cigalechanta

Many years ago I was dining with my best friend and it was the first time for us in the beautiful city of light.
I was sitting with my back to the wall on a banquette when I felt something warm at my side. It was a beautiful not full grown cat who cuddled by myside and napped throughout our dinner.
Loving cats, I took this as an omen.

Melnq8

Having lived in the Middle East for several years, (I'm American) I've become quite accustomed to seeing the old hole in the floor toilet. I avoid them at all costs, even if it means major discomfort. It's just so incredibly awkward... And the smell! Yikes!

I have yet to figure out exactly how they use the hose, but I don't really want to know. I do know that it's a hazard to walk into a Middle Eastern bathroom because the floor is always wet.

My husband and I happened upon a rather strange "custom" on a recent trip to Switzerland. We were staying at a little hotel in Wengen where meals were included with our stay. After our first dinner there, we were brought paper envelopes for no apparent reason. Curious, we watched the other patrons fold their used cloth napkins and place them into the envelopes as they left the table. We thought this was incredibly weird, so we just left our napkins on the table.

The next morning at breakfast, the envelopes were on our table, and they contained our used cloth napkins from the night before.

It was an enviromentally friendly measure no doubt, but it struck us as rather odd. I have no problems re-using bath towels again and again, but dinner napkins?

jor

This morning I watched Sunday Morning on CBS. The segment was about the local slow pace of Tuscany. They showed a couple eating angel hair pasta in a piazza. What a dead give away. I knew instantly that they were American. They were using only a fork to eat the pasta and had the left hand on their laps.

The locals always hold a spoon in the left and a fork in the right. The fork is used to pick up the pasta while using the spoon to press the end of the fork against to twist up the pasta.

Forget about the shorts and tennis shoes!

ellenem

I have eaten many bowls of pasta in Italy in private homes, and was particularly instructed NOT to use the spoon with the fork--just to twirl the pasta by holding the fork against the curve of the plate. Maybe it's a regional thing...

cigalechanta

My parents were born in Italy. We ate pasta as ellenem described without the spoon, and oh, by th way, I'm left handed as are many others , so we do not conform to the rule. But when dinning with friends(usually non Italian) I will follow the hostess if she wants to twirl on her spoon, so be it, I'll join in.

adoptionisfab

If you work in an office in Europe you will see people wear the same clothes on a frequent basis. Women will have just a few very expensive items where Americans will have many more but not as expensive.

SantaChiara

Never seen an Italian eat pasta with a spoon. Also adoptionisfab is right about the clothes. Fewer pieces in the wardrobe, but they always look fabulous.

jor

Italian and Turkish men holding hands and walking arm in arm in public. Totally refreshing! American men don't have a clue.

harzer

Several people have remarked on the custom of offering a greeting when entering a small store.

This has two purposes: it shows politeness and, in the case of a tourist, an effort to adjust to the customs of the particular culture you're in and it solves the who's next? problem, because other people make a mental note of where you fit in.

Harzer

illusion321

being able to buy prescriptions at a much lower cost and sometimes with out a actual prescription, but you cannot buy Tylenol pm, nyquil or any sleeping medicine in Italy (unless its herbal) Also the restruants seem so small and everything operates on limited hours

Anonymous

The "PM" part of Tylenol PM is dephenhydramine, which is an antihistamine that makes most people sleepy. Likewise, Nyquil contains a couple of antihistamines with the same side effect (doxylamine, pseudoephedrine) plus a cough suppressant (dextromethorphan) and acetaminophen (brand name Tylenol, known in Europe as paracetamol).

Perhaps the separate ingredients are available elsewhere but just aren't marketed in that specific combination/purpose?

By the way, referring to some earlier topics, my Italian-born relatives always use a big round spoon to twirl their pasta, perhaps it's a regional thing.

And I ran into that habit of recycling cloth napkins right here in the US, back in the sixties when I toured a fancy women's college, they had a set of cubbies in the dining hall, just like mailboxes, where the girls put their napkins after dinner for re-use.

mcgeezer

Ah that toilet thing again.
While I was waiting to use the ladies room in Prague a man approached me saying something in Czech. I thought he was some wierdo in the women's restroom. I straightened myself up to full hieght and towered over him and told him to "go away!" After he left, my friend, who was standing behind me said, "what's the matter? He only wanted a couple of coins for the toilet fee. It's less then a quarter."
By the time I explained I didn't realize he worked there the man had returned with a huge man. Apparently, they were determined to get their quarter. I forked over my money and lots of apologies and left with a story my friend and I still chuckle about today.

nytraveler

Drug availability is europe can be very weird. I tried to get cough syrup with guaifenesin (the basic cough supressant is all US OTC cough syrups) in Portugal and they had none at all - it isn;t approved. But they were willing to sell me all sorts of syrups you can;t get here without anRx - including codeine. (Now I take a tiny bottle with me.)

Ziana

"I have experinced many in Europe who do this and still come out smelling pretty bad in some private places."

It killed me thinking of how would Roger know ?

LMAO

sandykins

I have never liked the practice in Paris department stores of having the customer fill out a form for the item desired and then pick up the item at another location. I carefully inspected an Yves Saint Laurent silk scarf that I wanted, filled out a form, and picked it up at another desk, already packaged. Only when I arrived back home in the U.S. did I discover that the scarf in the package was not the one I had inspected; this one had a big snag in the middle! I mailed it back and received a replacement. What a pain. Same thing happened with a Cartier ladies' wallet that I bought at the Cartier boutique in a different Paris department store; the clasp did not stay closed. I had to wait until a trip to New York City to exchange it at a Cartier store. Ugh!