brits say and what it should really mean to a Yank, especially in the workplace. A few examples:
British say, “With all due respect ...”
Americans say, “You’re wrong.”
British: “Perhaps you would
think about ...”
American: “That’s an order.”
British: “Very interesting idea.”
American: “I don’t like it.”
British: “Please think about that
some more.”
American: “Don’t do it.”
That's why I always laugh when some of the more chauvinistic Brits insist there' no such thing as "American English."
Jul 28th, 2014, 06:48 AM
#43
per Sir Humphrey: That's a brave decision, minister
per D. Runsefeld : That's political suicide, Mr President.
That's why I always laugh when some of the more chauvinistic Brits insist there' no such thing as "American English.">>
Vincenzo - when have you heard or read any Brit saying that there is no such thing as "American english"? the more chauvinist amongst us spend most of their time bemoaning its existence.
per D. Runsefeld : That's political suicide, Mr President.
That's why I always laugh when some of the more chauvinistic Brits insist there' no such thing as "American English.">>
Vincenzo - when have you heard or read any Brit saying that there is no such thing as "American english"? the more chauvinist amongst us spend most of their time bemoaning its existence.
Jul 28th, 2014, 07:58 AM
#44
Join Date: May 2014
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Thanks! We want to make sure we follow Italian etiquette there and wine with every meal was one of the recommendations I came across.
Yes, it's beyond odd to sit down at a restaurant and not order anything. Although sadly, some people don't care how they're being perceived as in their minds, they will never have to see these people again (restaurant staff) so they don't care about being rude.
The aperitivi is good for light eaters, although it's supposed to be a pre-dinner not a substitute for it. It's 8-12€ per drink and the buffet is included.
Yes, it's beyond odd to sit down at a restaurant and not order anything. Although sadly, some people don't care how they're being perceived as in their minds, they will never have to see these people again (restaurant staff) so they don't care about being rude.
The aperitivi is good for light eaters, although it's supposed to be a pre-dinner not a substitute for it. It's 8-12€ per drink and the buffet is included.
Jul 28th, 2014, 11:03 AM
#49
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You'd be amazed at the number of Italians who are total teetotalers, not for moral reasons, but just because they prefer to drink water with their meals. Even those Italians who do drink wine are usually very moderate drinkers. I find that when I have guests for dinner, I use less than half the amount of wine I did in the US.
In any case, no restaurant will even bat an eye if you don't order wine with your meal.
In any case, no restaurant will even bat an eye if you don't order wine with your meal.
Jul 29th, 2014, 10:19 AM
#53
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My husband and I are also "thrifty" travelers and stayed in apartments in Bellagio, Florence, and Rome. We ate all of our breakfasts in (and had lovely ones provided at our B&B in Venice), made a few dinners to eat in, and made sandwiches a couple of days (we had read that there aren't a lot of places to eat around the Colosseum and Roman Forum). At restaurants, we noticed no difference in prices for lunch vs dinner as is often the case in the US. We usually shared an appetizer, each had our own entree, sometimes had a pasta or dessert, and most often drank bottled water, which cost about the same as the house wine. Most of our meals were in the 50-55 Euro range for both of us, regardless of quality. We really enjoyed eating chichetti in Venice as we were able to get enough to satisfy our appetites for less than 20 Euros for both of us. We did not eat a lot of pizza, in part because we usually found it wasn't as good as we are used to in the US and was not nearly as good as the pizza we had in Switzerland of all places! (We did have some amazing and cheap pizza in Siena.)
We felt the Firenze card was a good value and allowed us to skip the lines without having to make reservations or buy individual tickets in advance. We also bought a vaparetto pass and museum pass in Venice. We had a great tour of St Mark's Basilica from one of the official tour guides for only 15 Euros each but splurged on the Walks of Italy Pristine Sistine tour of the Varican, which we really enjoyed. Even though we didn't buy our train tickets until a day or two in advance (or sometimes on the day) to allow for flexibility, we found them to be pretty inexpensive. We walked or used buses in Florence and Rome except for taxis to and from our apartment in Rome, and those were reasonable.
In sum, you should be able to have a great time on 200E per day. We did and spent quite a bit less!
We felt the Firenze card was a good value and allowed us to skip the lines without having to make reservations or buy individual tickets in advance. We also bought a vaparetto pass and museum pass in Venice. We had a great tour of St Mark's Basilica from one of the official tour guides for only 15 Euros each but splurged on the Walks of Italy Pristine Sistine tour of the Varican, which we really enjoyed. Even though we didn't buy our train tickets until a day or two in advance (or sometimes on the day) to allow for flexibility, we found them to be pretty inexpensive. We walked or used buses in Florence and Rome except for taxis to and from our apartment in Rome, and those were reasonable.
In sum, you should be able to have a great time on 200E per day. We did and spent quite a bit less!
Jul 30th, 2014, 05:05 AM
#58
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Re Annhig's comment about breakfast - We bought a box of cereal, milk, yogurt, a few eggs, fruit, that wonderful blood orange juice that I still miss, and had nice breakfasts that we felt were healthier than a croissant or pastry and coffee. When traveling at home, we love to eat breakfast out but that kind of breakfast (eggs, pancakes, waffles, bacon, etc) isn't what's typically available in Italy. While eating breakfast in the apartment, we reviewed our plans for the day and enjoyed a relaxing beginning to a new day of adventure!
Jul 30th, 2014, 07:05 AM
#59
drchris - healthy? on holiday? what a novel idea.
yes, the blood orange juice is lovely isn't it? My DS was turned onto orange juice in general by the blood orange juice spremuta he had in Rome.
yes, the blood orange juice is lovely isn't it? My DS was turned onto orange juice in general by the blood orange juice spremuta he had in Rome.
