There is so much that happens and that we observe that doesn’t fit into the narrative chronologically, so I am going to take a little side trip to note some of the many quirks of this country. They are so much a part of our experience here . We have already, so often, after just three weeks, taken to shrugging and saying, “It’s Italy”!.
Like how they leave all the signs out and the lights on even when a place is closed for the season or closed for the day. So you don’t know till you rattle at the locked door that they are actually closed.
How other places that are in fact, open , do not draw any attention to themselves such as putting a sign or banner on the road to indicate where to turn to find them!
How greeting people is so important. Similar, I guess, to country life in Australia, but you wouldn’t dream of having an interaction without a Good Morning, Good Evening or Good Night.
How prego is the go to word for just about everything………..You’re welcome,come in, sit down, no worries, and so on………..
How it’s common practice to park just about anywhere, but particularly on a cross walk, at an intersection.
How drivers are on the whole very defensive, skilled, considerate and patient , except for trucks and couriers.
How quiet the cars are, as they are mostly diesel and they turn themselves off when you stop, which is a standard emission control strategy in Europe, apparently impossible in Australia.
How woefully inadequate the signage on the roads is, when it comes to directions and lane usage. How the shortage of signs everywhere, generally, makes for a wonderful non commercial ethos.
How very few fast food outlets there are- we have only seen one outside of Florence and Rome . Food to go, in cafes and service stations and the like, is panini filled with cheese and tomato, or Italian meats such as salami or mortadella and tomato, or a slice of pizza.
How supermarkets (at least the smallish ones we have been using) have hardly any cereal on the shelf, only one brand of tissues and only Italian cheeses. They are truly different to Australian supermarkets , which is great, as they seem less affected by globalisation……….
How shops all have a particular type of ceramic dish or tray near the till, where the bill is placed, and where your change will be placed. And if you are Italian you will place your payment there, unlike us tourists, battling to work out what coins we have in our hands and handing them over holus bolus into the hands of, and to the great amusement of, the unfailingly friendly cashier……….
How elderly people still seem to get out and walk, with sticks and with flailing limbs and uphill and down, but there they are, out on the streets. How the streets are the domain of walkers , cyclists and people who need to park, and those of who you are driving , just handle it!
How Italy is so very hilly, and on the top of so many hills there is a walled village that contains a church or a castle, or both. How every village will have more than enough cats that seem to live outdoors, but are certainly not wild, and which are determined to say hello and check you out. And lots of old people, who will always say Buon Giorno, Buonasera or Buona Notte.
And Buona Notte from me, for now.
