A Different Culture - A Different Pace

In Italy, the trains are not known to run on time.  In Italy (like many other European countries), worker strikes are extremely common.  In Italy, being "on time" has a very different meaning than it does in America, and DEFINITELY differently than it does to me.

So, I am going to need to 'adjust my attitude'.  Because we will be there for such a luxuriously long time, I can afford to adjust properly to the Italian pace of life.  Here's my ideas:

• Don't try to pack too much into a day
• If it's important to do something in a particular town, schedule it for the beginning of the time in that place, so if something goes wrong, we can try again another day
• Unless you have train tickets or museum reservations for a particular time, think in terms of general swaths of the day (morning, afternoon...) instead of specific times
• LEAVE THE WATCH AT HOME
• Remind myself daily that this is vacation
• A delay is an opportunity to take pictures and/or eat more gelato

Buona fortuna a me!  A once-in-a-lifetime trip is not to be ruined with pissy attitudes and frustration.

Technology - an international mystery

We are accustomed to being connected - to the internet and to family and friends.  We cannot do without this connection for 8 weeks.  But, Italy is not the United States - you knew that.  :-)  So, we thought and researched and thought some more about what our technology set-up would be.  We wanted to have a way to connect to the internet, a way to take, store and post photos, a way to connect to family and friends, preferably through skype and we wanted to be able to entertain ourselves and our kids with music and/or videos.  So, what to do?  I tried, initially, to only search on apartments with wifi connections, but it proved too restrictive.  We could bring our iphones with us and use them sparingly, but even that proved too costly of an option.  I also worried what would happen if one of the kids got separated from us and even the kindest person might not be willing or able to make an international call to find us.

So, here's what we're bringing:

• Mifi - I will need to buy a rechargeable sim card for this once we arrive in Italy  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002OE5N02/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00
• Unlocked quad band cell phones  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XRJELW/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00
• italian sim cards
• ipad - loaded with music and movies, can skype and email from here, too, connected to the above mifi or wifi when we have it
• ipod touch (Nate's)
• Camera
• These cool ipad connectors  http://www.amazon.com/Apple-iPad-Camera-Connection-MC531ZM/dp/B003K1EYM6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337693440&sr=8-1 which will allow us to download pictures from the camera to the ipad and upload to picasa

With all the necessary chargers and converters.  Fingers crossed that it all works like we hope and plan!

Leonardo Da Vinci

Nate, our 7-year-old, was tasked with preparing a biography report and he chose Leonardo Da Vinci.  What can I say, he's excited about our trip!  So here, from the perspective of a 2nd grader, are some important facts about Leonardo Da Vinci:

• Leonardo Da Vinci lived 500 years ago between 1452 and 1519

• He was born in Italy

• He is thought to be the greatest artist who ever lived

• He was a Renaissance Man, which means he was skillful in many subjects

• His most famous painting is the Mona Lisa

• He was prolific, which means he created MANY works and projects

• He had to make his own paintbrushes and paint, he couldn’t buy them at the store

• He wrote in cursive, backwards from right to left and was left-handed

Our trip philosophy

Yes, Brian and I have been to Italy before, but never with kids and certainly never for the length of this trip.  So, we are going to approach it quite differently.  First, we will be staying in apartments instead of hotels.  No room service but also no exorbitant bills for having laundry done.  All apartments have washing machines (and air conditioning!!).  We will eat at restaurants, sure, but we will also shop for ingredients and cook for ourselves some times.  We will do our very best to follow the pace and culture of life wherever we find ourselves.  So - here is what we want to try to see and do while we are there:

• Food.  We love food.  We love exploring, cooking, trying.  Not just new foods but new ways of enjoying it.  We will have our daily gelato, many picnics, breakfasts standing at the local bar and in Sicily we will try granita with brioche for breakfast like the locals  http://www.lovesicily.com/blog/food-and-drink/2004/07/28/the-perfect-sicilian-breakfast-granita-and-brioche .
• Science.  This is, after all, Galileo, Tesla, Marconi and Fibonacci's homeland.  We would like to find some of the lesser-visited places that honor these and other noteworthy Italian scientists.
• Music.  Live music - anything from a free concert in the park to Don Giovanni at the open-air arena in Verona  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verona_Arena.
• Art.  Yes, I know, everyone goes to Italy for the art.  We are no exception.  But, because of the kids we are going to take it in bite-sized pieces, avoiding a lot of the churches and dull museums, preferring to find the art in parks, piazzas and public places.  We will attempt a well-rounded view with different eras and forms.  
• Public places.  We want to enjoy Italy for Italy as much as we can.  The grown-ups can sip a cappuccino or beer at a piazza while the boys run around the fountain.  That's fine by us.  I have no problem spending a few hours at a local playground while the boys strike up friendships with local kids. I will not consider this a waste of vacation time.
• Kid fun  pools water parks factory tours amusement parks.  We WILL go into some museums, but we will also do some purely child (or child-at-heart) oriented stuff.  Amusement parks (we plan to go here for Nate's birthday:  http://www.gardaland.it/resort-en/ , water parks, factory tours are all allowed.
• Time for discoveries.  Except for a few mandatory pre-booked museum reservations and 2-day side trips, we will be unstructured and have time to explore.  Go walking in Venice until we are "lost", take a side trip to see the town of Vinci or follow our stomachs and noses to Bologna for a gastronomy day.  With cameras and journals in our backpacks, we want to be free to discover.  

And, through it all, lots of pictures, as many blog posts as I can manage and memories for a lifetime.  

What We Will Take a Miss On

I just went to my almost-monthly Italian conversation group today.  There are only 5-6 of us, two native speakers and the rest of us "learners" in one form or another.  Today, the moderator and hostess, Alessandra had her mother visiting from Italy.  For a little while, we discussed my upcoming trip to Italy, where we were going to stay and what we might do.  The fact that I was going to be traveling with two young boys was an important aspect of the conversation.  I mentioned that Nate and Sam were excited about seeing things underground in Rome like catacombs and indications of former buildings and structures that had been built over as the city developed.  One of the women asked if we were planning on going to Pompeii and I shocked them by saying, "maybe not".  I think there are a few iconic Italian sights that we will probably not go to see - by design not because of the crunch of a tight schedule:

1. Pompeii.  I have heard that it's incredible, but I have also heard it's huge (a LOT of walking), it's unbearably hot and dusty in the summer, it's a long trip from Rome, AND that there are a couple of interesting options instead.  We will likely make it to Ostia Antica and perhaps Herculaneum, but probably not Pompeii.

2. The leaning tower of Pisa.  Everything I have read says, ho-hum to me.  The town of Pisa itself is not much to see, a bit tourist trap-y and some even say, "Why are we celebrating a building that was so poorly engineered and built that it started leaning before it was even finished?"  That being said, if the boys can't stand the idea of a trip to Italy without the "Torre di Pisa", maybe we'll make a road trip from Florence.  But I'd rather go to Bologna for a fantastic meal or two...

3. St. Peters Basilica et al.  As non-Catholics, this just doesn't hold our interests the way it would to some.  Brian and I saw the basilica in 1994 and that was probably enough.  And, while I know there is some famous art there, we will probably skip the crowds and find some unusual off-the-beaten-path thing to see instead.

4. Cinque Terre.  I might like to see this cluster of villages some other time in my life - just like I might like to meander around Tuscany in an old Fiat.  However, we are trying our best with this trip to find things that are entertaining to all 5 members of our traveling party, and I'm pretty sure "picturesque" and "quaint" don't mean much to 4 and 8 year olds.

Ok, if you think I'm off my rocker or you have other sights to miss to add to my list, let me know!

Italian Idioms

There are many expressions in Italian, like in any language, but the ones I love the most are the ones which are similar to English idioms but literally translate quite differently (and humorously!).

Instead of "to throw a wrench in the works", we "mettere il bastone tra le ruote" or put a stick between the wheels.

Instead of "creme de la creme" (which is arguably french, not english), we have "fior fiore" or flower of flowers.

Instead of "don't judge a book by its cover", we have, "l'abito no fa il monaco" or the clothes do not make the monk

Instead of "to kill two birds with one stone", we have "prendere due piccioni con una fava" or to take two pigeons with one bean"

Instead of "when it rains, it pours", we have "piove sempre sul bagnato" or it rains always when it's already wet

And then, there are a few that are SO close, but just different enough to make one wonder...  The Italians "essere come un elefante in un negozio di cristalleria" - to be an elephant in a china shop.

But, at least one thing stays the same: someone good with plants is "pollice verde" - green thumbs!

Italian Ettiquette

Brian and I have been to Italy twice before, once in 1994 and the other time in 2000.  We learned then and still know some of the more well-known etiquette.  If you want to fit in at least the slightest bit, don't dress in jeans and sneakers; you won't be allowed in to most churches with bare knees or bare shoulders, no matter how stylishly you are dressed; lunch and dinner times are later than in the U.S. and Italian men loudly display their appreciation for the female form.  Then, there were things that we learned while we were there, like in a shop, you greet the shopkeeper as you arrive (buona sera or buon giorno), not waiting until the cash register AND, the revolving doors of banks only have room for ONE person at a time!

But, since we are going to be in Italy for almost 2 months, I wanted to look into other matters of manners.  How can we be respectful of the culture and perhaps a few snickers from locals...

Dining

• Italians hold their silverware "continental style" with the knife in the right hand and fork in the left.  You do not need to switch hands or set your knife down in between each cut.
• Lunch and dinner are long drawn out affairs.  You will not be hustled out
• No one will usually bring you the check until you ask for it - don't wave or call for your check, but wait to be able to make eye contact with your waiter
• Don't put your hands in your lap when not eating, but instead rest them on the table (forearms, not elbows)
• If there is not a designated bread plate, you may place your bread on the tablecloth next to your dinner plate.

As a guest at someone's home

• Flowers are not as common as hostess gifts.  A gift of a nice wine or chocolate will be appreciated and fussed over a bit, not put in the corner
• Don't sit until invited to do so
• Take small portions and ask for more later - this shows appreciation of the food
• Wine may continue to be topped-off throughout a meal.  When you are done, just leave it full.

General

• Good discussion topics: good, wine, soccer music, philosophy and current events
• Bad discussion topics: private family matters income, stereotypes, WWII, Vatican politics, mafia and "What do you do?"
• Italian don't form lines well.  Don't be offended if someone "cuts" in the line you perceive and don't wait for someone to tell you it's your turn.
• If paying by cash at a store, the clerk may expect you to put the coin portion of your payment into a small dish on the counter.  He or she will, likewise, place your change in it.
• It is easy to make friends with locals by complimenting their town.  Most Italians are very proud of their region.

Some of it is pretty common sense.  I look forward to practicing my new manners!

Next post is going to be about idioms and expressions...