My Italy trip is just days away!

[Courtesy Flush]

I learned survival-level Italian, then stopped studying. Now I barely remember what I've learned, and need to study my butt off! But they all speak English, right? ;)

Leaving Thursday. I've never been overseas.

Wish me a buon viaggia!

[GenDem]

1. Have a wonderful trip!

Italy is on my short list of places to go sometime in my lifetime.

Enjoy!!!!:hi:

[BurtWorm]

2. What a great time to go!

Time of year I mean, of course. ;)

[Omphaloskepsis]

3. I survived without knowing any Italian...

You will have better luck if you at least try. Butcher the language for thirty seconds and most people will tell you they speak English. Also, hotels are cheaper than hostels this time of year. And you won't have to deal with the silly restrictions hostels place on you.

[Evergreen Emerald]

4. Lucky you!

I went there a few years ago--it was awesome. I am so jealous!

[Courtesy Flush]

5. It's my first time

I'm planning to love it. That won't be good, as I'll be itching to return.

[SKKY]

6. I've been to Italy about 7 times...

...I love it. I hope you're going to spend some time in Venice as I think it's probably my favorite city ever.

[CTyankee]

7. I go to Italy twice a year and I don't find that most Italians speak English so well

In the hotels, yes. In the shops in the street, not so much. I've been in Rome, Florence and many small towns in Tuscany and Umbria, as well as in Sicily, and there you don't run into a lot of English speakers. In early fall I am going to the Amalfi Coast so I will be in Naples as well as all the Vesuvio ruins, etc.

I am in my Intermediate year of Italian at my local community college. It is difficult to learn if you don't have anyone to speak with, but I do try with my textbook and class lessons. I am learning the passato imperfetto, which you really need to know about because it is used in conversation by Italians a lot.If you are just going to speak in the present you don't have to worry too much. However, it is hard to carry on a conversation with just the present tense!

Get a little more fluent in directions, especially. I found that important when my friend and I were wandering around Rome looking for a way back to our hotel from the Coleseum. We were royally lost and not everyone could help us out. You might also want to be up on restaurant terms so when you are eating out you can recognize what you are eating.

DO NOT order capuccino in the afternoon or evening. Italians only have it in the the morning. Also don't ask for grated cheese on your salad. Greet tradespeople or people working in a trat or ristorante with a big "Buon giorno!" or "Buona sera!" and precede every request with either "per favore" or "per piacere" (per p'shereh in some dialects there altho I learned it as "per piachere"),that is considered polite("p'shereh is the greeing you use when you meet someone and shake hands). Do NOT go into a caffe bar just to use the bathroom ("toilette") without being courteous enough to greet the staff "Buon giorno! or without buying small caffe or juice. Coffee bars are practially on every street in most Italian citte and paese (cities and towns). You won't be given a tab in a restaurant in Italy unless you ask, so don't be surprised. My friend and I sat for hours waiting for our bill (not unhappily!) in Rome after dinner!

Hope this helps. Just my few hints. Italy is great. Wine costs less than Coke and it has no sulfates. The food is great. Seek out the little places and ask for their local wine and do some research on local specialities.

Wish I were going with you! Where are you going, anyway?

[fishwax]

8. Enjoy! Depending on where you go, you'll probably

find plenty of people who speak at least a bit of English--certainly in the hotels. But you'll also have to expect to carry out some transactions at retaurants, stores, or museums, etc. without words, because some people won't. In my experience, everyone that I talked to with whom I tried to speak Italian was either incredibly patient with my Italian (and/or tickled by my efforts) or else bailed me out by letting me know they spoke some english. (Especially among the younger people I met, many of whom were eager to practice their English.)

If you have a cheat sheet for common restaurant-speak, that might help. Where all are you going? Anyway, I'm sure you'll have a great time, and bring back some pictures to share :) :hi:

[bigwillq]

9. Have a great trip!

:hi: