After almost two years here, we have different patterns and habits, routines we have adopted that have become second nature. I had pause to think about some of them recently and thought I would share with you some things we do in Italy that we did not/could not/would not do in the U.S.
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Eat pizza with a knife and fork
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Spend an hour-and-a-half each day commuting to & from work…on foot
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Walk to dinner — an hour from home — just because it’s a beautiful night
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Take a taxi home from dinner
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Car-Sharing!
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Kiss my boss when arriving at his home for a party (il bacetto, “the little kiss”)
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Say “Ciao bello/Ciao bella” to, well, almost everyone
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Give our building super/doorman/manager a tip for Easter, Christmas and Ferragosto. Oh that’s right; we didn’t have a portiere in Portland!
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Have dinner with a dog (he was next to us in the restaurant, and very well-behaved)
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Decide to walk instead of waiting for the bus because the transit tracker app says the bus is still 25 minutes away and it only takes 20 minutes to walk home.
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Shrug my shoulders when the bus that was 25 minutes away passes me 5 minutes later. Whaddya gonna do?
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Let our cats play in the elevator lobby and call it “enrichment”
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Worry when the crazy unfortunate man next door stops yelling…then find myself relieved when he starts yelling again because it means he’s OK.
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Get our groceries delivered: Best thing ever. (Remember Homegrocer.com? Way ahead of its time!) Here it’s a guy with a tiny truck or un motorino delivering the stuff we bought at the store an hour ago. Essential when you drink wine buy heavy bottles of beverages and do not have a car.
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Keep a restaurant list online because I so often am asked “Where should we eat in Rome?”
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Be kissed by waiters (il bacetto) at favorite restaurants
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See Ric kissed by & kiss friends, waiters, co-workers – yes by men too
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Worry someone will see me without make-up and think I am una brutta figura on Saturday morning
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Do something because it makes me una bella figura
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New Year’s Eve Vespers with Papa F! We were right on the aisle. Ric snapped this pic with his phone.
Only buy fish on Tuesday and Friday because that’s when it’s fresh
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Plan meals around what is actually fresh in the market and local, not what I feel like eating that was shipped in from another continent
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Go to mass and see the Pope!
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