Italian Hospital Bag Checklist: What Not to Pack

You have birth support people picked out. You have your birth plan typed up. Your hospital bag has been packed since your 28th week. Your freezer is full to capacity with frozen dinners (and cookies). You’ve been doing your Spinning Babies exercises. You’ve asked your mom/friends a hundred questions just in the last week, and Google a couple hundred more. You’ve read every birth story you can get your hands on. You’re so ready.

The beautiful thing about birth is that you never know what will happen. Each woman, birth, and baby is different. If you’re a first time mom like me, you can do everything in the world to prepare, but nothing will truly prepare you for the experience until you actually experience it. And that’s ok. With all the unpredictability, though, it is nice to at least be ready in other aspects where you can.

If you live in Italy, it’s even more unpredictable. If you’re not an Italian native, you get to add on another layer of unpredictability. If you’re pregnant and giving birth during a pandemic, go ahead and add another layer. Now you have this layered onion of unpredictability; the more you cut into it, the more you might want to cry.

I know, I know, Google doesn’t need another hospital bag checklist. If you’ve been pregnant since the invention of Google, blogs, and Pinterest, you know what I’m talking about. If you took everyone’s advice on what to pack you’d look like you’re moving into the hospital for good. I’m glad everyone nailed their hospital bag and are now suddenly experts on all things birth and babies. If it makes you feel any better, my hospital bag kinda stunk. As you’ll see below, there’s the official recommendation from the hospital, then in italics what I brought/what I would do differently next time. Half the reason my bag was not Mary Poppins’ bag was because of conflicting information from the hospital. Half the stuff they recommended I bring they ended up providing. Other items they discouraged I wished I might’ve had with me.

This is where this post comes in. I shall be happy if I can help one person be better prepared for their hospital stay in Italy. In Florence. At Ponte a Niccheri (Ospedale Santa Maria Annunziata). Before the rules change. Ok, well, at the very least you can empathize and/or laugh at my expense.

The links in this post are not affiliate links, no revenue is earned if you click on them, simply things I used and enjoyed. :)

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Italian Hospital Bag Checklist: What Not to Pack

The actual hospital checklist

At my first visit to the hospital at 39+1 weeks, I was given a checklist. A bit late in the game to be receiving it, but better late than never. It was enlightening, as Italian hospitals operate differently than American hospitals and expect you to bring more.

What follows are the hospital’s suggestions on what to bring. (Translation and sometimes paraphrasing by yours truly, oh joy.) See photo for the original list.

Our structure is public, able to provide whatever is indispensable for the hospital stay, obviously ours are all disposable items.
If you’d like a recommendation on what to bring we can suggest:

1. Breakfast is distributed in a carafe, so a mug and silverware are useful. (Breakfast is milk, tea, coffee, toast, cookies, butter, jam, and honey.) If you have other food habits, they’re not provided by the hospital.

   I had heard stories from other moms about having to bring their own dishes to the hospital, so was expecting this. Ironically I didn’t bring any because labor came on faster than I thought and we accidentally left several things at home.

   The infamous fette biscottate I roughly translated above as “toast” because they’re store-bought, very small pieces of dry bread. Think crouton texture. I had heard about women having just given birth, after many hours at the hospital, to be given as their first meal…fette biscottate. And a cup of tea. 60 calories of refined carbs will get you back your energy real quick after the hardest work of your life. Hahaha. However, I was not served the fette biscottate, but instead a little package of cookies, akin to graham crackers in taste. I even got TWO packages for breakfast. And because I didn’t have a mug, they gave me a tiny plastic cup of caffè latte or tea.

   Also, I would bring your own water and whatever beverages you desire. In my 76 hour stay at the hospital I was never once given nor offered water. When I was escorted to my room at 1am after the birth, I asked for water. All I had was a swig of an electrolyte drink my husband had gotten me during labor, but I hadn’t been much able to drink. That water never arrived so I spent the rest of the night rationing those few ounces. It was so hot, too. I asked again the next morning, and still didn’t get any (Throat…parched…so dry…have pity…pant pant). The coffee tasted wonderful (although I’m pretty sure it was some kind of powder mix) just because I was so thirsty. For lunch visiting hours when my husband was able to come back he brought me a pack of water and drinks. So consider bringing your own!

2. Lunch and dinner come directly on trays, if you follow particular diets or have food allergies let the staff know so they can present to you a different menu.

   I don’t have any food allergies, but a nurse would come in twice a day and rattle off the menu. There was a surprising amount of choices I thought, and each meal consisted of several different items. It’s hospital food, though, not delicious. But hey, after birth and being generally ravenous after not wanting to eat for 24+ hours, I almost enjoyed it.

   Each meal usually consisted of a choice of protein, choice of bland boiled vegetable, possibly a soup, a dry piece of bread, a mealy apple and some possibly worm-infested plums, with a small cheese chunk and some grated cheese and a little packet of olive oil since these were the “hyper-caloric with supplement” meals for the moms.

3. Clothing needs to be above all comfortable, for labor and birth a shirt or short nightgown, for the recovery garments that favor breastfeeding.

   The hospital video had recommended 2-3 nightgowns, button up and short sleeve so they can poke you with needles and stuff. I ended up bringing 3 nightgowns and a stretchy comfortable maternity dress for going home. I should’ve brought more, as the nightgown I wore during labor/birth I tossed. (It was old and stretched out, there’s a reason I chose that one.) Which basically left me with one gown per day in hospital. I’m sure that would’ve been fine normally but when your milk comes in and baby spits up…let’s just say I was wet and stained all the time. Bring options if you can!

   It was very hot in the rooms. Even though my clothes were very light I suffered a bit. I would wager it was about 85°F/30°C. Being mid September the weather could’ve gone either way, but leading up to then it was still quite hot. Never touched my fuzzy blanket. With the way Italians use air conditioning I figured it would be warm, I just didn’t expect it to feel like they had the heat cranked.

4. Disposable underwear are the most practical, but what you use daily is also fine.

   This is where information I received started conflicting. At first I heard to bring the Depends type disposable adult underwear, not pads. I originally didn’t want to because when you break it down, it was about €1 per disposable pair. I had decided to get some pads since they were cheaper, then once things slowed down switch to my trusty ModiBodi period undies. I didn’t want to be chided at the hospital for not bringing what they recommended, so I ended up buying one pack of the Tena disposable undies when I found a good sale. Yes, they were very nice, secure, and comfy. Not too cumbersome either. I recommend them. But are they necessary? No. Postpartum pads and nighttime pads were fine, too.

   All that deliberating on my end of what to buy/bring, and the hospital provided pads. Sure, they were roughly the size of a small magic carpet and without any adhesive to keep them in place, but that would’ve saved me time, money, and room in my hospital bag if they had just said they provide them.

5. Instead of a bidet towel a roll of toilet paper is more practical given the abundant blood loss after birth.

   Spoiler alert: despite having heard from others that hospitals don’t have toilet paper, this one did. That roll of toilet paper in my bag? Didn’t need it. (Maybe I should’ve TPed them? Lol)

   I wondered if the hospitals might have bidets, as that might render the classic postpartum peri bottle redundant. I had looked and looked, but could only find these much fancier “portable bidet” bottles on Amazon for €15ish. Why can’t I get a peri bottle for a few dollars like in the States? Feeling quite proud of myself, I got around the problem by buying a food condiment bottle for €2, basically the same thing as a peri bottle and cheaper! But. The hospitals did have bidets and the midwives were probably quite amused by this American carrying around her salad dressing bottle.

6. A towel and washcloth for everyday hygiene.

   I packed soap, a washcloth, and towel, but no shampoo. I figured I would have my hair freshly washed before going to the hospital and could survive just fine washing my hair after at home. In real life, labor came on quickly and none of that “try and sleep, shower, do daily life until you can’t anymore” stuff happened. And when labor came on, my hair was dirty. No washing it now! Because of this, I had my husband bring me a bottle of shampoo. In the end I didn’t get to use that either, being alone in the hospital, who was going to watch my newborn while I showered? (No bathrooms in the shared rooms, you had to go down the hall, and there was only one shower.)

7. Comfortable and washable socks/slippers.

   Yes to comfy socks. I brought an old cruddy pair to wear for labor and throw away after I was done. For the rest of the time I brought a pair of flip flops; that was a good choice since the maternity ward was so hot.

   When I first arrived at the hospital I was shown my room and locker for my stuff next to the bed. I changed into my nightgown and socks and the midwife who was waiting to escort us to my labor room immediately started chiding me that wearing socks in a hospital was “unsanitary.” Sorry, but I’m not wearing shoes while I’m laboring! And why do they list socks if they’re going to give me a hard time about it?

8. For your baby if you want you can bring your garments (pajamas and clothes or onesies).

   If I want? Is my baby going to go home naked? Hahaha.

   The hospital video mentioned bringing 2-3 outfits and 2-3 onesies for baby. Similar to clothes for me as mentioned above, I would bring more for a 3 day stay, for similar reasons. There’s milk, spit up, and that wonderful meconium.

   You might also consider bringing a few size options, just in case your baby is born bigger or smaller than you expect. Coming from a family of big babies, I had no reason to expect my son to come out not even 7 lbs/3.1kg. Poor little guy, all his clothes were huge on him for the first month of his life.

9. 1 pack of nighttime pads for mamma.

   See #4. Might make more sense to put these next to each other on the list? What do you think, would they let me rewrite their list for them?

10. 1 pack of diapers for the baby.

    The video that was so hard to understand from the hospital we thought had said no diapers, but now we need to bring them? Ok.

    Then we show up to the hospital and they provided diapers. That now makes half of my hospital bag redundant.

Pacifiers are generally discouraged because they can interfere negatively with breastfeeding.

The day we left the hospital the pediatrician recommended we wait until baby is at least four weeks old before introducing a pacifier, so as to establish a good breastfeeding relationship first.

This was fine by us since we had more or less decided not to introduce pacifiers unless we felt a desperate need. That desperation beset us by two weeks in, but at that point baby boy clearly had NO confusion that the pacifier wasn’t his mama and wanted none of it.

For the first days after birth the use of nursing pads are also discouraged.

I’m actually not sure why they say this, I haven’t heard this anywhere else. If you know, please let me know in the comments or drop me a message, I’m curious to know!

For me, they would have been very useful in the hospital, I was so very leaky. Might’ve looked a little less “Singing in the Rain” and a little more Audrey Hepburn.

Ideas of what TO pack

Here are some more ideas I heard from people I trust. While I packed some of these myself, I didn’t touch a thing in my bag during labor or birth. I thought it out so carefully, what I thought I might like and be like during birth. Nope. It was labor and that was it. No trinkets. I would have so loved having my mom or doula there, experienced women who know childbirth and could have proactively helped me and anticipated my needs. My husband was lovely, but he was as new to the experience as I was. The midwife was in and out, and didn’t offer a whole lot.

1. Hot water bottle

   I didn’t pack this, but this is one of the few things the midwife offered and it provided some relief from back labor, at least somewhat for an hour or two.

2. Tennis balls tied in a sock

   For massaging. Sounded nice in theory, used to use those a lot after ballet class.

3. Essential oils

   It’s better to bring some cotton balls or smell the oils straight from the bottles than apply topically. Some women have very strong smell aversions, and what you love one minute during labor you might not be able to stand shortly after. It’s much easier to close a bottle or toss a cotton ball than it is to wash an oil off your body. I had with me lavender, lime, and clary sage, simply because I thought those might be nice during labor.

4. Music

   It’s funny that I didn’t think about it at the time, but my room was completely silent. Looking back I think music would’ve been nice, and in a way also helps you mark the passage of time. I had picked out what music I wanted to listen to on Spotify beforehand, but never thought about it in the moment.

5. Homey items

   Anything that reminds you of home and might make your birth area more comfortable.

6. Washcloths

   These can be multi-purpose, use with cold water during transition or pushing while you might be hot, sweaty, and possibly nauseated. Or wet with hot water to provide comfort to muscles and other body parts.

7. A concentration token

   A meaningful object to focus on. I chose a necklace in the shape of my home state, Michigan…that stayed around my neck and I forgot was there until after baby was born. Hahaha.

8. Flameless candles

   I didn’t bring these, but I thought they were a lovely idea for ambiance. A hospital isn’t going to let you burn down the building, but flameless or some kind of twinkle light would be neat!

All these are lovely, some I had in my bag. None I used. Their existence was completely forgotten during those long hours. Oh well, maybe next time!

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Pregnancy: The Italian Edition - Part 3

Click here to read Part 1 or Part 2

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Pregnancy: The Italian Edition - Part 3, the Third Trimester

The hot Florentine summer was now in full swing, as was my third trimester. Normally in the States checkups increase in frequency in the third trimester to every two weeks. Here they remained once a month, so I only had 3 appointments with midwife, plus the third trimester ultrasound. Once you reach about 40 weeks you start going to the hospital once a week for a checkup.

We had since moved from the outskirts of Florence to a small town outside of Florence called Figline e Incisa Valdarno. Technically we now lived in a different township, so we would need to change our official residency before we could change primary care doctor and possibly midwife. However, to change residency you need to fill out a form, provide documentation, then wait for the police to come to your home in the hours you wrote that you would be home every day. You don’t know what day they’ll show up once you submit your residency request. For my last residency I stayed home during the hours I said I would, every day like a good girl. When did the police show up? NOT during the window of time they were supposed to! And I had left. Thankfully my husband was home, he let them in, showed them an ID of mine, and that was good enough. I’m certainly not going to complain that they didn’t insist on coming back another day, but it does rather defeat the point of ensuring I truly do live there, as anyone could give an address and leave an ID! Because the process can be a bit lengthy, I decided to not go through all that and just keep my doctor and midwife, even if it meant over an hour in public transport in 90-100°F weather. Buses, trains, stores are all air conditioned in theory, but Italian air conditioning is not 68F American A/C. The nicest department stores usually have theirs set around 80°F. Public transport usually ends up being a wish and a thought, something like warm, stuffy air blowing on you. I would keep napkins in my purse to put on the (empty, thanks social distancing) train seat opposite me and prop up my feet to keep the swelling down. That way the train manager couldn’t say anything to me, as I’m not dirtying the seat!

Chapter 13: The 7th month checkup

The morning of my 7th month checkup when I went to the lab to do bloodwork, the area had been rearranged. There was a new waiting area setup outside the lab in the courtyard, complete with a new number screen. After my number was called the first time for “accettazione” I returned outside to wait for the second time my number would be called. I settled in for the long wait, and after almost an hour I started to realize that people who had arrived after me were already done. I decided to go inside to ask. They had continued calling numbers without ever returning to call my number the second time. If this number system had changed, they neither explained this to me nor gave me a new number. The lady at the fold-out “reception” table didn’t know why I hadn’t been called back. She stared at the screen for a bit, then told me to “go back and ask.” Ok, um, where exactly? I went back to the room indicated, and found several nurses sitting there and no one getting their blood drawn. I told them what happened and the one nurse immediately invited me to sit down. So they’re back here with no one, and I’m out front forgotten. This is a fantastic new system. Love it. Now up to see midwife.

At my sixth month checkup I had made sure to inform the lab and midwife of my new address, since the old would still come up when my tessera sanitaria/healthcare card was scanned. Midwife offered to put me in touch with the midwives at the Figline hospital, but for reasons already stated I declined. She said it pleased her to continue to follow me through the end of my pregnancy. This made me feel nice, as until now I had no idea what she thought of this strange pregnant American in Italy. Well, at least she’s enjoying herself! Last month’s checkup was the rushed one, and she neither mentioned my weight nor brought up the glucose test. The window for doing the test had passed and midwife didn’t sign and stamp it, therefore I couldn’t have done it if I had wanted to! Such a shame. After weighing me and seeing I had gained .5kg/1lb more than I was supposed to in the last month, she once again asked if I had been eating a lot? Like a ninja I circumnavigated the subject quickly; I was not getting into this again!

I was to remind midwife this appointment to change the date of my third trimester ultrasound, since she had scheduled it for an earlier date than is ideal, just to make sure I at least had one booked. July/August are when all the Italians go on vacation. She looked for a new date for me, but there were still none available. She said she would call me if she managed to get me another. If not, at least I had one.

Now being seven months pregnant and realizing that I was very little prepared for the task of birth ever looming, I was ready to grill my midwife with questions. Hospital tours were a no go, birth classes and mom support groups cancelled, and when it came to actual hospital procedures midwife was not forthcoming with information. It also didn’t help calm my nerves that the Covid rules were in constant flux. If a regulation changed, by the time midwife was informed it had probably already changed twice more. This was frustrating for both of us, but couldn’t be helped.
Following are some of the questions I asked midwife:

• Will my husband be allowed in with me?

  At Ponte a Niccheri, yes. I would get tested for Covid, and as long as I’m negative, he doesn’t need to be tested and can be in the labor room with me. This wasn’t the case at Careggi, where husbands also had to be tested. I had seen other women’s stories where the husbands’ results didn’t come back in time and they missed the birth. This is another reason Ponte a Niccheri was more appealing!

• Is a water birth possible?

  Yes, but that’s something I’d have to ask for at the hospital.

• How many days will I be in the hospital?

  Given there are no complications, about 3 days for a natural, 4 for a caesarean.

• Is skin to skin contact a common occurrence?
  Yes, skin to skin contact is encouraged, as Ponte a Niccheri is a very family oriented, physiologically-minded hospital.

• What happens if I go into labor early?

  I go to the emergency room. No need to call midwife.

Midwife also mentioned I could go to the hospital’s website and find some videos for birth preparation. I was expecting maybe some birth classes and other helpful things. Alas. There were maybe 4-5 low-quality clips of varying degrees of unhelpfulness. No birth classes. One had strange music with some weird artwork and a midwife talking about the role of hormones in pregnancy and what a special time it is in your life. Um. That’s lovely and all, but how is this helping me learn how to most effectively get a baby out?? The only slightly helpful one had a midwife talking about what to bring to the hospital. A written list would’ve been more helpful, so I didn’t have to keep rewinding (is that called scrubbing nowadays?) and writing down what to bring. The sound quality was also such that I had to ask my husband at one point what she was saying, as I still couldn’t understand after listening to it 4 times. After playing it 3 times more for him, we finally decided she was saying we don’t need to bring diapers. Needless to say, the hospital was also leaving me to be very…independent in my birth prep, to put a positive spin on it?

Favorite take-aways from this appointment:

• Per usual, one of the first questions midwife asks is if I have any new bloodwork results for her. This time I had to say no, because the results from last month never showed up in the mail, they must’ve gotten my new address wrong. She sent me down to the front desk to get the results, which only took a couple minutes (I guess she can’t or didn’t want to access the results from her computer) and I gave them to her. She asked if I wanted a copy or to wait for my results to come in the mail? Uh, it’s been a month, I don’t think they’re coming? I then looked at my address on the paper and showed her that indeed the city was wrong. They’re not going to be showing up to my place anytime soon!

• When midwife measures my uterus, she always has me go to the bathroom first. I find it ironic that she weighs me, chides me on my weight, then asks me to go to the bathroom so she can get an accurate measurement of my uterus. Ha.

• Parting comments from midwife: “Don’t eat too much fruit or sugar.” “You have a very nice look about you.” So which one is it? Careful what you eat because you’ve gained too much weight, or I look good? Haha!

Chapter 14: Certificato telematico

I was supposed to get the “certificato telematico” from my midwife, a form you need in order to apply for the standard 5-month paid maternity leave in Italy. As it turns out, she wasn’t able to get it for me, it had to be my primary care doctor or a gynecologist. Getting it from my doctor would be problematic, because he’s very hard to get ahold of, especially since Covid. So midwife said she’d try and get ahold of one of her colleague gynecologists, get them to fill out this form for me, and email it to me. If this didn’t work, I’d have to come to an appointment with a gynecologist to do the form. She made me an appointment in case she couldn’t get it, but the earliest appointment was the next week, which would be after my maternity appointment at CISL. Ergh. It was also the same day and time as my currently scheduled ultrasound that she had tried unsuccessfully to change. She suggested I try and get ahold of my doctor and in the meantime she would see what she could do. The problem with my primary care doctor is that he only takes patients by appointment since Covid. To make an appointment you must call, but he only answers one of his numbers, sometimes, if you sprinkle a little pixie dust, and you’d only know this number by showing up to one of his offices to find it’s closed and need to call this particular number. After numerous tries, the doctor did answer and I got an appointment. AMAZING.

My appointment was at the same time that the doctor’s office opened in the afternoon, and I got there early. How American of me. I rang the bell but no one answered. I realized the lady across the street parking her Vespa and having a chat was the receptionist, as she yelled across that they weren’t open yet. About 5 minutes after opening time, she unlocked the door and went in, letting me come with her. She told me I could wait in the waiting room, and 45 minutes after my appointment time the doctor decided to grace us with his presence. Once he got settled in his office he called me back and we got to work getting the certificato telematico. In the end it was the receptionist who did everything, she only needed the doctor for a password sent to his cell number. He and I just sat by and watched, making awkward small talk about Italy and America, poverty, and how young I am. 27 isn’t that young I didn’t think. “No, you’re veryyyyy young.” Ok. An hour and multiple attempts later, because the INPS site that the certificate is downloaded from was having problems (shocking), I had the certificate in hand. I almost didn’t get it, and since my maternity appointment was the next day, it was very important that I get it. It was close to a miracle that I walked out with the certificate in hand!

I called midwife to let her know I obtained the certificate and she could cancel the other appointment with the gynecologist. In other good news, she was able to switch my third trimester ultrasound to a later date.

Chapter 15: Maternity leave appointment

Armed with the certificato telematico and all the other required documents, I headed off to the INPS/CISL office on the far side of Florence. I waited my turn outside on one of the few plastic chairs before being called in. The signora set everything up for me and soon I would have the standard 5 months maternity. What she failed to explain was that I would have to come back after baby is born to continue the maternity. I thought the 5 months maternity started at 7 months pregnant, then continued until baby was 3 months old. Nope. You get 2 months (roughly, depending on when you give birth), then you go back after baby is born to get the last 3 months. I discovered this when the payments stopped. A couple phone calls and appointments later it was remedied, the usual run around. I’m thankful to be getting any maternity at all though, I know not everyone does!

Chapter 16: Baby bonuses and an expired permesso

There were a couple other bonuses and such for new parents and babies, there was even a special one for babies born in 2020, the pandemic babies, haha! I was unable to apply at the same time as my maternity appointment however, because I didn’t have a currently valid permesso. (Permesso di soggiorno, or permission to stay, is what allows me to stay and live in Italy.) My permesso had expired back in March, and I had applied to renew it by the end of February.

Because applying for and renewing permessos can take so long (up to a year or beyond, for a document that is valid generally from 1-5 years), when you submit your application/renewal request at the post office you are given a receipt, which is valid as your permesso until your appointment at the questura (police station). Your appointment is usually 2-4 months after submission at the post office. Once you go to your appointment, it will take another 3-6 months or longer to receive the notification that your permesso is ready for pickup. Keep in mind the average weight time at the actual questura is about 4-5 hours. You may be given an appointment time, but really you have to get there as early as possible, 5-6am ideally, and wait in a line that wraps around the building. They don’t actually open until 8am.

Upon submitting my renewal request in February, a few days later I received a text message and eventually a letter in the mail confirming my appointment at the questura for October. I was instructed to bring that letter with me to the appointment. 8 months later? Guess I shouldn’t be surprised, things are extra slow with Covid. A few days after that I received another text message informing me that my appointment was changed from October 2020 to end of January 2021. Huh. As I write this, I still haven’t been to my appointment. That permesso receipt is getting very faded and wrinkled in my purse. I get to go wait at the questura with a 4 month old baby in January during Covid, yay! Prayers and snacks appreciated.

How does this tie into the pregnancy novel? Because the permesso receipt wasn’t acceptable to apply for these other baby bonuses. I would have to come back when I have my new permesso. Which would be in more than 6 months. The signora suggested I go to the questura and hassle them to try and get my new permesso sooner.

On our way back home we stopped by the questura to see what could be done. The police officer at the door said he wasn’t the one to ask, come back tomorrow morning. The next morning we came back to ask. This police officer informed us that, due to Covid, all permessos that expired after January 31, 2020 were automatically extended until 31 July. Originally I believe it was until June 15, but a few days before they had extended the extension. This means that, at the moment of my appointment for the maternity and baby bonuses, my permesso was technically still valid. But we didn’t know that in the moment as the law had just been passed the day prior, and news had apparently not reached the signora helping me. Oof.

Chapter 17: Renewing, once again, the tessera sanitaria

As you probably don’t remember back from part 1, my tessera sanitaria had expired the same date as my permesso, in March. When I renewed it I was only given another 5 months. That time was drawing to an end so off I was to try and renew it yet again, so I wouldn’t have problems in the next couple months with giving birth and all.

I arrived at the same ASL office where I had renewed it last time. I waited, and when someone finally walked by I asked if I could renew my tessera. She said I had to make an appointment and told me what number to call. On my way out I happened to run into an acquaintance of mine who works in that office. He informed me that because the permessos’ validity were being extended, therefore also my tessera validity should be extended. So instead of expiring July 31, it should be valid until August 31. Not super helpful as that just had me renewing my tessera again in a month, just weeks before my due date. He said he would check to make sure mine was extended, and kindly took my information. For some unknown reason my card had not been extended and did indeed expire in July. But he was able to renew it for me, with a simple email sending me a temporary tessera with the real thing to follow in the mail. So easy, and now valid until January! So I can forget about that until at least after baby is born, phew!

Chapter 18: 3rd trimester ultrasound

Off again to the Palagi hospital for my final ultrasound. Once we arrived huffing and puffing at the top of the hill, I headed towards the main entrance as that’s where I was redirected to last time. Now there were big paper signs redirecting us to the side entrance. We climbed the steps and I entered alone, sad that my husband didn’t get to experience a single ultrasound with me.

I wasn’t entirely sure where to go, since it was different every single I had been there, so I went to the accettazione/CUP area to see if I could check in and ask. I took a number and when I was called the lady barely glanced at my appointment paper and told me to head up to the third floor. This was the same area I had been last time, so felt semi-confident in what I was doing. I reached the waiting area and sat down. I was the only one there for the longest time. Then a doctor appeared and called my name. He promptly disappeared beyond the door and by the time I reached it (8 months pregnant and not exactly moving at the speed of lightning) he was nowhere in sight. I thought I saw him head towards the right, so I headed to the right and looked both ways down the hallway. No one. Ok, well I was called from the left last time so that makes more sense. I turn around and headed to the left. I look down that hallway both ways. Not a soul. Well, this is just embarrassing. I head back to the right again. Still no sign of the living. Where did he go?! Just as I’m wondering, “now what do I do??” I hear him yelling “MORRIS?” from somewhere down the hallway on the right. So I yelled back “where are you?!?” with a hint of despair in my voice, like the sophisticated person that I am. He shouted back some stellar directions, something like “back here” and I somehow managed to find him further down the hall, around the corner, in his room. There you are, Peter!

The first few minutes of the appointment the doctor was on his phone, talking about how tired he was, he was on his last patient of the day, almost done, etc., while I got out my tessera sanitaria and appointment slip for him. When he had hung up and and seemed in a good place with the computer stuff, I ventured to ask if it would be possible for him to write down on a slip of paper baby’s gender, without me seeing. My husband and I wanted it to be a surprise, but with Covid it was looking all but certain that my mom wouldn’t be allowed to come to Italy for the birth. We had decided to ask the doctor for the slip of paper, and I would show my mom the paper over FaceTime without me seeing it. That way she would know and could have fun preparing a little box to ship to us, blue or pink items, that we would open after baby was born. The doctor interrupted me before I had finished, “no.” It was so blunt, I figured he must be joking, right? So I sheepishly finished, to which he didn’t respond.

I laid down and he commenced the ultrasound. He didn’t say much and the whole ultrasound lasted maybe 5 minutes? I knew the second ultrasound was the longest and most thorough, but still, it seemed too brief. I had a couple questions I wanted to ask him, but hesitated because of his abrupt response earlier. I finally got them out and he responded genially enough. I asked baby’s position, is he/she head down, and he was. He actually went back and found baby’s back to show me, and took some screenshots while he did so (he hadn’t even looked at baby’s back and wouldn’t have if I hadn’t said something, he was about to finish!). Then I was done, he handed me the photos and never mentioned the note with baby’s gender. I guess he really hadn’t been joking, and I didn’t want to push him, so I left. It was weird.

Chapter 19: 8th month checkup

I went into the eighth month checkup feeling quite lighthearted, thinking this was my last appointment with midwife (it wasn’t). I could gain all the weight I wanted in this last month and she’ll never know, ha! Next step, hospital and birth! At the same time, I felt a bit in limbo since my midwife would not be present at the birth, and I wouldn’t know any of the midwives at the hospital while I’m giving birth, so I felt…like an orphan?

You see, in Italy the midwife or gynecologist who follows you only does so for the clinical visits. Once it’s time to give birth, whichever midwives or doctors are on duty at the hospital you’ve chosen are the ones who will be assisting your birth, people you’ve never met before. If you want the same medical professional to be at the birth, you’d have to go into the private sector.

I finished my last round of blood work, which went smoothly for maybe the first time ever? It went quickly, only 30 minutes, I wasn’t forgotten, and when I was called back I went to a different room than normal, which was bigger and had a comfy chair. I was the only one in that room and the nicest young nurse took my blood, she spoke English and it really made my morning! I also picked up my lab results from last month, since they still didn’t arrive at my new address.

All the usual checkup things happened, weight, blood pressure, uterus measurement, listening to baby’s heartbeat. Except, we were in a different room than usual this day which caused some discrepancies in some measurements. At first my uterus wasn’t measuring the right size, then midwife realized it was a different exam table and I was lying at a different angle. Since we were also using a different scale than normal, she didn’t believe that I had only gained 2kg/4.5lbs this month, and actually waited for the doctor using our usual room to finish with her patient, then escorted me into that room just to weigh me. And she was correct, that scale read a bit more. So she felt vindicated that I couldn’t possibly have gained the correct amount, but she didn’t go beyond “aha, I thought so”. It seems every other appointment she decided to make a big deal out of it, but thankfully this wasn’t one of those.

This appointment also included the crowd favorite from the libretto di gravidanza, the vaginal rectal swab (to see if you’re positive for Group B streptococcus). I didn’t know what to expect for this; it’s basically like a Pap smear but with no speculum, just a long Q-tip, therefore less uncomfortable. Dear midwife cautioned me right before doing the swab that I might feel some discomfort. I laughed and said something to the effect of “if a little Q-tip causes me discomfort what am I going to do about the baby that has to come out in a few weeks??” She laughed. She didn’t laugh often. I think that was a very American moment for me.

I made sure to tell midwife this appointment about some preeclampsia symptoms I had been exhibiting. Each one could easily be explained away with the hot weather, but when just a few days before this appointment I had a severe headache that ended in vomiting, I wanted reassurance. When midwife took my blood pressure it was a bit higher than usual but nothing alarming. She recommended I check it once a week. Pharmacies in Florence center were not allowing people to have their blood pressure measured due to Covid regulations, but midwife suggested I try where I lived as their rules might be different.

To my surprise, midwife scheduled one last appointment with her, granted I didn’t go into labor beforehand. She also scheduled my first appointment with the hospital, about a week before my due date. The hospital later called me to tell me where and when to come for the Covid test.

Chapter 20: Where to check blood pressure during a world pandemic?

A week later I was supposed to get my blood pressure checked. I tried asking at the pharmacy in Figline. They also weren’t allowed to check anyone’s blood pressure during Covid. They suggested I try across the street, where there happened to be a Red Cross. I went across and rang the bell, and a man came down and kindly agreed to measure my bp. This involved going out and opening the garage door and getting into the ambulance. To my dismay my blood pressure was higher than it had been yet (135/91).

The next day I decided to go pick up my lab results from last week, and to see if they would measure my bp. After the higher reading yesterday I wanted to check it again, but didn’t necessarily want to have to measure it in an ambulance every day. My results were ready and I was relieved to see no protein in my urine. After asking at the front desk who sent me back to the lab who sent me back to one of the rooms who sent me to another room, a nurse cheerily took my bp which was back down to 128/80. Still not my normal but at least lower.

After that my husband suggested I get my own bp cuff so I can measure it at home every day. Midwife had said to check it weekly, but never actually said to let her know, or even to let her know if it was above a certain number. I sent her an email with all my numbers anyway. Haha.

Chapter 21: The 9th month checkup

Now I finally could rejoice in my last midwife appointment! All the normal proceedings happened and midwife seemed almost, dare I say it, affectionate? She even went as far as to say, “ah, if only everyone were like Jenny” after asking me to do something that I had already done. I’m no exceptional being, but apparently one of the few organized people in this country? Haha!

Favorite take-aways from this appointment:

• Midwife recommending some breathing/birth films to look into to help me in labor…uh, better late than never? I’m over 38 weeks pregnant here…

• Midwife explaining to me what contractions are . “It’s not constant pain, like a headache, it come and goes. Like a wave.” Again, if I didn’t already know this at almost 9 months pregnant, what am I doing here? I may have spent most of my pregnancy in lockdown but I wasn’t in a cave!

• As I’m leaving and we’ve already said our goodbyes, midwife follows me out of the room and leans over the railing as I walk down the stairs. “Best wishes, you’ll do well, let me know how it goes! I can hear by the sound of your footfalls that you carry yourself well.” Such high praise! I just might miss this lady.

Chapter 22: Covid test and 1st hospital checkup

At 39+1 weeks pregnant I had my first appointment at the hospital. I had no idea what to expect, other than the Covid test and maybe a cardiotocography, the last exam in my “libretto di gravidanza.”

When the hospital contacted me they told me to come at 7:30am for the Covid test, no other option. That meant a 4am alarm, a walk, a train, and two buses to get to the hospital that early. The bright spot was before getting the second bus we would stop and get a fresh pastry and cappuccino. No one mentioned fasting for this test so I took full advantage! We got to the hospital about half an hour early, and went to the old ER as I had been instructed. We passed the abandoned triage tent, up the steps and found the door to the ER locked, but the lights were on. Not a soul was around so we went back down the steps to see if there might be another entrance. After passing some areas that didn’t look fit for human habitation, we approached some other doors. Two guards at the door started taking our temperature before we could ask where to go for the Covid test. They told us to go to the old ER. And if we were just there and no one is around? “Oh, well you have to knock.” Naturally. We returned to the old ER and tried knocking. A couple other pregnant women had started to show up at this point as it was almost 7:30. Finally a nurse fully garbed in PPE showed up and told us to hang on, he can’t let us in until at least 7:30. Mind you, just beyond the doors is the empty waiting room and out here it’s a crumbly cement landing and stairs, no seating. My husband asked if the 9 months-pregnant women might be able to wait in the waiting room (might be nice)? The nurse looked behind him at the room and decided there was no harm in it.

A bit past 7:30 and the PPE nurse came back to give his Covid spiel, as for most of us this was our first time. Someone had told me they would probably do the Covid blood test instead of the dreaded swab, and I wish this had been true. It wasn’t, hence the spiel. So remember, if you’re getting Covid swabbed:

• You will be swabbed down the throat first, then in each nostril.

• Be careful not to accidentally touch the sample after you’ve been swabbed, or it will be considered contaminated and you’ll have to redo the whole thing. Even if it just grazes the outside of your nose.

• Don’t touch or sneeze on the nurse or he has to go change all his PPE.

• Don’t make any sudden movements, especially during the nose swab, as you could cause yourself serious injury.

• It’s a normal, physiological response in pregnant women to gag/vomit after the throat swab. Likewise, watery eyes and crying after the nose swab is also normal.

• If you do have to vomit, please vomit in the designated bucket next to you. Vomiting on the floor will shut down the whole Covid testing operation while they have to clean and sterilize the area. Please, please, we beg of you, vomit in the bucket.

• The samples will be sent to Careggi hospital, once there it will take about 12 hours to get the results. You’ll only be notified if you’re positive.

• Your negative test result is valid for one week. This is more than the standard 48 hours since it is assumed pregnant women are already cautious and at home more, therefore less likely to contract Covid-19. You will be tested once a week until you give birth. (No time like the present to eat spicy food and go for some nice long walks!!)

• The record number of tests for a pregnant woman (at that hospital) is 5 times. Try not to beat her record.

Since I was the first one to arrive, I was also the first to be called back. I generously tried to offer the lady after me my spot, but she didn’t go for it. Back I walked (waddled?), checked that my name and birthdate were correct, and sat in the chair. I confirmed the trash bag-lined box next to me was the vomit bucket, pulled down my mask, and I was ready. I overzealously thrust up my chin, which I was asked to lower some, opened my mouth and back went the long, long Q-tip. The nurse asked me to say “ahhhh” three times, and just when I thought I might actually lose it, that part was done. With the removal of the swab I did have a healthy gag, but my breakfast stayed put. Then up the nose went the swab, where the nurse seemed to enjoy sweeping out the cobwebs. With involuntary tears now trickling down my face, I thanked him and leapt out of there, probably leaving the remaining dozen women filled with even more trepidation, seeing me coming out “crying.” About as unpleasant as I was expecting, and secretly hoping baby might arrive before next week.

Now not even 8am, I headed around and up to the main hospital area. Midwife had asked me what time I wanted for the hospital appointment, I had the choice of between 7:30am-10:30am. I opted for 10:30, not knowing at the time that the Covid tests were only at 7:30. So would I now have to wait over 2 hours? I checked in and waited in the hallway seats, where many other people were waiting for various reasons, as many different doctors’ rooms were just off this hall. The first three doors were for the midwives, and I settled myself in for a long wait. I had barely started writing some cards when a midwife came out and called each of the pregnant women waiting and told us to remember a number she gave us. I was number 5, so figured I would be the fifth called back. She asked us to be patient, since there were many of us and only two midwives working. Not even half an hour later and the other midwife called me back. She escorted me to a different wing of the hospital and unlocked an unused room. I felt kinda special and also a bit relieved to get away from the hubbub in that other area. She hooked me up for the cardiotocography, and I got to listen to baby’s heartbeat for almost an hour. I pressed a button every time I felt a kick. The midwife in the meantime entered all my information into the computer. When she was done she sent me back to where I was waiting originally, to be called a second time. The same midwife called me 5 minutes later, and this time she used an ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid. I still had plenty, then she realized I wasn’t even 40 weeks yet, why ever did I come in so early? I explained that midwife made me this appointment. She understood, I was just doing what I was told to do. Oh well, no big deal. She made sure I was feeling alright, no major contractions, bleeding, my water hadn’t broken, or any other complications or signs of labor. Should any of those happen I was to call or come in to the hospital. I refused the pelvic exam as I really didn’t see the point and it’s not completely risk free. If nothing happened I was to return to the hospital a week from today, she made me a slip with the appointment which I took to the CUP area to make an official appointment. Then I was done, about the same time my appointment should’ve started at 10:30! Now, can this pregnant lady get a nap or what?

Chapter 23: 2nd Covid test and hospital checkup

Now at 40+1 weeks pregnant and no new developments, I was off to the hospital again. Here we were once more up at 4am to be there by 7:30. We walked past the empty triage tent and up the stairs to the old ER. The doors were still locked. We knocked, no one answered. After a few more women had arrived we heard someone shout up at us, “Covid testing is no longer in there! Wait by the triage tent while we get suited up.” It was the nurse, just arriving. So we all waited on the overgrown lawn (garden?) while the nurses prepared everything. They went through the swab spiel, and I was first up…again. Early bird gets the first Covid swab! This time there was just a chair setup outside the tent on the grass. I confirmed the location of the vomit bucket, and was ready. Maybe because I opened my mouth wider and said “ahhh” more confidently this time, it wasn’t as long or as awful. I didn’t gag and my eyes only watered, no actual tears escaped. The nurse even complimented how well I did. Why thank you, this isn’t my first rodeo. He said “see you next time” to which I genially replied, “I hope not!” Spoiler alert, I got my wish, as two days after I would go into labor.

Then it was up to the hospital for my second checkup. My appointment was earlier this time, 8:30am, but it didn’t really matter as I was called back almost right away. I sometimes think they put the time on appointment slips just to look pretty. I was in a shared room today for the cardiotocography, then was called to another room for the amniotic fluid assessment. Everything was in order, and I had the pelvic exam done today since I was now technically overdue and curious. No dilation but the cervix was softening and baby was at -2. I was sent home with the same instructions from last week and an appointment for the next week, an appointment I would never make it to…dun dun!

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Are you still reading? I’m impressed. Now go make cookies or something! :)

For the culmination of this pregnancy journey, read the birth story of Elyas here. You can also find the birth story of Miriam, baby #2 and born in the STATES, here.

Pregnancy: The Italian Edition - Part 2

Continued from Part 1 - Click here to skip ahead to Part 3

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Pregnancy: The Italian Edition - Part 2, the Second Trimester

Chapter 9: 4th month checkup

After more than half a dozen appointments and tests in less than two weeks, things finally settled down into a less hectic groove with just once a month midwife appointments and blood work. If I remember correctly, blood work for a whole skew of things is done once in the first trimester including for toxoplasmosis plus a urine test, then the toxotest is done about once a month through the second and third trimesters. I told you they’re serious over here about toxoplasmosis! On the other hand, in the States you’re likely to have your urine checked at each visit, where here in Italy there is a urine test only once per trimester.

Now in the midst of the lockdown in Italy, only I could enter the building for my appointments, with a mask now required everywhere. They would ask what I’m there for, check my temperature, and send me on my way with a pump of hand sanitizer. Midwife now not only had on a mask, but also plastic glasses, shower cap, and full medical cape. She told me once again not to fret over the coronavirus and said that all the medical staff in the building had been tested for Covid-19 in recent days and were all negative.

So the 4 month checkup passed uneventfully, midwife each time gathering a bit more history, checking blood pressure and weight. This was the first appointment we listened to baby’s heartbeat! The third month appointment she elected not to since I had just had my ultrasound days before, didn’t want to “disturb baby more.” Boo. I wanted to hear the heartbeat! She wanted to know how much I weighed when I was born (didn’t know in kilo!), if I was breastfed and for how long, what kind of birth my mom had with me, and all the same stuff for my husband. He was born in rural Tunisia in the 80’s at home, so uh, no, he has no idea about any of that nor would there be any records!

We discussed birth options. I think it would be neat to have a home birth, but my apartment wasn’t very comfortable and didn’t have space to blow up a birthing tub, plus I’d have to pay a midwife in private to come to my home for the birth, which would be about €3.000-€3.500 my midwife told me. Come June she said to remind her and she would book some hospital tours for me at Ponte a Niccheri and Careggi’s Margherita Center, depending on the Covid situation. She told me right away that the hospital for me would be Ponte a Niccheri, they’re very naturally inclined (as I desired) and she said the birth ward is midwife run and they would “coddle me.”

Chapter 10: Second trimester ultrasound

Off to the Palagi hospital once again for my 20 week ultrasound. Having been here twice before for the anatomy screening stuff, we knew where to go. Or so we thought. A phrase including “I know” in Italy will almost always have you eating your words. We started walking up the hill towards the “women’s center.” Halfway up some man yells at us, “hey, you’re not supposed to be up here, didn’t you see the barricade? You have to pass through the main entrance.” Oh sorry, actually no, we walked right past because the barricade was open and not closed…

We go back to the main entrance where only I am allowed in. They take my temperature, pump of hand gel, and indicate where I can walk along the taped designated walkway. I then take the inside route to the women’s center, up six flights of stairs, down the narrow hall, long hall, anddddd nobody around? Hello? Where do I go? I finally see another pregnant lady and we find mutual comfort in both being lost. At that moment a doctor comes out of a room and we ask for help. She asks if we’ve already checked-in? The other lady had, so she was told to go one place, while I was told I needed to go to check-in first. Which is where? She indicates that I need to go back down the long hall, narrow hall, down to the third floor. Ahhhh ok. I still had time before my appointment (always give yourself extra time, peoples) so I wasn’t worried. I make it to the third floor and find another strange wing of the hospital that I tentatively start to traverse. X rays? No. Oncology? No. No no no. Ultrasounds, yes! I turn down that hall. Ok now where is the reception? I see a little office on the corner, but there is a sign saying “accettazione” is —->. I walk down the whole hall, no reception. I try to stop a passing nurse but she just brushes me off. So I turn back to the little office to inquire and realize that this really is the reception. That arrow on the wall indicating down the hall? It really just meant you needed to turn the corner to talk to the reception from that side, not the other side. A+ for clarity, guys! There are two nurses studying something on a computer. They ignore me. Finally I ask if this is where I can check in? They tell me to wait for someone else to come help me. A doctor walks past me, she asks if she can help me? I tell her I just need to check in…? Ah, someone else will help me with that. While I continue to wait by the reception, the doctor instructs some other women where they are supposed to wait. Maximum 3 in the waiting room, one out in the chairs in the hall, the rest down another hall. Another nurse shows up and I tell her I need to check-in. “What? Oh you don’t need to do that! Just go sit in the waiting room.” Oh. Ok. I poke my head in the waiting room, but there are already the max of 3 women in there. So I just stand in the hall, as it seemed the easiest spot to stay socially distanced. A nurse passes by and says I can’t stay there, I have to wait in the waiting room. Right then. The only seat at least 1m/3ft from another woman is one of the “don’t sit here, please respect social distancing measures” but I sit there anyway.

My appointment time comes and goes, every single woman is called back except for me, including women who had appointments at least half an hour after mine. Finally after more than an hour of waiting I asked a doctor (who had come to call back a woman who wasn’t there) if I would be called soon? She asked my name and brusquely told me I’m not on her list. But she seemed to pause in her tracks…”you’ve been here an hour waiting for an ultrasound? Well your doctor has already moved on to later appointments!” She leaves. Cool. I wait to ask at reception what the deal is. While I’m waiting another woman comes in and asks me if she needs to check-in? I apologetically tell her that I’m really not the one to be asking, I was told yes, no, and am a currently forgotten patient. At that moment another doctor appears, looking for a patient. The woman who had just asked me about check-in is the patient the doctor is looking for. The doctor starts loudly scolding her saying she couldn’t find her and she needs to stay in one place, etc. The lady responds that she was waiting where she had been told to for over half an hour and just came to check if she needed to do anything! They yell at each other back and forth a bit, then go on to the appointment. Mmm lovely energy in that room. Love the bedside manners here.

I ask at reception about my appointment. After the usual struggle of “what?!” When I give my name, which apparently comes from outer space, she says I’m on the list and they will call me. She suggests maybe it’s better to wait in the now empty hall seats just in case, so I’m more visible. After a total of 2 hours waiting, I finally get called back!

This doctor was much kinder than my first experience. Ultrasound went well, baby is healthy, got some good mid-kick images, even if those cute, whole baby side-profile images don’t seem to be a thing here? Ah well, got some great feet pictures and spine pictures and other things I have no idea what they are. Nothing like having a completely opposite experience from the first ultrasound, even down to the paper towels. This doctor only gave me maybe two pieces that wasn’t enough for the copious amount of gel she used. As things were going well, I didn’t want to risk her wrath by asking for more paper towel. But I’ll take a kind doctor with my shirt adhering to a sticky belly over an irritable doctor any day!

Chapter 11: 5th month checkup

Once again more Covid security measures were in place. My chair was now placed so far from the midwife’s desk that it was resting against the exam table, and there was a plexiglass screen on her desk between us.

The 5th month check-up was not as enjoyable, for the main reason that I was chided on my weight and thereafter thoroughly quizzed on my diet to find the weak link. I had arrived early that morning to do the routine toxotest blood work (done in 15 minutes!! So fast! On the down side, I now had to wait over an hour for my appointment but…hey pastry and cappuccino!), and ate breakfast just before my appointment since the blood work is supposed to be done while fasting.

Per usual at the beginning of the checkup midwife asked me to step on the scale, always with shoes and jacket on. As she adjusted the scale she asked if I had eaten a lot. “Why yes, actually I just ate breakfast before coming in.” “No, no, I mean in general.” Oh…I head to sit down but she stops me and asks me to turn a circle so she can “look at me.” “No, the tummy is about right,” she says to herself. Now feeling like an elephant on display I tell her I don’t think I have been eating a lot. I would say I’m normally a healthy eater, and have been even more attentive recently. She wanted to know what I’ve been eating, because I had gained too much weight in the 5 weeks since I last saw her (3 kg/6.5lbs instead of 2kg/4.5lbs). I eat a little bit of everything but mostly vegetable based meals and fruits…”Ah, fruit you say? Too much fruit can make you gain weight…” I certainly haven’t been eating THAT much fruit…”Do you eat bread?” Yes, but not excessively…”How about pasta and rice?” A couple times a week I eat pasta (hello, Italy) but not rice often…not to be discouraged by my lack of confession, she kept trying…”ah, you like your sweets, don’t you?” This is true, but again, I have been mindful of what I’m feeding baby.

Midwife still doesn’t seem to be giving in, so she takes my chart and pushes it towards me, to show me my weight gain. She shows me where I had gained a bit extra after the first trimester but didn’t say anything because, as she figured, I had been sick in the first trimester and needed to gain a little extra. At this point I’m starting to get a little irritated and was thankful that my mask covered most of my face; the only hint she would have that I’m not happy are my eyebrows getting incrementally higher with each question. Finally I try and tell her that I feel GOOD, I don’t feel like I’ve been excessively gaining weight nor eating poorly, so when I gained more than is recommended in ONE week without eating differently, I wasn’t overly worried. This in and of itself should be a good sign, coming from a former ballerina who has spent most her life being very weight-conscious and staring at her reflection in the studio mirror. I know my body and I know what my diet has been. She seemed pleasantly surprised to hear I had a scale at home and had been keeping track, and confirmed that I too, had seen the weight gain? YES, can we please stop talking about this now?! I kept my tone civil, but inside my thoughts were more akin to: “I feel awful” - “don’t cry” - “if she keeps on like this, maybe I should just get up and walk out?” - “just smile and nod” - “should I come up with some ridiculous story, like I’ve been eating McDonald’s every day, sometimes I even order a salad with my big mac, fries, and shake? I don’t always get the shake, but if I do, sometimes I’ll skip my daily gelato!” :D

We finally agreed that maybe it wasn’t my diet, but the exercise. Ya know, I’ve been stuck at home during a world pandemic for two months and not supposed to leave my residence, not even to go for a walk? Since the exercise restriction had been lifted the week before, we concluded I will go for not one walk a day, but two. I didn’t bother bringing up the fact that they never weighed me in the beginning, just asked me what my pre-pregnancy weight was. I knew what it was, and so I told them. I never thought to clarify that that’s my morning weight, no shoes, no coat, and before breakfast because that’s the most consistent way to weigh yourself?

Real life: Eating a gelato

Midwife was about to let it go and move on to other subjects when she lets out an “aha! You like your potatoes, don’t you?” Inwardly sighing, no, nope. “No, I don’t care for potatoes that much.” She just would NOT let it go. She never thought that, all things considered, gaining 1 or 2lbs outside the “clinical” range, during a world pandemic is maybe not a big deal? That maybe not every single woman should gain 25lb-35lbs because every body is different? That people gain weight differently, vary in height, babies’ weights vary, and a woman’s water weight during pregnancy can vary? I’m no doctor and not here to suggest throwing out the clinical weight guidance, but a woman who is 5’1” and gains 35lbs probably wouldn’t be given a hard time, and yet a woman who is 5’11” and gains 40lbs might be shamed because she gained 5lbs too much? Maybe you can tell that this bothers me, but I didn’t appreciate being quizzed and feeling like midwife didn’t believe me. And despite reassurances from both my husband and mom that I shouldn’t worry, I couldn’t help but have this little midwife on my shoulder every time I went to eat something for the next few days. Shouldn’t eat that. Maybe I should skip the olive oil on my salad? Aw man, I want a cookie, what would midwife say? Then I would constantly have to talk myself out of it and not feel guilt anytime anything entered my mouth. I’m not implying that I don’t think a medical professional should be able to discuss weight concerns with a patient, but there is a way to go about that, and it certainly doesn’t involve quizzing, guilt-tripping, or not believing the patient.

At the end of the appointment midwife said I would have to do the glucose test for gestational diabetes if I gained 3kg again by the next visit, instead of 2kg. Despite the fact that I have 0 risk factors for gestational diabetes aside from this 1 week weight gain. But I think all women in America get this done regardless, so there’s that. I’ve heard it’s not a fun test but it wasn’t the test itself I dreaded, it was the next weigh in.

Chapter 12: 6th month checkup

The fateful day when the midwife would weigh me had arrived. Silly that that was the thing weighing most on my mind, no?

By now I had gotten into a pretty good rhythm of doing any blood work on the same day as my midwife appointment. The way it works to get blood work done, is waiting. Lots of waiting. Namely, sitting in a large, cold, grungy room while staring at a screen waiting for your number to be called. During Covid they would leave the doors and windows open often, so dress warm! This particular place had a malfunctioning number system, the same numbers would be called repeatedly, creating confusion. The first time your number is called, you go back for the “accettazione,” or handing over your tessera sanitaria and slip with the tests you need done. Then you go back to the waiting room and wait again, until your same number is called a second time, at which point you go back to one of the other rooms and they draw your blood. Then you’re done and you can either come back and pick up your results in a week (depending on the tests done, of course ) or have them mailed to you.

Knowing it could take anywhere between 20 minutes (as it did the second time I did bloodwork) to over 2 hours (as it did the first time), I arrived with a bit more than an hour to go before my midwife appointment, hoping that would be enough time. Being pregnant, I fortunately did not have to make an appointment to do blood work during Covid times, I could just show up and not only would they let me in, but the people taking temperatures and verifying why you’re there would also give me a priority number. Which I personally find a bit strange, as the vast majority of people waiting to get blood work done at any given time appear to be 60 and older, and although pregnant, I still think most of them should get priority over the youngest person waiting (usually me). As the time for my 11:00 appointment neared I despaired of getting the tests done that day. It is a bummer that these tests need to be done while fasting and I would have walked, taken a train, walked some more, and waited an hour without eating all for nought. At 10:50, just as I was thinking I would need to head upstairs for my appointment so as not to be late, my number was called to go back to accettazione. After handing over my tessera sanitaria I asked the lady what my chances were of being called back to get blood drawn within the next ten minutes? She replied not to worry, I could come back down after my appointment without having to wait with a new number, as long as I was back by 12:00 when they close. That should work, my midwife appointments are generally 30-45 minutes, so that should get me back down here just in time!

I scurried up to the waiting room, arriving at 11:05, to wait for my midwife to call me back. I waited, and waited. 11:15. 11:25. 11:30. Where is she? I won’t be able to make it back down now to do the blood tests! Urgh. Did she come looking for me at 11:00, and I wasn’t here yet? I am normally early, and she often calls me a bit early, so maybe she thought I wasn’t coming today?? Finally at 11:35 she appears and apologizes for being late today. She sees my folder out with the test papers and asks if I have more test results for her to look at? No, these are ones I was supposed to do today but ran out of time. She suggests I run down and do the blood work and then return to her. I felt bad about that, since I’d be making her wait. She then suggests we do the appointment really quick, so I can get back down by 12:00. That works! I had no burning issues to discuss with her, so she made photocopies of my most recent tests, weighed me, took my blood pressure, made sure I was feeling ok in general, and then off I was! Fastest appointment ever, only 15 minutes! Didn’t even have time to chide me on my weight, aha! She did have to take my blood pressure twice since the first time was higher than usual. The second was better, if still a bit high, but she said it was her fault since she had stressed me trying to figure out how to fit everything in.

Now 11:50, I hurried back down and was able to get my blood work done, hurray! No wait, either. Now, where’s my pastry???

Thus marked the end of the second trimester appointments.

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Here is Part 1 if you missed it

Click here to continue on to Part 3

Pregnancy: The Italian Edition - Part 1

Oh, hello there! Continuing on with this newer branch of posts of pregnancy in Italy and all things related.

If you’re reading this, I’m going to hazard a guess that you’re either curious of what pregnancy is like in Italy, or you or someone you know who lives in Italy is pregnant. Either way, welcome, it’s an interesting experience to say the least, and hopefully an interesting and informative read. While many women share their birth stories (and I love reading those!), it might be unusual that I’m sharing here my “pregnancy story.” But the whole experience was so…ahem, different, that I wanted to share it. I’m also seriously considering a Postpartum: Italian Edition. Hahaha.

Click here to read Part 2 of Pregnancy: The Italian Edition or skip ahead to Part 3 of Pregnancy: The Italian Edition

A few things before I get rolling.

1. What follows is an in depth recap of my pregnant experience in Florence, Italy. It might ramble, but it does me good to write it out and it just may be helpful, or at the very least, entertaining to someone out there. Someday, maybe, my child will read this and realize what I went through for him. Ha! :) What every mom goes through, really, but Italy’s just a treat. Just….a treat. That said, speed-reading and scrolling aren’t offensive to me, I won’t even know if you do. Scroll away.

2. This is my first pregnancy, so while I may do a lot of comparison/contrast with the US, I have no first-hand experience of being pregnant or giving birth in the US (Update: I’ve now had 2 children in the US and have first hand experience the difference between birth in the USA and Italy!). However, my mom has had five kids in America, not to mention most the people I know, plus I have family who work as baby nurses, lots of nieces and nephews, and my doula lives in America, so I do have lots of shared information from them.

3. This pregnancy was also largely lived in the midst of a world pandemic. Heyyyy, 2020. If you are, like me, an expat living in Italy and pregnant and reading this blog for information, keep in mind that my experience will probably be somewhat different than yours. World pandemic aside, your experience would probably still differ from mine in some aspects, because. Italy. The land of inconsistency.

4. When I refer to pregnancy by weeks, i.e. 20 weeks pregnant, I am going by the commonly used system in the medical world of counting from the first day of the last period. I use this to avoid confusion as it seems to be the mainstay in both Italy and the US, even though the first “two weeks” of pregnancy by this system a woman is not technically pregnant. I believe back when my mom was having babies, and in the world of Ina May Gaskin, they tend to count from the day of conception, usually about two weeks after a woman’s period. This means this more “old fashioned” though realistic way of counting gives you two weeks less of pregnancy. So while my midwife might say, you’re 20 weeks pregnant, technically, as my mom would say, you’re 18 weeks pregnant.

Here goes nothing:

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Pregnancy: The Italian Edition - Part 1, the First Trimester

Chapter 1: Finding out you’re pregnant

Tada, two bars!
Annnnd now what? I decided not to immediately rush off to the doctor, as from what I had understood, they would probably just confirm the pregnancy, telling me what I already know. There isn't a whole lot you can do in the first bit of pregnancy, other than ride out the symptoms and do what I already knew to do; avoid the pregnancy prohibited foods, take a good prenatal vitamin, get good rest, etc. At least, that’s how I heard it works in America.

Chapter 2: Confirming your pregnancy with your doctor

I waited until I was 9 weeks pregnant, then after talking with my husband and mom, decided it was time to go to the doctor. First step was to go to my primary care doctor, who, as I had understood from some other blog posts about pregnancy in Italy, would order the test to confirm the pregnancy. Then I would have to get the pregnancy booklet and be assigned a midwife or gynecologist to follow me through the pregnancy. Something like that.

In Italy, once you sign up for the national healthcare and get your tessera sanitaria, or healthcare card, (which should be valid for as long as your permesso is valid) you can then choose your primary care doctor. Unless you’ve heard of someone you want specifically, your doctor is usually chosen based on proximity. I chose mine because he has an office less than a 10 minute walk from where I lived. Primary care doctors can have up to 3 different offices throughout the city, and are at each office on different days only for 3-4 hours at a time. You should receive a paper at the time you choose your doctor which lists office hours and locations. The offices are quite plain, and you are usually seen on a first come first serve basis. They might have an examination table, but from my observations it’s more decorative. I see the primary care doctor as more of a stepping stone. He’s mostly good for prescribing medicines for common complaints such as colds, flu, rashes, etc. If you need to see a specialist or have any kind of exams done, you will be given a “ticket” which will allow you to make an appointment through the “CUP” system or enable you to go to one of the offices where they do tests. I have yet to see a doctor do more than ask a few basic questions. Never once have I or my husband had our eyes, ears, nose, blood pressure, weight, height, or any of these basic checks done while visiting a family doctor, no matter the complaint.

My husband and I walked to the doctor’s office and waited about an hour before it was my turn. We told him I was pregnant, he congratulated us, then asked for my card. What card if not the tessera sanitaria? I always love these situations where people ask me for things that I don’t have or know what they’re talking about. Apparently without this card (not my tessera sanitaria) he couldn’t put me into the “system” to give me the appointment ticket. He told us to talk to the secretary, as she could help us understand what card this is and what it looks like, based on where I had signed up for my tessera sanitaria. Apparently when I signed up almost two years ago I was given a little paper card that I’m supposed to bring to my chosen doctor the first time I see him. The secretary described what it looked like and told us we can come back tomorrow evening with the card. This was frustrating to me since I had seen the doctor once already and he didn’t ask for this card then, probably because he prescribed me a medicine and that was that, there was no need to put me in the system for further appointments. I went home, located the card, and sure enough written at the bottom was, “bring to doctor at first visit.” Well I’ll be. The next day my sweet husband offered to precede me to the doctor’s office and call me when it was almost my turn, so I wouldn’t have to wait again while feeling sick. That wasn’t even necessary since the secretary took the card and told my husband to come back in an hour, she would take my card in to the doctor herself and get the appointment ticket. A little more than an hour later my husband was back home and I now had the slip to make the appointment with a gynecologist.

I headed to the ASL (healthcare agency I think is what you might call that in English?) near Santarosa where you can make appointments through the CUP system in person. After getting a number and seeing how many people were ahead of us, we got a cappuccino and pastry from the lovely next door bistrot (Santarosa Bistrot) while we waited, then headed back in time for my number to be called. The signora took the appointment slip from my doctor, and made me an appointment with a gynecologist for 6 days later. 6 days is great, considering these appointments can range from weeks to months in the future, or I’ve even heard “don’t even dream about getting an appointment they’re so booked out.” So yes. 6 days is great. Especially because pregnancy is not a lifelong condition.

Chapter 3: First appointment with a gynecologist or midwife

6 days later I was off to my first appointment with the gynecologist. Searching for the office where my appointment would be on Google maps, I noticed it was quite far from where I lived. It would take over an hour in public transport to get there, for an appointment at 9:20am. Oh well. This is Italy.

A train ride, a tram ride, a bus ride, and a short walk later, I was near to where my appointment would be. I had a lovely headache and nausea that had me planning the nearest safe place to up-chuck at any given point. Thankfully I didn’t, and a little plain croissant somehow managed to greatly ease my nausea and headache. Not mad about it being a croissant.

I found the office, was told where to go and wait, and after probably 15 minutes was called back by the doctor. I sat down opposite her, and she asked what she was doing for me today. I told her I was pregnant and took her completely by surprise. Oh! That’s wonderful, but strange there was no note made by my primary doctor at all that this was a prenatal appointment; she was expecting a routine checkup. She asked if I had had this pregnancy confirmed? Just by an at home test. She asked some general information and health history. When she calculated how far along I was, she was yet again surprised. You’re already 11+3!? (That’s 11 weeks 3 days, if you are like me and wasn’t quite sure what the “+3” is for) Yep. At that point she started to act a little harried, because I was coming in so “late,” and wasn’t shy about letting me know that. (Er, I’m sorry for not knowing? I’m sorry my primary doctor didn’t even ask how far along I was and didn’t make the correct notes and didn’t tell me at all the next steps, and that maybe I should get on it asap? Yes, I can be very sassy in my head.) Another gynecologist came into the room and started helping as well, especially once they found out I didn’t have the pregnancy booklet of appointments yet, which you need a separate appointment to get. You see, the national health care for pregnant women is completely free, aside from any extra tests a doctor may recommend and prescriptions, and all the tests that need to be done throughout the nine months are contained in this Libretto di Gravidanza, or pregnancy booklet. Each test can only be done in a certain window of time in your pregnancy, and if you miss this window, you would have to go and get these done in private. If you miss the first test, as I almost did, I guess you’d be forced to go private for the whole pregnancy? Not exactly sure on that, but that is what the gyno was implying to me. Honestly, you’d have more control over choosing your doctor and might receive better care if you were to go into the private sector. However, everything would be out of pocket, I’m guessing 50+euro per visit, plus all the tests.

The second doctor went to go see if she could make me an appointment asap to get the libretto, while the first doctor confirmed my pregnancy by ultrasound (quicker than waiting for blood or urine tests). I got to see my baby, although I thought the tail/bum was the head until the doctor pointed out the actual head…oh, sorry, baby, I’ll learn your head from your bum by the time you come out, promise! She casually asked how long I was in Florence for. Well, indefinitely as I met and married my husband here. Again, she was surprised, thinking I was a student here just for a short time. I take it from that exchange that that scenario is not so uncommon? Especially since that is her first guess, knowing only that I’m “young” (26 at that point) and American? Then again most first time moms here are mid thirties so it may just be unusual to see someone in their twenties that wasn’t an “oops.” No oops here!

The second doctor came back with three appointment options to get the libretto, but recommended the soonest one, which was back at this same office in a few days. They asked where I lived and when hearing I had come from so far, they exclaimed, “oh you poor thing! We can’t have you trekking back here for all your appointments, especially when the hot summer comes along and you’ll be in your third trimester.” (Thank you, I do appreciate that!) The second doctor left again to see if there were any other options, and managed to get her hands on a libretto and some spare time, so I got to do my libretto appointment with the second doctor almost immediately following the first appointment, cancelling the appointment they had just made for me. So in some ways, coming in late saved me some travels and appointments, even if I put them in a bit of a tizzy!

Chapter 4: Appointment for the Libretto di Gravidanza

The libretto appointment basically involved the second doctor gathering a lot of information I had already given, general health information, questions about the pregnancy, then going over basic pregnancy do’s and don’ts quickly, and booking my first appointments from the libretto all the way through the second trimester ultrasound. She was supposed to take my blood pressure and a few other things, but as I said, they were a bit flustered and inadvertently skipped some things.

First up in the libretto was to do a round of blood and urine tests the very next morning. The day after that I would have my first appointment with the midwife who would follow me throughout my pregnancy, at a healthcare center much closer to where I lived. Yay. In Italy you are followed by a midwife if you’re considered low-risk, and a gynecologist if you’re considered high-risk. I was supposed to have the results from the tests ready when I went to my first midwife appointment, but since they take a week that wasn’t possible, and the doctor told me not to worry about that.

Chapter 5: First Midwife Appointment

My birthday present was getting to meet my midwife. Little did I know that this would also be the last appointment that my husband would be allowed in, with Covid-19 lurking around the corner.

My midwife turned out to be a kind woman who seemed to be in this line of work since the 80’s or 90’s. She has a slow and thorough manner of speaking, but I appreciated that as someone whose native tongue isn’t Italian and being my first pregnancy, left me feeling like I could ask questions without annoying her. Too often people who are, let’s say on the job, don’t give you the time of day if you want to ask a question and brush you off or recite some rote answer so fast you can’t understand them. Unfortunately that’s what happens in a country where rules are treated like guidelines, there is disorganization everywhere or excessive organization that way over complicates things, leaving the civilians irritated and needing assistance from people who are already underpaid and irritated because they have to deal with angry people all day. When you do get someone kind, it really makes your day. A reminder to us all to be that person.

The first appointment with the midwife was all information collecting and getting to know each other a bit, mostly the same stuff I had already gone over with the other gynecologists but more thorough.

When I get nervous or don’t really know what response someone wants from me, I tend to ramble. So when the midwife got to the part about any surgeries I’ve undergone, I decided to mention that I had broken my leg when I was 3, as I couldn’t remember if there was surgery but I do know they put me under. It was my growth plate in my leg that I had broken, and at the time was a big deal if my leg would grow properly or not. It did, but as I’m explaining all this to the midwife I’m realizing that this is probably irrelevant and try to draw to a close this confusing tale I’ve woven, not knowing the word for “growth plate” in Italian and also conveniently forgetting the word “anesthesia.” I’m trying to dismiss what I’ve said as the midwife is sitting there looking quite concerned over this dramatic tale I’ve told for naught. Oh dear. Finally we agreed that since it was my knee, and not a hip or something pertinent to birth, it probably doesn’t matter. Haha oh dear. Hold your tongue, Jenny.

Favorite take-aways from the appointment:

• Once again being told my job as a baker is not suitable for a pregnant woman. My midwife went further to explain that any job that requires a woman to be on her feet for more than 4 hours at a time is too much. Unless my boss is willing to change my duties and allow me to “pull up a chair to the cash register”, I am eligible and should take the anticipated maternity leave. This was very surprising to me as most women I know in America work up until they about pop!

• Being told I must wash any raw fruits and veggies at least 6 times before eating them. My husband can wash his just 3 times, but he has to wash mine 6. :D

• Talking about pregnancy diet do’s and don’ts, my midwife asked if I like to eat raw meat. Uh. that would be a no? She meant raw meat as in undercooked, rare, like the famous bistecca fiorentina. Nope, not a big meat eater at all, especially beef and pork. She made an off hand comment about well, we’ll see when my blood results come back, so then I can eat raw meat and raw vegetables if I want. Worst that could happen is I would get salmonella or something. Worst? Haha what is this lady going on about? (Apparently toxoplasmosis is a really big deal in Europe, and if I had already come into contact with it, then I would have been “safe” to eat the raw meat and vegetables. However, my blood results came back negative, so getting toxoplasmosis now during pregnancy is potentially dangerous for baby, which is why I had to continue not eating raw meat and veggies, among other things.) It’s funny because she never even mentioned raw fish/sushi or alcohol.

• Upon learning I was a professional ballerina and still quite active, she emphasized to me that I “can’t use my abdominals.” Having heard ab-centric exercises like crunches and planks aren’t good to do while pregnant, I think I knew what she was on about, and yet I had to press her a bit because it was such a blanket statement. She does realize that most bodily functions involve your abdominals? That I would be bed ridden if I can’t use them at all? She clarified about meaning ab exercises, and went on to say that walking and arm exercises are good. Annnnnd yep, that’s about all she gave me. At the end of this pregnancy I may be very out of shape, but at least my arms will be chiseled. That will really help with labor. Yep.

• Being weighed with shoes and boots on (it’s winter). When asked to step on the scale I asked if I should remove them, and midwife says, “no, don’t worry about it.” Alrighty then.

Chapter 6: The screening

A few days later came the screening for certain health conditions, including screening for Down, Edward’s, and Patau Syndromes. I believe this screening is optional in the US, but here it has been a part of the recommended libretto exams for about a year as of March 2020. Now being on the other side, I would have asked to skip the screening, as not even a 100% positive for some condition (which isn’t even possible from what I understood) could have persuaded me to even consider ever aborting my baby, and any false positivity only creates undue stress in an already new and sometimes stressful time in life. False-positivity and false-negativity are not uncommon. Not to mention that this screening (made up of blood work and an ultrasound) is only the first step in ascertaining the “risk.” If you are found to be at any kind of risk, medium or high, you will be offered to do a DNA blood test, at a reduced cost of 200euro. (If you’re low risk but desire to have the second blood work done, the whole 400euro cost is out of pocket.) If the second blood work confirms the medium or high risk, you can go on to have the amniocentesis or CVS done.

The screening was done in a group at 8:00am at the Palagi hospital not far from Piazzale Michelangelo. On the appointment slip we were asked to arrive early and have our partners accompany us. We arrived even earlier than asked, found out where to go, and found the doors to the women’s center where we were supposed to go still locked. Yes, let’s keep the pregnant ladies outside waiting on a brisk March morning. As more women continued to arrive, the nurse, who was inside the whole time, finally came and unlocked the doors for us. She then sent us on our way to wait some more. In the end we were probably a dozen or so women altogether, and typical Italy, we were asked to arrive early and yet they started late. The first part of the screening was a talk on what to expect from the screening, possible results, and what they mean. Except the partners weren’t allowed in for the talk, due to the ever-growing presence of coronavirus in the country. The poor men, woke up early, maybe took off work to come with their wives as requested only to find they have to wait for them outside. The screening talk took about 45 minutes, then we were told to wait to be called one by one to sign a paper with the doctor. Another 45 or so minutes and I was called back, this time husbands could come; I signed the paper and was told to go get the blood work done. We found our way to the lab area, took a number, and waited some more. We also would have to go to the CUP area of the hospital after to make an appointment for the anatomical ultrasound. Based on the number of people ahead of me to get blood drawn, we decided to run to the CUP area and make the appointment. When we got there, we had to get a number and there was yet another wait. Time was ticking, and not wanting to miss my number for bloodwork, we ran back to the lab to check to see where they were at. Nope, I still had plenty of time! Run back to CUP, my number is called and I make the appointment, then back to the lab to wait some more and get the blood drawn. After the nurse drew my blood I asked where I could pick up the results. She told me not to worry about picking them up, they will be ready for me when I come for the ultrasound in a few days.

More than 3 hours later and we were done. Now to get two buses back home.

Chapter 7: Anatomical ultrasound and screening results

Four days after the screening talk we went back for my anatomical ultrasound and screening results. As I walked through the door the doctor was already calling my name to go back. I had arrived on time, but was off to a flustered start because the receptionist needed to see my healthcare card before I could go back. The doctor told me to come back to room 1 when I was ready. To our dismay my husband was not allowed back with me, even though there was a large notice on the counter stating that companions to patients should be limited to 1. My husband is 1 person, why can’t he come back?! No use arguing, it’ll just get you worked up so it’s usually best just to swallow the bitter inconsistency pills and go with it.

I went back by myself and the doctor asked, as always, some basic information, then for my blood work results. Not even thinking about the blood work that was done for this screening (duh, Jenny) because the nurse had told me I didn’t need to pick them up myself, I thought the doctor was referring to the first round of blood work, that still wasn’t ready. So I told her it’s not ready yet. “What do you mean it’s not ready yet?!” She was immediately riled and continued to tell me that me coming to this appointment was useless unless I had the blood work ready. I apologized and was trying to stay calm, explaining that the first gynecologist told me the blood work won’t be ready when I go in for my first appointments, and if it’s asked for, to tell them it’s not ready yet, but it’ll be ok. I’m just trying to do what I’m told here, please don’t get angry at me! At this point the doctor must have understood that we were talking about different blood work, as she started muttering something about she’ll check online. In a matter of seconds she found my blood work and printed it, the one she was after. (I have to ask myself why it would make more sense to expect a patient to go all the way to pick up results when she can access them in a matter of seconds?) She printed them and asked for my signed consent form from the screening talk. I handed them to her, and she tsked that I hadn’t filled out a section of the second page. “You were supposed to fill this out at home!” I again apologized, I didn’t know. I don’t recall being told about that second page, and if I was and missed it, I’m truly sorry, but you getting mad at me isn’t helping!! She ordered me to fill that section out while she went to get my blood work results from the printer. She came back and kept asking me questions, while I’m also trying to concentrate and fill out the consent form. It should’ve only taken a minute or so, but it took a little longer as I was upset and shaking because the doctor kept scolding me. In an admirable move of passive agressiveness, she flung my copy of the blood results at me. They would’ve gone flying off the desk if it hadn’t been for my folder lying open there.

From there she told me to lie on the table. I noticed the paper on the table look a bit rumpled, as if someone had already lain there. My normally non-confrontational self probably wouldn’t have said anything (I would rather lay on a table already lain on than risk “insulting” the doctor by asking if it had been changed), but at this point I was already in her bad graces and besides, I’m no longer just speaking up for myself but also the little human inside me. So I asked. And yes, she seemed insulted, and proceeded to explain that the paper rumpled when changing the table, and changed the paper again to prove it to me. Ok ok, thank you, that’s all I needed to know. Assured of a clean table, I laid down. She did the ultrasound, warning me that she would be working in silence and not to be alarmed if she didn’t say anything. I’m sure we were both relieved to be able to proceed in silence, and I was able to enjoy the process. The ultrasound took all of 10-15 minutes, and I got to see much more clearly this time my little baby. I was a bit disappointed that she only turned the heartbeat on once for a split second, other than that it was completely silent in the room. Once she told me I could get up, she handed me the largest wad of paper towel to clean the gel off of my belly, so much that I couldn’t contain it in my arms, while really only needing one square to wipe off the gel. The rest inadvertently fell on the floor, which she swooped in to retrieve and throw away. Ah, the strikes against me are mounting.

I sat back down in the chair opposite the doctor, and she launched into my results. She started by saying that because of my age and other factors, I’m low risk, except that the blood results showed the two hormones, Beta HCG and Papp A, were off, which would put me in the medium risk threshold. This finally put me over and I started to cry. I’m denied any kind of emotional support from my partner being there, the doctor doesn’t treat me kindly, and I get possibly bad news that my baby is at risk? She proceeded to say that my baby appeared perfectly healthy and nothing was off on the ultrasound, and to remember that everything indicates me being low risk except for the blood results being a bit off. She recommended I get the DNA blood work done for the reduced price of 200euro…200euro?! I had thought it was free if someone was medium-high risk or more? No, just half price. I told her nothing would change my mind about keeping my baby, but asked if I could at least talk to my husband first? Maybe he can help me think more clearly if we’d like to go ahead with further testing, so that at least we could prepare and educate ourselves on how best to love and care for a baby with one of these syndromes? She said that was fine, she would be moving on to see other patients, so let the receptionist know when I was ready to sign the paper for or against further testing. As she walked me out she asked if the price of the test would in any way discourage us from continuing. I told her it might, as I’m still trying to compose myself. She then rattled off some form online that we would have to fill out and file first to maybe get a discount. The what what form on the what what site? I was beyond trying to figure out more bureaucracy, so mostly just repeated some of the names of the forms she was telling me about and nodding and going, ok, ok, without having any idea what I was saying. Another doctor came out from her office, saw me standing there in tears talking to my doctor, asked if everything was ok? My doctor assured her we were.

I went outside to find my husband, who was dismayed to see me in tears. I got part of the story out to him and told him I needed to go back in with our answer. We decided not to continue with any testing. So I had to head back in, tell the receptionist I needed to see the doctor again with my answer, wait while trying not to cry and have everyone staring at me, then give the doctor my final answer, “no” to any more testing.

Poor Moez, wondering why his wife is the only one who comes out in tears when he’s seen every other woman come out smiling and glowing, walking away hand-in-hand with their partners and dreaming of their baby.

Both my mom and midwife assured me not to worry, there’s nothing I can do and stressing about it will only make things worse, when there’s probably not anything to worry about anyway. The Lord is in control and knitting this baby in my womb, and he/she will be born as His image bearer, to be loved and cherished!

Chapter 8: Second midwife appointment and pap test

A few days after screening results I was back to see my midwife, this time for a crowd favorite, the pap test. If it’s been a while or you have never done one in Italy, you will have to have it done. If you are between the ages of 25-33 you will probably get the pap, if you are 34 or older you will probably also have the HPV test done.

The original gynecologist had scheduled me a pap test with some other random gynecologist, but my midwife cancelled that appointment and remade it with herself since she would need to do a physical examination anyway, save me time and trouble.

This appointment happened on the same day that all of Italy was locked down for the first time. No actual measures were yet in place, except now my midwife started wearing a mask for my protection and we were supposed to keep 1 meter apart (aside from any actual exams which would prove a mite problematic.) Everything went smoothly, my midwife keeping me well informed of everything she was about to do and making sure I wasn’t stressed about coronavirus.

Favorite takeaway from this appointment:

• Midwife casually asking me how I got to the appointment? I told her I walked. “Good for you!” A slight pause, then she asked me how far a walk it was for me? About 30 minutes. She then mentioned that walking is very good for me, but that 30 minutes is a bit much for a pregnant woman, so try and take a rest every 10-15 minutes or so. Ah, ok. Yes. The girl who has always walked many miles a day, dragging along anyone unfortunate enough to be with her, has become a delicate flower and must take breaks. I laughed on the inside, and if you knew what a crazy walker I can be (I’m sorry, family and friends!), you would laugh, too.

After the appointment later on my midwife called me because my tessera sanitaria (healthcare card) had expired two days previously, and the lab couldn’t process my pap results without first receiving proof of a new one. Great. In the middle of a pandemic when everything is now closed. In theory you are supposed to receive your new tessera sanitaria in the mail before the old one expires. Didn’t happen. I had to go to the nearest ASL office 30 minutes away, which thankfully was open. There was only one other man there. I’ve never seen it so empty! I promptly received a photocopy of my new tessera sanitaria with the assurance the new one would arrive in the mail within 3 weeks, but for some reason I didn’t completely understand, it is valid only for 4 months instead of the 2 years I was supposed to get. So I will have to renew it once again before this pregnancy is over. Ah well, I was able to send a photo to my midwife and get my results processed.

This marked my last appointment in the first trimester.

Still reading? Click here to read Part 2 of Pregnancy: The Italian Edition or skip ahead to Part 3 of Pregnancy: The Italian Edition

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Thoughts on Pregnancy

I’m branching out a bit today, starting a new series or something akin to one that is a bit outside my usual of food and Italy. Of course, I spent all of my pregnancy in Italy so it will eventually tie in. Being currently under lockdown with a newborn as the second wave of Covid-19 rocks Italy, these thoughts and musings are starting to want to come out. While writing used to be the school task I abhorred, ironically I now find it enjoyable and even therapeutic when I write of my own initiative. Mostly these thoughts of late have to do with pregnancy, birth, and babies.

Those are pretty significant things in a person’s life, and there’s a reason why women love sharing their birth stories and reading them, especially when pregnant the first time (not just me reading them like they’re going out of style, right?). It’s a miracle of life, it’s natural, and well, life changing. So while some upcoming posts might focus on these subjects, I think it’s also important to note that this might not be an easy subject for everyone, and if you don’t want to read any further, well, you’re not missing out on much. I don’t take lightly my smooth pregnancy and healthy baby. A woman is whole and worthy, children or not. I want you to know that, as some of these posts may unabashedly proclaim how CRAZY COOL pregnancy and birth and babies are. And while it can be an instant connection between women, I also realize that not everyone can relate, and that’s not always by choice. I see you. I hear you. If you’re a mom reading this, you’re beloved. If you’re not a mom reading this, you’re beloved. That’s all.

Yes, pregnancy, birth, and babies are big life things. Huge, actually. I’ve only been pregnant once, given birth once, and only have one baby. Which makes me an expert and I’ll be sure to share with you all the tips and tricks. Just kidding. As you can see, my resume does not make me an expert in the field, I’m still green. A very green field. But I did experience these things in Italy, which is not my home country, culture, or language. During a world pandemic. With no family around except my husband, and moving apartments/cities. So as usual, the stories and observances just may help someone, or at the very least, provide some entertaining reading.

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Thoughts on Pregnancy

What follows is purely my experience and musings. That might be obvious, but if you’ve seen the interwebs and how people act on them of late, you’ll understand that it’s necessary, even on the silliest of posts, to have some kind of disclaimer.

Being pregnant wasn’t as hard as I was expecting

Maybe this was partly the cultural narrative I saw so much, and partly our age of “bringing awareness” and “normalizing” certain things, which is OK and good most of the time. But when I’m looking at our cultural depiction of pregnancy and seeing all these women being “real” on social media about their pregnancies, birth, postpartum, and parenting, I began to get the idea that pregnancy was going to be this constant battle of symptoms and misery. Then the opposite turned out to be true. Don’t get me wrong, you’re growing another child, it’s not a walk in the park. It’s fascinating just how different each woman and each pregnancy can be.

Lightning crotch? Baby bouncing on the bladder? Stretch marks? Mood swings? Lower back pain? What are those? I think I really did have a relatively easy pregnancy, with much grace from the Lord helping me get through not only the physical aspects of carrying a child, but the mental stress of 2020. I did have my share of symptoms, just maybe not the worst, or all of them together. Of course nausea, headaches, (but Tylenol often worked which is a miracle), fatigue, third trimester insomnia, and significant edema (fluid retention; third trimester during a hot Florentine summer with no AC will do that).

Then there were the fun parts of pregnancy! I enjoyed how amazing food tasted all the time, the kindness strangers bestowed, everyone always guessing boy or girl once they discovered we chose not to find out, the baby movements! The superhuman smell could go both ways. I loved walking down the street narrating what people were making for lunch inside their apartments. “Oh someone is frying onions and garlic in butter…ope, they just added some red bell peppers…” … “oh that smells like a wonderful tomato sauce, I want their recipe!” … “do you think that house would pity a hungry pregnant woman and invite her in for a roast chicken lunch??” Anything anyone else was eating, that’s what I then craved. On the other hand, all the unsavory smells were also amplified, and everything in between. One evening I asked my husband if he smelled smoke, as if something was burning. He didn’t. We were inside the apartment with all windows closed. The next day we were walking and about a quarter mile from our apartment there was a small spot where something had burned near the trash bins. I turned to my husband, “HA see?!” Something did burn, haha!

I didn’t turn into a whale

I don’t know why, but I completely expected to turn into a whale, and I was ok with that, if that meant baby was growing and healthy! Neither the bump nor weight gain reached my imagination’s expectation. I also think that I was expecting a bump that was worthy of a triplet pregnancy. Not complaining! Although my Italian midwife certainly made me feel like I was nearing elephant status, but the edema as previously mentioned did get me. By August my feet looked like clubs and I had lost all sight of any once prominent veins. And a puffy face. It happened gradually enough it didn’t particularly bother me, and even if it had, it’s well worth it!

It’s amazing how 9 months was the perfect amount of time to get used to the idea of having a baby

9 months is so long. It’s the better part of a year! And yet, 9 months is so short. Am I prepared to be a parent?? Longing and dreading the end of the 9 months. It’s amazing how those 40ish weeks are exactly the time I needed for it to sink in, that I was going to be mommy and there is no looking back from parenthood. Well, at least to get to that point where you’re as mentally prepared as you can be without it actually happening, ya know? God knew what He was doing when He made it 9 months!

A whole new wardrobe wasn’t needed

Naturally, as I had expected to turn into a glowing whale, I also expected to need a whole new wardrobe. While this might be some women’s dream (the wardrobe not the whale part), this thought only served to stress me out. I have to spend how much money on clothes that I’ll only wear a few months?? (I realize there could be future pregnancies, but what if the third trimester doesn’t fall in the summer again?) However, I was pleasantly surprised that some clothes in my closet fit the whole pregnancy! It helps that I wear a lot of flowy dresses and skirts and several of them have some choice pieces of elastic that apparently work great for expanding waistlines. I should keep those in mind for Thanksgiving…

Not finding out the gender of our baby was a lot harder than I expected

No, not because the suspense was killing me, I was actually completely at terms with not knowing, but because it’s so hard to find cute neutral colors for anything baby! I kept finding myself wishing I knew because gosh, there’s really cute boy clothes and really cute girl clothes, but I can’t get any of them until after baby is born, but we need to be prepared! While gray is nice to offset some of the pink and blue tones, it’s a bit of bummer when all you can find is gray and white. Green is such a nice color. Why don’t they make more green?? Even trying to find a baby comb. Pink or blue? Uh. Where’s your gray? Haha. I managed to find a mint green one hidden in the back. Italy, at least Florence, has a poor selection of baby stores and what it does have, are high prices. I really missed the ease of American shopping in these times. Even Amazon Italy didn’t have much. Add on top of that the seemingly interrupted supply chains, after adding something to my baby list it would become unavailable within a week, or the price would jump all around dramatically. No thanks, I don’t want to pay €15 for a small bottle of baby shampoo.

All of the non-scientific ways to guess baby’s gender are highly enjoyable

Oh yeah, I tried all the tricks and read all the old midwives’ tales, just for fun.

• According to the Chinese Gender Predictor, I was having a girl

• The ring test predicted girl

• By the way I carried and the shape of my bump, boy, as many strangers enjoyed informing me!

• Nausea only in the first trimester, boy, although some say no nausea means boy, so I guess that could go either way. But with people I know, the former was true, so I went with boy on this one!

• I wanted more salty things and wasn’t as sweets crazy as I normally am, seeming to indicate boy

• Heartbeat, my mom’s favorite “fun” indicator. Baby’s heartbeat hovered between 145-155 usually, stubbornly in the middle, although slightly hovering towards girl.

• The pregnancy “glow.” My acne actually went away while pregnant, yay! Which would mean boy, as they give you the glow, and baby girls supposedly steal your beauty. On the other hand, my Tunisian sister-in-law said the opposite, I was “even prettier” (Aw gee) and therefore I was having a girl.

What did I think I was having? A boy. My husband thought so, too. As did 95% of Italians whom I had interactions with or were simply passing me on the street. I thought I was having a boy because, besides instinct, I was craving not just salty things but heavy “man” food I don’t normally even like, think hamburgers and French fries and just MEAT in general. I normally could easily survive as a vegetarian. Beyond that, the morning sickness seemed a successful indicator for several people I know, besides swelling I mostly had a basketball out front, and a ahem, fuzzy belly. It looked like I had the linea nigra from afar but really it was just a line of fine hair! I only discovered that I did in fact have a faint linea nigra after I gave birth.

Ah, pregnancy can be a funny thing!

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And there you go, a bunch of information you didn’t need to know! In the works, what it’s like being pregnant and having a baby in Italy!

Living in Italy: Culture Shock?

Did you experience culture shock the first time you came to visit or live in Italy?

I wrote “culture shock” as a question in the title because this is something I occasionally chew on. Sometimes we tend to throw around words without thinking about what they actually mean, and after awhile some words start to lose their real meaning or their sharpness. I think one of those words, or phrases, is “culture shock.”

This phrase includes the word “shock.” Consider quickly the definition of shock which I just copy and pasted from the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary:

1a(1) : a sudden or violent mental or emotional disturbance. (2) : a disturbance in the equilibrium or permanence of something. b : something that causes such disturbance the loss came as a shock. c : a state of being so disturbed were in shock after they heard the news.

With this in mind, I think I can safely say that while we joke about culture shock, we use the term quite lightly. Of course, people differ with different mindsets, age, sensibilities, so different people may experience different levels of culture shock, but my goal with this blog wasn’t actually to dissect the term culture shock but more, what it’s like for an American in Italy. How different is life really? Is it shockingly different? Almost the same just a different language? Like one long vacation in Italy consisting of evening strolls and an overabundance of margherita pizza and Chianti Classico? I shall try to give you a little glimpse into what life in Italy is like.

So, IS it a shocker? Long answer short: No. I don’t think Italy, at least for me, was a culture shock. Especially for a tourist, student, it’s different and charming, but shocking? Nah. We’ve grown up hearing too much about Italy, Italian food, Italian people, that setting foot here on vacation or short term is more the realization of a dream than an unexpected shock. Actually digging your heels in, learning the language, and going through the motions it takes to live is when things become more…shocking. The “bella figura” peels away to reveal bitterness, disorganization, and corruption, unless you have enough money or power to avoid some of it, as human nature caters to the wealthy and powerful. Even myself as an American, though by no means rich, has a certain affluence that is catered to. That might sound awful, but it’s true. You’ll probably find these things out over a period of years instead of one day, so it still isn’t quite culture shock. You just…slowly come to terms with it.

I have experienced culture shock. Oh yes. If I wavered on whether Italy truly was shocking as some people think it is, I knew for sure it wasn’t for me after visiting Tunisia. I think I could also say Honduras, but I was only in Honduras for a couple weeks touring with my ballet company, and thus we had hosts who brought us in and took wonderful care of us. Lodging, food, transit, and translators were all provided, so the experience, while it remains treasured in my heart, is a far cry from real life in Honduras.

While I can say the same is almost true for my time in Tunisia, it still was a very different experience. My husband is from Tunisia and I went to visit/meet his family for the first time in 2018. I think anywhere in Africa or Asia would be shocking for me, honestly! No amount of pictures or stories or articles can prepare someone for such a different way of life. I cried more times in front of people than I cared to. It’s easy looking back and chiding myself for my reactions, but I was doing the best I could in a new culture, country, people, and language. And no, hardly anyone speaks English. While my in-laws took wonderful care of me, maybe too good care of me, everything was still veryyyy different and not understanding what is going on around you can be stressful. Add on being sick while I was there…well, that, for me, was a culture shock experience.

So now we come back to Italy and I say, no, this country is similar enough (or tries to be) to the way America and other first world countries operate that you can get by pretty well. Until you enter the web of bureaucracy. Then I suggest you get a panic bunker for your many meltdowns. I’m kidding. Kind of.

Some differences between life in America and Italy

Keep in mind these reflect my observances as someone who grew up in a smallish town in Michigan and who now lives in Florence. I have lived in the city center of Florence, in the city surroundings, and now live in a very small town outside of Florence.

Usually the best way I can think to summarize life in Italy is by saying it’s similar to life in the US, everything’s just a little bit harder and takes longer. For example:

Driving

While driving is driving, keep in mind that most cars in Italy are manual. Then getting from point A to point B generally takes longer than you would think, because it’s not a straight shot, especially when there are historic city centers nearby. This usually means driving in a wide arc around the city center to get where you need to be. Many roads in or around city centers are prohibited to say, non-residents or during the day. So your route could be different based on your status and time of day. Then, because that’s not enough, make sure you can drive legally! If you live here you probably will at some point become a resident. I know for sure for Americans and Canadians, that your driver’s license is valid for one year after you become a resident. After that you must attend driving school (which last I heard will run you around 1000euro) to get your Italian driver’s license. Unfortunately there is no international driving agreement between the US/Canada and Italy.

Parking

While we’re on the subject of cars here, parking can be a nightmare. It’s hard to understand where you can and can’t park, during what hours, and between what color lines. This is tight city living, not sprawling America. It’s often parallel parking, too, oh joy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen parallel parked cars hit the cars around them multiple times before squeezing in, or bumpers literally touching while parked. Then there are those who park in the middle of the road, or around a round-about for lack of better options. You’d think they’d get a ticket. But if you try it, you will. Because that’s the Italian Murphy’s Law. Parking to grocery shop, while probably guaranteed, will often be a parking garage under the store where you may have to pay.

Grocery Shopping

If you’re not fortunate enough or crazy enough to have a car, grocery shopping means only being able to buy what you can physically carry (or put on a bike) home. This often means grocery shopping more often, but that’s more the Italian way of life anyway. And it’s easier to stay on top of the fresh produce before it goes bad, only getting enough for a few days instead of a week or two. You can read more about grocery shopping in Italy by clicking here.

Bills

You have to pay bills in Italy, too, unfortunately. While you can pay online and even set up automatic bill pay, I personally don’t trust the companies enough to just say, “here, take my money every month!” As I note below, once an Italian company has your money, you’re unlikely to ever see any type of refund. So if there is ever anything you want to contest, it’s much easier to do so BEFORE you pay than after.

Any kind of rules/regulations

You hear one thing, you read another, you’re left confused. You ask someone who has authority on the matter, and they tell you what to do. Great. You do what they tell you, and you get told, no, that’s not how it works. “But I was told…” nope. Doesn’t matter. New person, new day, and they get to tell you what they want. It can be extremely frustrating, or entertaining. Depending on your mood and what it is. Viva l’Italia!

Hospitals/Healthcare

While the healthcare I was fortunate enough to have access to growing up was nothing short of great, I can’t say the same for what I’ve seen first hand and heard of in Italy. The public healthcare in Italy is cheap and accessible to all, even if you don’t have the correct documents to live here, they’re not going to turn you away. I’m currently pregnant as I write this, and haven’t and won’t pay a cent for the whole care I’ve received so far, except for supplements and vitamins recommended by my midwife. While this is great, I’ve also left some family and friends aghast in the States when I tell them all about my appointments and pregnancy care here. And my pregnancy experience compared to other scenarios I’ve seen is positively solid. I have too many stories to recount in this post about hospitals and the care here, but I will say this. If the care in America is excellent overall, but not accessible to everyone, and the care in Italy is accessible to everyone but if they don’t do anything for you, what good is it? There has to be some way to better these systems because it feels like I’ve lived in the two opposite lands of healthcare. Governments and politics, I tell you.

Size

Everything in Italy is smaller. The people, apartments, shops, restaurants, ovens, portion sizes, cars, bathrooms, fitting rooms….Some of these things are good, some just take getting used to.

I grew up with four brothers in a 5 bedroom house. By American standards in our area our house is probably average, maybe even small considering 7 people lived there. By Italian standards? It’s huge! I don’t think I know anyone who has more than a 3 bedroom apartment. Even then, 3 bedrooms? Wow, that’s luxury! What space! The biggest apartment I’ve lived in was with 2 roommates, 2 bedrooms, and it was about 90 sq meters, so about 900 square feet? That was a big apartment, and we enjoyed hosting because of all our space.

Visiting public restrooms is always fun. They’re hard to find, and often you have to hunt down a bar or someplace where you can buy a coffee or quick drink just so you can use the bathroom. The tiny bathroom. Then good luck figuring out how to flush the toilet. Hint, it could be a handle, a button, on the toilet, on the wall, a pull string from the ceiling, or even a peddle. No, it’s probably not automatic. And make sure you figure it out before the light, which may be automatic, goes out on you and doesn’t want to turn on again. My favorite was the bathroom that used to be upstairs at La Rinascente. Now, Rinascente is an upscale department store, so you’d think their bathrooms would be nice? Better than most, but clearly their architects were at a loss with what to do with the space. One of the two rooms had the toilet in such a tight corner that it was not possible to sit down forward facing with the wall right there. There were just a few inches between the front of the toilet and the wall. Unless you would like to swing one leg over the toilet and do a semi-split, the only option was side-straddle. Fun.

Fitting rooms are also entertaining. I highly suggest trying on a larger size rather than smaller first so you don’t have any problems trying to remove the article of clothing. Even removing something that fit perfectly usually leaves me hitting at least 3 walls of the fitting room before getting back in my own clothes. To anyone nearby, they would probably think I’m being mauled by a tiger in there with all the thunks, bangs, and curtain rustling. Extra fun when you’re 8 months pregnant and belly practically spans the width of the room just standing still.

Punctuality

As an American you probably are punctual and consider it rude if you show up late. I know a lot of Americans who do run late, but it’s usually a matter of minutes and often there is the “I’m on my way, I’m so sorry!” text. In Italy it is all but expected to show up late to things, at least casual encounters.

My church states that it starts at 11:00am. It usually starts closer to 11:15-11:30 because they know everyone shows up late anyway.

If a store has its hours as opening at 10am, don’t bother arriving before 10:10. The person opening the gate and unlocking the door will probably be there around 10:08 and if they see you waiting there, to deflect their tardiness, will make some statement about “you know we don’t open until 10” or be a bit abrupt with you because you stressed them out by arriving “early.” Ha.

Store hours

Speaking of store hours, Americans come from a 24/7 culture. Grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, hospitals, are all open, just waiting for your midnight run. In Italy you have to plan ahead. Many shops are closed during the afternoon between 1pm and 4pmish, close around 8pm in the evening, are only open for the evening hours on Mondays, and only the morning hours on Saturday. Many restaurants aren’t open at all on Mondays. Almost everything is closed on Sunday. Even the big grocery stores close between 8 and 9 pm and some close on Sundays around 1pm. Any holidays often mean stores close, even grocery stores, or at the very least modify their store hours. So make sure you dinner planned in advance! I once was at an emergency room where their reception closed at 4pm. Haha.

Then there are all the government offices that usually are open for a only few hours a day Mon-Fri. Which makes any bureaucratic process a pain.

Add on top of this that the hours on Google maps and official websites are usually not updated or can’t keep up with how often the hours are adjusted on a whim. If they even have hours listed. This has only worsened with the constant changing of Covid-19 hours and openings to where I have all but given up trying to look up hours anywhere but on the building itself.

Illness

This one gets talked about a lot by Americans, because we find it so entertaining. Italians tend to believe a lot more in what I’ll call circumstantial illness rather than illness being transmitted by bacteria/germs. Maybe this is also the wider European/Mediterranean culture, because my husband also tends to believe some of these, while I laugh. Or maybe he’s just lived in Italy too long and is part Italian. Reasons you get sick in Italy:

• Going outside with wet hair, especially when it’s NOT summer.

• Sleeping with wet hair.

• There was a draft.

• Air conditioning.

• A fan blowing on you.

• Sudden changes in temperature.

• Not covering your neck/wearing a scarf if it’s below 70°F / 21°C.

• Eating something out of date.

• Not washing vegetables six times if you’re pregnant.

While I may not start believing these reasons whole heartedly, the level of concern/judgment shown me in public from strangers has caused me to change some of my habits. Mainly going outside with wet hair, as most of the other ones are more easily avoidable or done in the privacy of my own home. I have never owned a hair dryer but I started using one religiously at the gym, as does every other Italian. Men, too, according to my husband. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my dad or brothers use a hair dryer, but hey, sometimes Italian men have really fabulous hair so who am I to judge?

Customer Service

The ol’ “the customer is always right” does NOT rule in Italy. There is often fine print you should make sure to read or policies and rules that you should pore over before ever attempting to have any interaction with any store or service beyond handing over money. Returns, exchanges, refunds, complaints, or basically anything that involves the business handing you back money, will probably not go down well. Either Italian customer service hasn’t learned or doesn’t care that a happy customer is one who will bring many more customers to you. Maybe it doesn’t affect them because so many operate in this way. I might as well keep going back to the place with indifferent customer service and pay less than go somewhere else and get indifferent customer service and pay more, no?

I’m not implying that there are a bunch of awful people working in customer service. Unfortunately there is a common theme of disorganization that leaves everyone involved dissatisfied and ornery. If a company treats a customer unfairly, the customer is going to be understandably upset. If the then unhappy customer goes to rant and complain to employees of the company, when it isn’t the employee’s fault, this upsets the employee. The employees that are now dealing with numerous angry customers then become jaded and treat customers poorly. Do you see a bit of the vicious cycle? This is my attempt to explain what I observe on a daily basis in this beautiful, but unfortunately unorganized country. I can tell you, when there is some interaction with a smiling and helpful person, it is always so refreshing and I often leave wishing I could offer that person a coffee or gelato or maybe be my new best friend? A few anecdotes below before I move on in case you want some of my real life examples:

• On phone companies: I used to have phone service through the company TIM. In Italy, most people have a phone plan which is debited monthly from your phone’s credit. One day I received a text message, something about some game that had been activated on my phone for 5euro a week. Weird? I haven’t activated anything on my phone! I followed the link to deactivate this service, except that there wasn’t anything for deactivation. I waited a week, kept an eye on my phone credit, didn’t notice any unusual money being deducted. I waited another week, nothing. I figured it must be some scam, because after all, people can’t just access your phone credit and activate anything they want without your consent, right?! Wrong. After the third week I noticed that 10euros were now missing from my phone credit. I promptly called the TIM service line and tried explaining the situation, wanting my 10euros back. I was told that because I didn’t notify them within two weeks, unfortunately they couldn’t refund me. What? Money wasn’t taken out within two weeks. This was unacceptable to me so I insisted, trying to explain more thoroughly the situation as the lady kept cutting me off and interrupting, never letting me finish. Our lovely conversation ended by her continually talking over me, raising her voice so she was yelling, then hanging up on me while I was still talking as she had yet to hear all what I was trying to explain. I switched phone companies. What did I learn about this encounter? Phone companies DO allow in these third parties to access your number, sending you text messages to activate services, and as I experienced, they can activate them on your phone even without your consent. So, if you have a plan in Italy make sure to ask how to block these third party scammers, which involves sending a text message to a certain number to block them. The good news is, since being with a new phone company, I haven’t had anyone outright steal money from my phone credit.

• On simple clothing returns/exchanges: I once bought a sweater online, on sale. When it arrived it was too big. I took it into the store, because an in store exchange is a whole lot easier than sending back a package and reordering it. I had read online their return/exchange policies, so knew this was possible. I explained to the saleslady that I would like to exchange this sweater for the smaller size, which they had in store. She tried to explain to me that I will have to pay the difference. What difference, sorry? I’m exchanging the exact same sweater, just a different size. Said sweater was no longer on sale, so she was trying to get me to pay the difference. I’ve worked in sales and exchanged goods before, and hadn’t heard of this before? I felt like I was explaining their store policies to her, and she finally went to get her manager, who confirmed what I said. I would like to give this lady the benefit of the doubt, maybe she was new? Regardless, maybe not a good idea to stand there and argue with a customer if you’re not sure.

• On bureaucracy: The first time I applied for my marriage based “permesso” or permission to stay in Italy, I needed a whole slew of documents to bring with me to the questura. One of these documents (idoneità alloggiativa) itself needed a whole slew of documents, to be brought and applied for at another government office. Once we brought in all the necessary paperwork, we were told it would take 90-120 days to get this document. My appointment to go to the questura was in about 90 days, so while I was hoping it would be ready in time so I don’t have to go BACK to the questura (average wait time at the questura is 4-5 hours, my record is 8), I knew that it probably wouldn’t be. On the bright side, I was assured that the questura realizes it takes time to procure this, so at least they wouldn’t give me a hassle for not having it ready. Shortly before my questura appointment and when 90 days had passed, we tried calling the office to see if my document was ready to be picked up. After calling multiple times over several days, finally someone answered the phone. The lady responded to our inquiry by saying that whoever told us 90 days was wrong, it takes a FULL 120 days for this document to be ready. But we were told….? Nope, it’s not ready. My appointment for the questura comes, I submit everything except that one missing document. Once 120 days passed, my husband called again and was informed it was ready. I went out to the office to pick it up since the only 3 hours they are open is while he is at work. I tell the lady at the desk what I need to pick up, “ah the one that’s been ready since May 15th?” May 15th?! It’s now June, and my questura appointment was May 19th. It had been ready since BEFORE my questura appointment. So when we called the first time, it had been ready when the lady insisted it wasn’t. Oh, and I wasn’t allowed to pick it up, despite it being for me and my permesso, because it was in my husband’s name. Bummer, because it takes about 1.5 hours in public transport for me to reach this office. The lady said my husband would need to fill out the delegation form and give me a form of his ID to pick it up. It would be nice to know these things before coming all the way out here, ya know? She said I already had this form, they gave it to us when we applied for this document. I looked in my folder which had all pertinent information and paperwork given us for this document, and confirmed what I already knew, we had neither been given nor told about this form. Well, they’re supposed to give it you, she says. The ironic thing in all this is actually two things. First, we were told that they are supposed to contact us when this document is ready. Second, when my husband later asked why we were told the second time it takes 120 days and the document wasn’t ready when in fact it WAS, the only reason the lady could come up with was that someone wanted to play a practical joke on us…welcome to Italy, friends!

Modesty

This is a bit of an interesting one to talk about, especially since most media consumed by the world comes out of America and the world tends to think we are fun, fast, and loose people. They’re not wrong when they look at the US as a whole, but are we more so than say, the French, Italians, etc? Probably not. But as an American in Italy, and getting attention because it’s assumed I’m easy, I’m here trying to help give Americans a more respectable name. Italians/Europeans just seem more comfortable with their bodies in general, in many circumstances. I’m a conservative and modest person by faith and also somewhat by nature, and still am shocked by what I see girls wearing around, especially summertime. I’m sure it’s that way in the US as well, but I’ve been gone a few years and styles seem to be edging closer and closer to uh, nudity? You can only cut material so small. Bathing suits and beaches are another matter. I seriously contemplate why some people don’t just walk around naked? Oh, wait, they do! Crowded public beach right next to the water, with men and boys all around, women sunbathing topless on their backs.

I learned a good bit about Italian modesty in the women’s locker room at the gym. Italians have no qualms about standing for long periods of time stark naked and chatting up their neighbors, relatives, or complete strangers., blow drying their hair, doing their makeup. And doing all kinds of grooming operations that I usually prefer to do with no one else around. Blowdryers don’t blow dry just heads, but the WHOLE body. Sometimes I’m left wondering if I really want to use that blow dryer next to my own head after they’re done. I don’t mean to imply that all of these things are wrong, but speaking as an American, it definitely takes some getting used to!

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Explore Italy: Siena

Last updated November 3, 2024

Welcome back to the Explore Italy series!

More Explore Italy posts:

• San Gimignano

• Lucca

• Orvieto

• Gubbio

• Desenzano del Garda

• Cinque Terre

• Pisa

• Naples

• Viareggio

• Livorno

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

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Piazza del Campo

Siena in a nutshell

Location: Tuscany, Italy

Best known for: Its large central piazza, Piazza del Campo, where the “Palio” horse races are held

Days needed to explore: 1+ - Siena can be enjoyed in a day, but spending at least one night will allow you to explore it more fully

What to see and do:

Duomo of Siena

• Piazza del Campo

  The main piazza of Siena, large and beautiful, the heart of the city. The famous Palio horse races happen twice year here on July 2 and August 16. If you’re able to line up your visit on one of these days or even in the days leading up to the races, it’s quite exciting! I came on June 30 in 2018, and was able to feel the excitement in the air as everyone was getting ready for the races, and ran into a parade where one “contrada” or quartier of the city was singing and parading around their horse. There are 17 contrade in all, and thus 17 horses participate in the races. Each contrada has their own flag with an animal, from a panther to an owl, unicorn to dragon. It’s easy to understand which contrada you’re in as you wander around the city because there are their flags and colors everywhere!

• Piazza del Duomo / Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta

  Here you can hang out and enjoy the spectacular duomo from the piazza, or you can get a ticket to go inside. There are several areas you can visit that require different tickets, so if you want to visit more than one or two, I suggest you go for a combo ticket. You can visit inside the cathedral, the crypt, the Piccolomini Library, the baptistry, and the Opera del Duomo museum. Children up to 6 years of age and disabled persons with their escort enter for free. Price for cathedral and library is about 8.50euro, combo ticket to see all will run you closer to 20euro.

• Basilica of San Domenico and the head of Saint Catherine

  Who is Saint Catherine and why do I want to see her head? Saint Catherine, or Catherine of Siena, was born in 1347 and one of 25 children (!). She dedicated her life to God at a young age, and grew to be a very influential figure in Italy and the Catholic church, being named the patron saint of Rome and even of Italy, alongside Francis of Assisi. In 1999 she was proclaimed the patron saint of Europe by Pope John Paul II. She was also one of the first two women to be named a doctor of the church. She died at just 33, and her popularity only grew after her death. While her body lies in Rome, her head is in a gilt bust of bronze in the Basilica of San Domenico. The church is free to enter, and yes, you can view her head. No pictures allowed, though!

• Torre del Mangia

  This is right on Piazza del Campo, part of the town hall or “Palazzo Comunale” which, at least to my mind, is the quintessential photo of Siena and I’m sure you’ll recognize it immediately. I’m always happy to admire these things from the outside where it’s free, but you can also climb the tower and for the views. And exercise. 400 some steps!

  If you are an art person, you can visit the Civic Museum and the Torre del Mangia for a combined ticket of 13euro.

Basilica di San Domenico

Established: The area we now know today as Siena was originally founded by a tribe of Etruscans called the Saina, who lived there from about 900-400 BC.

As legend goes, Siena as we know it was founded by brothers, Senius and Aschius, nephews of Romulus who, also according to legend, founded Rome. This tale explains why there are several statues of the she-wolf suckling these twin brothers, The Capitoline Wolf, around the city.

The site later became the home of a Roman town around 30 AD, known as Saena Julia. It did not thrive under Roman rule, being far from common trading routes. Eventually it was seized by the Lombards, who attributed to its flourishing, then it was seized by the Franks in 774 AD.

The Republic of Siena was created in the 12th century. It had its ups and downs, the rivalry between Siena and Florence is legendary, especially the few times Siena managed to beat Florence! The Republic of Siena survived half of its population being wiped out by the Black Death, rebuilding itself even to become one of the most important banking cities on the continent. However, Florence eventually won out, and Siena surrendered in 1555 to the Duchy of Florence allied by the Spanish. The Spanish king, being in debt to the Medici, ceded the city to their control. You just can’t get away from the Medici legacy!

Typical foods to try:

• Ribollita (Tuscan bean, bread, and vegetable soup)

• Crostini (slices of bread with differing toppings, served as an appetizer. One of the main Tuscan toppings is pureed liver. You could order the “crostini misti” which will get you a sampling of different crostini)

• Pecorino e miele (pecorino cheese and honey, a divine appetizer)

• Salumi (cold cuts, try a variety and especially some of the boar that comes from Siena’s hills)

• Pici (pasta, like a thick spaghetti)

• Cinta Senese (Siena’s pig)

• Lepre (Hare)

• Panforte (a chewy, nutty and fruity dessert)

• Cantucci (twice baked cookies, what Americans often call biscotti)

• All the wines, some of the most famous of Italian wines come from this area - Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti, Nobile di Montepulciano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Vinsanto

How to get there from Florence: *Please note that these methods of travel are written as things were before Covid-19. As things stand, some buses aren’t running, or running fewer per day. Many sites are not updated or timetables not available and ever changing, so I will not link to them here because they won’t be of any help.

You can arrive by bus, train, or car. Bus and train options have similar prices, ranging from 5-10euro for a one way.

• Bus: There is a direct bus and a non-direct bus that makes stops in two towns before arriving in Siena. Both take off from the bus station behind the Santa Maria Novella train station, in Via Santa Caterina. The prices for the buses I believe are the same, so you might as well take the faster direct bus. Roughly two buses take off per hour, but it’s always best to get the schedule ahead of time, since weekends and holidays often have fewer buses running. Buy your tickets beforehand if possible. You can purchase them on the bus, but they will cost more.

  Likewise, there is also a Flixbus that takes off from a different area by the train station, near Villa Costanza. This may very well be a better option, since Flixbus is much easier to find times and tickets online, rather than the extraurbano buses that take off from Florence.

• Train: Another good option is the train. Similar to the buses, there are direct and non-direct trains. Prices are all the same, as of 2020 9.50euro one way, so again, you might as well take the faster direct train, which takes about 1hr 30min.

  Regardless of whether you take a train or bus, always remember to validate your tickets, otherwise you will get fined if caught. For buses, the validation machine is on board. For trains, you’ll need to validate before getting on the train.

Siena is also easy to get to from San Gimignano by bus, or vice versa. It’s very possible to see both the cities in one day if you are short on time!

What I like about Siena

See here the various flags of the contrade waving!

Siena was long a town I had heard of and imagined, and finally got to go in 2018. Aside from being bigger than expected, it’s very fun to explore and hilly! It boasts a beautiful duomo, the classic cobblestone streets and beautiful brick buildings, and the famous piazza, Piazza del Campo, where the “Palio” horse races happen.

Siena has delicious food, delicious wine (Chianti territory!), art, some shopping, and overall a general ambience to the city I really enjoy. It’s not too big, not too small, and is smack dab in the middle of beautiful Tuscan countryside.

It makes for a wonderful day trip from Florence, but also has enough to explore you may decide you want to stay a few nights here.

Personally I think Siena is small enough, even with a day trip, for you to see everything you need to see just by walking around without much of an agenda. Main points of interest you will probably come across even without a map, unless you’re me, then you can’t even find the main Duomo without walking up and down the hilly streets and somehow walking a large perimeter around it, but always just out of sight.

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Explore Italy: San Gimignano

Last updated November 3, 2024

New post series!

In honor of everyone’s favorite year ever, 2020, and all of our hopes and dreams being smashed, batted down, trampled on, and flippantly disposed of, I’m starting a new series on travel. If that seems uncorrelated or insensitive as I live in Italy and much of the world is still banned from entering the EU, allow me to explain.

Because traveling is severely diminished these days, vacations and adventures delayed, cancelled, or no longer optional due to income loss, I hoped to write some simple posts exploring my favorite cities in Italy to bring Italy to YOU. Of course a blog post will never come close to actually traveling, but maybe one of these posts will bring to light a city you’ve never been to and inspire you to start thinking about your next trip. Or cross it off your list, ha! It helps me, too, since I will not be taking any grand holidays this year. This is not all due to coronavirus, but also given we just moved apartments and we’ll be having a baby in September, it’s probably best to stay put for now and plan and prepare since we haven’t been able to do any of that yet! Ironically, I’d love to be in the US right now with my family, because having a baby is so much better with family around, ya know? But I’m not, so here’s a little trip down memory lane of some of the beautiful cities I have gotten to see in my time here in Italy!

Enjoy, and if you ever have any questions, you can always reach out to me! I’m here for you.

More Explore Italy posts:

• Siena

• Lucca

• Orvieto

• Gubbio

• Desenzano del Garda

• Cinque Terre

• Pisa

• Naples

• Viareggio

• Livorno

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

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Piazza della Cisterna

San Gimignano is a little walled town near Siena perched on one of the rolling hills of Tuscany famed for its medieval charm, beautiful views, wine, and one of the best gelato shops in Italy. That last one is reason enough for me to visit a place!

San Gimignano in a nutshell

Location: Tuscany, Italy

Best known for: Its medieval charm, tall towers, and gelato

Days needed to explore: 1+ - makes for an excellent day trip

What to see and do:

• Piazza della Cisterna

• Climb the tallest tower, Torre Grossa, for a fee somewhere around 5euro I believe. It’s been standing since 1298, so super safe, right? No, I’m sure it’s fine, and the views are spectacular.

Established: San Gimignano has a somewhat complex history with Etruscan roots, as testified by some of the Etruscan tombs you can still see today.

Two brothers who fled Rome built two towers, one which would eventually be called San Gimignano, and the city has been called so since at least 929 AD. It developed into a thriving city, until the plague of 1348 decimated two-thirds of its population and it submitted to Florentine dominance, never quite to return to its former independent glory. It is known for its fine towers, there were once 72, and today you can still admire 14 of them, which gives it a uniquely medieval skyline perched on its little hill. It has numerous examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.

Exploring off the beaten track

Being quite small, it feels like there is one main street, a large principal piazza, and the rest little side streets to wander. This makes it a very easy day trip or possibly somewhere to stay and take a few breaths away from the larger cities. Personally, I really enjoyed San Gimignano as a day trip and didn’t feel the need to stay overnight or even all day. In fact, getting up early my husband and I saw San Gimignano and Siena all in one day and didn’t feel overly rushed. It’s very easy to go back and forth between Siena and San Gimignano by bus or car.

Places to eat:

• Gelateria Dondoli. If you’re looking for the world’s best gelato, you’ve found it at Gelateria Dondoli, or so they say! I really don’t know how you decide these things, because there is an awful lot of gelato in the world, and good stuff at that, so how do you choose which is THE best?! Regardless, I had heard from people that it truly was delicious, so I went in with rather high expectations, even if I expected to be at least somewhat disappointed. Well, l will tell you, it was truly delicious gelato. Even for being hyped as the best, I didn’t leave scoffing one bit. So definitely stop and get at least one gelato. It’s found in Piazza della Cisterna. There will probably be a line, and don’t get confused by the other gelateria just on the other corner that has a large sign “World’s best gelato.” This can be very confusing for those looking for the real one, so follow the line if in doubt. They’re famous for a few flavors, including Crema di Santa Fina (cream, saffron, pine nuts), Champelmo (sparkling wine and grapefruit), and Vernaccia Sorbet (made with the famous Vernaccia wine). I particularly recommend the Champelmo and any flavor you normally like! I’ve purposefully gone away from the flavors they’re known for, to see if they put as much finesse into the lesser known flavors. And they did. YUM.

Typical foods to try:

• Saffron - a spice, not a dish, but something San Gimignano is known for. Order dishes that feature “zafferano” or take some home with you!

• Olive oil - San Gimignano produces a wonderful extra virgin olive oil. Another great product to take with you.

• Wine - While you are here you should try the DOCG white wine for which San Gimignano is known: Vernaccia di San Gimignano. For more on this wine and where to have some tastings, check out this site.

How to get there from Florence:

Porta San Giovanni where the bus will drop you off

• By car: The quickest and maybe easiest way is by car.

• By train: There is no direct train, so you’ll actually need to take a train to Poggibonsi from the main Santa Maria Novella train station, followed by a bus. Once you get to Poggibonsi you’ll get the 130 bus, San Gimignano-Siena line to Porta San Giovanni. Total time will be around 2 hours, depending on how quickly the bus comes. Train ride is about an hour, bus ride is about 20 minutes.

• By bus: To get there you will need to get two buses. There is a bus station behind the Santa Maria Novella train station from which you can take a 131 Florence-Siena Busitalia bus to Poggibonsi, where you will transfer buses. Once at Poggibonsi take the 130 San Gimignano-Siena bus to Porta San Giovanni. Total time will be about 1hr 45minutes. First bus takes about 50 minutes, second bus will be around 25 minutes. Buses are my preferred method of travel to get to San Gimignano and also the cheapest. Tickets don’t need to be purchased in advance, but buses run about once every hour on weekdays, less on Saturday and much less on Sundays and holidays, so it’s best to check the schedules ahead of time.

Where to find bus schedules? As with many things in Italy, your safest bet is to go straight to the source to get correct information, in this case the bus station behind the train station in Via Santa Caterina da Siena. Maybe check out the station and get bus departures while you’re out exploring Florence. This way you will also know where to head the morning of your trip to San Gimignano, save some time and stress.

Why I like San Gimignano

While big cities may be more adrenaline inducing for the traveler with all the activity, abundance of restaurants and shops, and sites of interest, the lovely part of these tiny cities is that there isn’t really anything you need to see or do to check off your bucket list. This creates more of a stress free, wander as you will type of experience which I think is very refreshing after running around a city like Rome or Florence. You can put away your phone or map and just enjoy. No matter where you go, you will see ancient and beautiful Italian buildings, shutters, flowers, and local goods. It is very hard to get lost here. There a few museums, of course restaurants, and the main towers and piazzas that are hard to miss.

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Living in Italy: The Art of Grocery Shopping

Last Updated July 28, 2024

While I was originally going to include this segment on grocery shopping (yes, grocery shopping) as part of a different post, I realized I had enough to say on the subject to warrant its own post.

No gloves? Good eye, this photo was taken in France

Why grocery shopping? If you think about it, it’s something that most human beings do on a weekly basis and we probably take if for granted. But when you’re in a new country or even a new city, these everyday errands can be invaluable in getting a glimpse into the new culture you’re in.

If you’ve moved to Italy for however long, sooner or later you are going to have to stop eating out all the time (you can’t live off margherita pizzas and gelato forever) and start cooking for yourself in your new (most likely fun-sized) kitchen.

If you’re looking for help on where to find specific ingredients in Italy, check out my post on Hard-to-Find Ingredients in Italy.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to mall businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

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The grocery stores

Supermarket prices are roughly the same in Italy as you would find in the US. So if you’re trying to create a budget before moving here, keep it the same. If you spend $50 a week on groceries, budget 50euro. Maybe 55 as a safety net for when you uh, buy the wrong products. Like when my friend and I bought laundry softener accidentally instead of detergent? Yeah. Our laundry smelled SO good. Can’t vouch for how clean it actually was, but dang. Fields of lavanda for days.

The four main grocery stores are Coop, Esselunga, Conad, Carrefour, and I prefer grocery shopping at them in that order. There are also some Pam’s in the city center which have fair prices, and Lidl which is the European equivalent (and I believe same owners) of Aldi. Conad and Carrefour tend to be the most expensive, and you will usually find them in the city center and out. If they’re in the center, they’ll probably be on the smaller side. Coop and Esselunga on the other hand, are usually only found outside city centers and tend to be larger, with parking more readily available, usually in the form of underground parking garages.

I believe all four have some kind of loyalty card, Carrefour is the only one I can’t say for sure.

• Coop, as a cooperativo, you have to pay 25euro to get their card and benefit from exclusive sales, among other “advantages” that may or may not be useful to you.

• Esselunga has their “Fidaty” card, which is free to get. For every item you buy you acquire points, sometimes on certain products you can get extra points. When you reach 3,000 points you can redeem your points for 27euro off groceries. Otherwise you can save your points and choose something from their prize catalog. (I know someone who saved up their points long enough and got a mini KitchenAid mixer.)

• Conad has their Insieme card which is similar to Esselunga’s. Free to obtain and you start collecting points which goes towards prizes. I’ve never shopped enough to ever obtain enough points to do anything with at Conad, but since it’s free it doesn’t hurt whether you decide to get it or not.

The rhythm of grocery shopping

For many reasons, grocery shopping in Italy is not just a once-a-week excursion but a multiple-times-a-week lifestyle. Why?

• Food is very much available seasonally, and when you’re getting the best and ripest of produce, it usually doesn’t last a week before going bad! You’ll find many Italians only buying what they need for a few days, ensuring they always have the freshest stuff on hand.

• Others, like myself, walk to the grocery store and can only buy as much as can physically be carried. This necessitates shopping more frequently. You could also invest in a “nonna” cart, one of the bags on wheels that many nonne use for their shopping.

• The elderly generations themselves also use a daily trip to the grocery store as exercise, and may also serve as their socializing for the day. The strict lockdown during coronavirus only allowed 1 member from each household to grocery shop once a week. I really don’t think that many people complied, as there wasn’t any good way to enforce this rule. In one instance, the police finally cited a man after he was caught at the grocery store for the thirteenth time that day. Yes, thirteenth.

Have an exit plan

As you embark to explore the wonders that Esselunga, Conad, Carrefour, or Coop have to offer, there's something you might want to know.  Some grocery stores have entrance and exit gates, and you can only exit if you have a receipt with a barcode.  You could flag down one of the employees near the self-checkout and they will let you out, but after my experience of getting trapped because I didn’t buy anything, (I just wanted to see what they had to offer!) I always made sure to buy at least a snack or drink, even if I was just going to the store to check to see if they had a certain item.  Maybe I’m the only one who scopes out grocery stores. Ah well. You’ve been warned.

Don’t touch the produce

Whether at an open market or the grocery store, the fruit and vegetables are not to be touched with your bare hands! Or you might get your hand slapped or verbally accosted by some nonna. Plastic bags and gloves are provided so you can rifle through for the best peaches without sullying them.

I do sometimes rebel, especially if I only need one or two things from the produce section and don’t want to waste a glove. Then I will be careful to eyeball the produce and only touch the fruit I buy. Hint: If you only need say, 3 apples, and do want to look them over before choosing them, use your empty bag as a makeshift glove to turn over some apples. Then when you’ve chosen your three, take your hand out of the bag and use your bare hand to touch only the three you want.

A lady once came up next to me to get some peaches and apologized as she chose some without a glove. I told her not to worry. In case she hadn’t noticed, I also was glove-less and clearly not about to rebuke her for a sin I was already committing. Two rebels in the store. Camaraderie.

Don’t forget the mercati

Speaking of produce, it’s much more enjoyable to have one or two days a week set aside for getting your fresh produce from an outdoor mercato. The produce is usually the freshest and you can develop relationships with your favorite vendors. Not only is it a much more rewarding experience to buy your produce from someone you know, you’re supporting local farms and hey, they just might start giving you some deals if they like you! Not to mention some of them have recommendations or recipes they’re willing to share!

I used to shop once a week at the Mercato di San Lorenzo when I lived closer to the center, and there was one dear old signore that I would often buy my produce from. He would frequently sneak some surprise pieces in my bag when he thought I wasn’t looking (it’s normal for the vendors to select the produce you want instead of you getting it yourself) and I would have to figure out what to do with them when I got home. That’s how I discovered khaki/persimmons, actually! I’m pretty sure he would always round the price down for me, but then again I’ll never really know because he lumped and weighed everything together, would think a moment, then tell me the price. The receipt only ever gave the total price, but a couple euros for several different kinds of deliciously ripe fruits and veggies didn’t seem a bad deal to me. Even if he was rounding the price up, I was blissfully ignorant and still consider it a great memory.

I also love the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio. They have some unique stalls, and if you go on the right days you can even find scoby for sale to make your own kombucha or apple cider vinegar with the mother.

How to wait in line - “fare la fila”

Basically, if you’re not breathing down the person’s neck in front of you, you’re doing it wrong. If you’re not doing it right, you will get cut. Waiting in line is all a part of the Italian life. No one likes lines, no one wants to wait, and those who know how to queue in Italy know you might have to be pushy, aggressive, and perfect your evil eye.

You know you’re queueing with Italians and people who live in Italy when:

1. You can smell what kind of shampoo the person in front of you uses, or lack thereof

2. When you take a small step backwards you step on someone

3. The line looks more like a mob than a line

4. Someone comes to wait in line and stands next to you instead of behind you

5. That same person shifts ever more forward every time the line moves up

6. Someone asks if you’re in line, which is really just a lightly veiled threat meaning, “if you don’t keep your spot clearly, I will take your spot”

7. Someone blatantly cuts the line

8. When a cutter is called out, they will either act innocently as if they didn’t know or just completely ignore everyone and continue forward anyway. Either way.

9. Someone genuinely asks where the end of the line is, because you never can tell

In my early days in Italy a lady once asked if I was waiting in line for bread. When I said I was, she then informed me I had best move up or the Italians will cut me. It was kind of her to instruct my green American self. I think? Or it was another manifestation of #6.

Grocery carts

Smaller grocery stores in the center might not have the big metal carts, but they will have the smaller plastic “baskets” on wheels.

At the larger stores you’ll find the metal carts which can be used with a coin deposit. Confession: I’ve only ever used a big cart once, at Lidl, because I had to in order to enter during the coronavirus lockdown. In my scramble to unlock a cart and not lose my place in line, I tried inserting a 20 cent piece. Hint, it didn’t work. However, 50 cent pieces and 1euro pieces do. I prefer to use the smaller rolling baskets as it keeps my shopping realistic. I walk to the grocery store so can only buy as much as I carry.

What to buy where

Over time you will develop your own favorite stores and where you can find certain products or find the best deals. My favorite store is Coop, and yet I often can’t find spicy peppers. No jalapeños, habaneros, nothing. (Italy never labels their peppers. They’re either sweet, spicy, or bell. Sigh.) Every store has their quirks. I also was convinced for years that sour cream hardly exists here. I could only find it at my local Esselunga in the tiny Mexican food section. It’s imported, expensive, and not refrigerated, which doesn’t set well with me. Just the other day, while strolling the refrigerated section at Coop, what did I see? Sour cream. Normal, not sour cream. Aside from these things, there are certain ingredients you just can’t find in any of these grocery stores, or at least if you do, you’ll be paying an arm and a leg. 5+euro for Skippy peanut butter, anyone?

Here are some hints to get you started:

• Although some stores may have a small end cap or section dedicated to Asian, Mexican, or Arab foods, skip their higher prices and go to the sources themselves.

• For Asian ingredients around Florence, there are numerous Asian grocers around the city to satisfy all your rice noodle, ramen, soy, rice vinegar, and coconut milk needs. And peanut butter. Random brands, but almost always cheaper.

• For Mexican ingredients, head to Vivi Market in Florence. Although not an exhaustive source, they have a few shelves of tortillas, chips, sauces/salsas, and beans to get you by. They are also a reliable source of sweet potatoes and random American ingredients, like Reese’s, you may not find anywhere else. The downside to Vivi is their prices, they’re one of the more expensive Asian grocers.

• For Arab food, head to any of the Arab butchers around the city. This is where you can find cheaper black beans, harissa, dates, peanut butter, and other specialty ingredients if you are familiar with Middle-Eastern/North African cuisine.

• While Lidl might not have the biggest selection, they definitely have some of the cheapest options. I usually buy cheddar cheese, bretzels, hummus, maple syrup, and other random goodies that you can’t find in a normal Italian grocery store. They also have a little Greek section, so if you have a hankering for maybe not the best baklava, there you go. You’re welcome.

• When it comes to buying meat, think of it the same way as the produce. The big grocery stores are the most convenient, but if you want the best quality, you might consider visiting your neighborhood butcher. Again, you’re supporting local, and being a regular customer might just get you some deals. Italy is more of a “I do you a favor, you do me a favor” type society, rather than the more American independent ideology.

Grocery bags

Every grocery bag at the grocery store will run you 5-10 cents a piece. They are usually biodegradable, but it’s a good way to save some pennies and the economy by bringing your own bags. I never go anywhere without a few plastic and reusable bags in my purse for when I need to unexpectedly pick up some things while out and about.

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There you have it, more information than you probably ever needed to know about grocery shopping in Italy!

Italy Lockdown Update: May the 4th Be With You

It’s hard to believe it’s going on two months since I originally wrote about the coronavirus in Italy, and in turn pleading for my fellow Americans across the pond to take the virus seriously.

If you would like to read the original post on coronavirus in Italy, click here.

The husband spying on abandoned green houses because, apparently, we’ve been quarantined too long.

8 weeks and a day I since started quarantining. So much has changed since then. I had originally planned on updating my original blog on coronavirus periodically, but it really didn’t make sense to me when all TV channels, new sources, social media feeds, and conversations already revolved around this world pandemic. As it has affected everyone, and many in very real and very tragic ways, this makes sense, but I didn’t feel that my voice had anything important to add to the din. I had already given my two cents worth and given a little glimpse into the window of Italy when it became one of the worst hit countries after China before the rest of the world went under, too. Shortly after we were all in the same boat, anyway, under some kind of lockdown, travel restrictions, feeling the fear and uncertainty, wondering what is going to happen to our loved ones, our jobs, our economy, weddings, graduations, planned and saved for vacations…the list goes on and on.

However, although much still seems bleak, there is some light at the end of the tunnel, especially for those of us who have been living in Italy under one of the stricter lockdowns.

Today, May 4th, starts phase two. Many rejoice, as it feels like the first breath of fresh air (literally, for many!) in 8 long weeks stuck in small apartments. Maybe dark. Maybe all alone. Maybe with too many family members. Maybe without a balcony or any way to get some decent sunshine. Maybe struggling to get food on the table. But there is hope, the weather has turned warm and sunny, and the daily new cases and deaths have dramatically decreased in recent days.

At its worst, Italy saw 6,000+ new daily cases, and 900+ new daily deaths. Today, May 4th, there were only 1,221 new daily cases and 195 new daily deaths. For more information on the numbers in Italy, see here.

With the country slowly reopening I think many are waiting with baited breath…will it work? Or will there be a second wave? Especially in a country where people have been locked up for 8 weeks and maybe are overly zealous to get out? Hopefully, if we don’t let our guard down, everything will progress smoothly.

So, what does phase two in Italy look like? I’ll highlight here the most important updates, leaving out some of the nitty gritty boring stuff.

Italy Phase Two, May 4th

• While the essential reasons for leaving home have basically stayed the same, Italians are now able to travel within their region instead of only within their city/neighborhood. Those essential reasons remain for work, health, and now necessary visits to family members, including boyfriends/girlfriends. Movement beyond your own region is consented for work, health, emergency reasons, and for returning home. (Some workers, students, etc. found themselves locked out of their own regions/unable to return home when the lockdown started. They are now finally able to go back home.)

• The “autocertificazione” or self-certification is still required when you leave home, to justify your reason for being out. An updated version, the sixth edition I do believe, is available starting from today. With more shops opening, the necessary reasons stated above have also somehow been stretched to include errands to get any type of good used in every day life, newspapers, and of course still pharmacies and grocery shopping.

• As of May 1st we are now allowed to walk/exercise freely, instead of having to stay within 200 meters of our home. This is my favorite, favorite, favorite part of phase two! One source said we could go as far as we can physically walk, but don’t try leaving your region. You must maintain 1 meter distance from other people (people who don’t live with you) and 2 meters if you are running, and you may not take public transportation to a certain area to exercise.

• Too many people have tried to profit off the demand for masks, so the government has stepped in to cap surgical mask prices at 50 cents a piece. Masks are required if you leave home.

• Masks must be worn on public transportation. This has already been in place in Florence for the past week or two, I believe. The exception is for those under age 6 and anyone who has a medical problem that would prevent them from wearing a mask.

• Public parks and gardens will reopen.

• Funerals will be allowed, with only family members of the first and second degree and a maximum of 15 people.

• Restaurants will now be allowed to provide take-away instead of just home delivery. However the take-away food must be consumed at home or in the office, to avoid assemblies of people in front of buidlings, etc.

• Industrial, construction, furnishings, and wholesale commerce can recommence.

• Individual sports can restart, behind closed doors, not out in the open.

April 14th

In mid-April there was a very soft opening of a few types of shops. Cartolerie (paper and stationary type stores), kids’ clothing stores, and bookstores. Not essential, but it at least helps some store owners to be able to reopen but with very low risk of crowds.

I had an appointment this day, and was surprised to see how many people were out. They were clearly not all rushing to get fountain pens and stationary, but it’s also hard for me to blame people who have been cooped up for so long, if they’re at least respecting the distance…

Hoping and praying things can start going back to some semblance of normal!

Thanks for reading, and if you need me, I’ll be up in the Tuscan hills, walking as far as my legs will carry me…

On Coronavirus: Don't Panic, Plan Ahead, Love Your Neighbors

Click here to read the May 4th update from Italy: Phase 2.

We can’t stop thinking about it. We can’t stop talking about it. It’s all you see on social media. We’re all obsessed. Say it with me now, Coronavirus! Or Covid-19. As you like.

First things first. I’m writing this article from my apartment, under quarantine, in Florence, Italy. I am in no way a medical professional nor in a leading position in government, and what I’ve written below are merely my experiences and observances. That said, I tend to take a humorous outlook on most things in life, but I also believe that serious things need to be given their due weight. This virus has shown itself to be serious, physically and economically.

This is not the end of the world. Panic is never the answer. But by planning ahead and taking precautionary measures you can do your part in helping your country, State or region, city, and community stop or at least quell the spread. By doing so, you could indirectly be saving lives, by not catching and spreading the virus, especially to those who have been shown to be most vulnerable, the elderly population and those with underlying health problems.

How it Began in Italy

Italy reported its first two cases of Covid-19 on January 30. Two Chinese tourists became ill and were quarantined in the Spallanzani hospital near Rome. They recovered and were discharged.

A period of calm ensued. I remember being grateful no more cases were reported, even though the two Chinese tourists had reportedly traveled to Florence, among other cities. Fast forward to February 21 (some articles I’m double checking as I write this say Feb 20), when a man checked himself into the hospital in Codogno (northern Italy) and became the third confirmed Covid-19 case in Italy. That same day, Italy reported 16 new cases in the Lombardy and Veneto regions and the first death. A red flag immediately was raised for me. From everything I’ve been reading about this virus, mostly from reports from China and the WHO, you don’t simply catch this virus and die in the same day. Which can only mean, this virus has been circulating in Italy for some time already. Who knows where those people have been? Whom they’ve been in contact with that can then become carriers. Silently circulating, and no one knew. In Codogno, while hospitals were already dealing with the seasonal flu cases, they noticed a high number of people with respiratory problems. These people were treated as though they had the flu, not coronavirus. They weren’t quarantined.

My husband and I’s anniversary was February 24 and my birthday was February 28, so we were talking about taking a weekend trip somewhere. Top contender was Brescia, which is a great base from which to take day trips. I really wanted to see Sirmione. (Google that one for the photos and it’ll be on your list, too.) As cases and deaths continued to increase, we put our plans on hold. Should we go? Shouldn’t we? We unanimously agreed not to go. We found some cheap tickets to Sicily, but didn’t buy them because then cases started popping up in Sicily, also. We decided to stay put. By the time my birthday came, we had already decided to limit our outings (which proved difficult because we had appointments almost every single day) and not go to restaurants. I really wanted sushi, though, so I made a reservation at my favorite sushi place, Aji Tei, for right when they opened at 7:30pm, hoping it would be less crowded. We had tried to make a reservation earlier in February but they were full up. Pages and pages of reservations. This place, unlike a lot of dining places in Italy, is not small. It has an ample dining room and a large covered garden out back. And it can be hard to get in. The whole time we were there it didn’t even get to 25% capacity. It was nice for us, but sad, knowing they and probably many restaurants were feeling the impact.

All this time, the attitude of many people I talked to were flippant, dismissive, or a bit surprised if I mentioned something about being careful. The virus was still largely in the northern Lombardy region and I think some people may have thought me mildly crazy. All the while many politicians, business owners, and residents were passionately encouragingly the world at large to “come to Italy!” It’s safe, Italy is as beautiful as ever! I understand many people live off tourism here and they don’t want the economy or their livelihood to hurt…but we’re also talking about people’s lives. How many times did I see people who had planned trips to Italy asking on some forum or facebook group, is Italy safe? Should we still come? And the overwhelming response was always YES. Come, don’t listen to the naysayers, Italy is safe, it’s just a cold guys COME ON. Not one that I saw encouraged them to do what they thought was best for their family or their peace of mind, or stopped to ask if maybe someone in their group was over 60 or had underlying health problems?

The grocery stores started to be hit all over the country. Pictures of empty shelves, and from parts of the country that didn’t even have confirmed cases yet. The big Esselunga in my neighborhood wasn’t too bad, emptier than I’ve ever seen it, but I was able to get everything I needed. The items that were most hit? Toilet paper, rice, pasta, water, sanitizer of any kind and…women’s razors? I might get quarantined, must have smooth legs!!! haha what? At one point the eggs were gone, and also the milk, but next time I went the milk was completely restocked. I have yet to find a bottle of hand sanitizer in a grocery store. The stores have done a really good job of staying on top of the demand, otherwise.

As the days went on and the number of cases continued to increase in an alarming manner, the leaders in government continued to attack the “fake news” and encourage tourists to come. For my news sources I read mostly BBC News, because I enjoy their straightforward, fact and quote based reporting without adding any drama, insinuations, or sensational statements. And for a few days, Italy all but disappeared from the coronavirus news. Where did Italy go? It’s quickly becoming one of the worst hit countries, and suddenly I can’t find anything out anymore? I would have to google things to find them out, and even then I would have to do so in English and Italian with different wordings before finally finding up to date articles.

As cases spiked to more than 5,800 and more than 230 deaths were reported, the Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte made the decision to quarantine 14 regions in the north on March 8. However, this news was leaked out before going into effect, and there was a mass exodus of thousands of people from the soon-to-be quarantined regions trying to get home and flee the lockdown. I watched in disbelief as these measures that are supposed to curb the outbreak are about to make things so. much. worse. I read about a BBC journalist who drove up to the quarantined north, a good 24 hrs after the new “no one enters, no one leaves” had been in effect. And there was nothing. No police, no checks, no barriers. The quarantine at that point seemed to be still a suggestion, or an idea. My disbelief grew. It was from that point that my husband and I decided to self-quarantine, because there were now thousands of people potentially and probably spreading the virus carelessly. I doubt anyone had the specific evil intent of escaping to spread the virus, but people who don’t have symptoms don’t know they’re spreading and don’t know the harm they’re doing. But that is how it will go. We are human, and our first instinct is to think of ourselves, and we will hurt others in our selfish wake.

Two days after the news broke about the north being quarantined, Prime Minister Conte put into quarantine ALL of Italy. Everyone seemed to wake up, and realize what many of us already had: to curb this pandemia, we must all do what we can and quarantine.

Can you imagine how different this might have gone if Italy had decided to quarantine and take these drastic measures two weeks ago? No one wanted to make that sacrifice. People continued to downplay the severity of the situation and now everyone is forced to make that sacrifice anyway. This way, because the virus has been allowed to spread for so long, it will take longer to get things under control. The economy will hurt more. It’s the unfortunate reality of the situation in Italy right now.

I’m not writing this to shame Italy and lament on the if-onlys. I am writing this so you can learn from Italy. Even if your leaders are not yet taking this as seriously as they should or the actions they should, you CAN. You can be the weirdo and not hug or kiss people, keep your distance while in public, go out as little as possible, wash your hands, all the things you’ve probably already heard a hundred times or more.

If you’ve read this far, thank you, and sorry for being long-winded. I know there are a thousand other articles and blogs on coronavirus you could be reading. Maybe you should be! But have pity, I’m quarantined at home in a small apartment; I have all the time in the world to be long-winded! :) Soon, that may be you, too. Get the good books, movies, and snacks, man.

What are the current restrictions in Italy?

Here’s a snapshot of our life right now. At first just some things were closed or restricted, then things got stricter and time extended, now basically everything is closed except grocery stores, pharmacies and banks.

• Thursday, March 5, all schools and universities were closed across the country. Study-abroad students were sent home.

• Suspended until April 3, roughly translated from a post from the Florence Mayor Dario Nardella:

  • Child Educational services and every didactic activity of every order and grade

  • Universities and all artistic, musical, and dance institutions

  • Professional regional and national master courses

  • Universities for the elderly

  • Drivings schools

  • Congress, conventions, reunions, meetings, and social events

  • Demonstrations, events, and shows of any nature

  • Cinema and theatre

  • Pubs, clubs, and similar locales

  • Dance schools

  • Game rooms, casinos, and bingo halls (nooooo not the bingoooo)

  • Museums and every cultural place, such as libraries, archives, archeological parks and areas, monumental complexes

  • School trips, outings, exchanges, guided tours, didactic outings

  • Staying in waiting rooms at hospitals or emergency rooms

  • Civil and religious ceremonies including funerals

  • Visits to nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, hospice, etc. are limited

  • All commercial activities except for the tabacchi, newspaper stands, pharmacies

  • All restaurants, bars, etc. except for home delivery

  • All salons, barbers, etc

At first the grocery stores were going to be closed on Saturday and Sunday , the two busiest days of the week. It was all over the news and I didn’t get it. How does that help? That takes the crowds from the weekends (I’m a weirdo and love grocery shopping but highly dislike going on Saturday and Sunday because it’s shoulder to shoulder) and forces them to go during the week. So now the week will be extra crowded? How does this help crowd control? They only allow so many people in the store at a time, but the lines outside? My husband went to the store today, and after being gone for an hour, came back empty handed. The line was so long he waited for a bit, then decided he didn’t want to be there for hours and hours. Then I remembered today is Friday. Everyone is stocking up for the weekend. Ohhhh snap. I googled to see if anything would be open tomorrow, and you know what? Grocery stores are now open on the weekends. But I had to google that to find out. We have the TV on quite a bit listening for updates, you think they could’ve squeezed that useful bit of information in there somewhere? On the bright side, maybe if I go tomorrow the stores will be empty because everyone still think the stores will be closed, like I did. If anyone can think of why closing grocery stores for two days was a good idea, please. Tell me why.

Beyond these measures, you’re basically not supposed to leave your home, and if you do, at least 1 meter (about 3 ft) between you and other people at all times. I am still a bit confused if I can go out for a walk or fresh air? If you have a dog, you can, but once the dog has done his business, back inside you go. I heard once on the TV no, don’t go outside unless it’s for emergencies or going to the store, and only the grocery store in your area. This upset people who like to go for runs and exercise outside. Then I heard you could go out for fresh air. Today I heard you can go out for a run/exercise, if you stay 1 meter away from others, of course. So tentatively, yes? And if you need to go anywhere outside your area, you must carry with you an official document stating who you are, where you live, and where you are going which had better be for work, medical reasons, or a necessary motive. If you are outside and stopped by police and they determine your reason isn’t valid or you’re lying (ie you say you have a doctor visit and they make you call your doctor who is unaware you have a visit), you will be fined up to 206euro or face up to 3 months in prison. It doesn’t matter if you’re walking or driving, bring this document with you. Only 1 person per family can go grocery shopping at a time. Max 2 people in a car, 1 driving and one in back. 3 people in car? Fined. If you know you are positive for Covid-19 and you leave your home anyway, you can face up to 12 years in jail for voluntary homicide.

If you live in Italy and are looking for the “autocertificazione coronavirus” document, they have the PDF you can download at the bottom of this article.

Italy is taking the situation very seriously. They were left with no choice. The hospitals in the north are at a breaking point, having to make the decision between who gets the ventilator and who doesn’t; literally, who lives and who dies. They are running out of room. As I write this, the numbers from today have come out, and they’re only getting worse. Just since yesterday, 2,547 new cases, 250 new deaths. During the worst of China’s outbreak, deaths never exceeded 150 in one day. Italy has more people dying in one day than China did on any given day. You see this is serious? You can see that if you live elsewhere, your country still has the chance to stall this? Or at least slow down the spread so that hospitals aren’t overloaded and doctors won’t have to make the moral choices they are being forced to here in Italy.

Just in the past couple days my homeland, USA, has greatly ramped up the closures, not to mention the whole world. Schools, dance studios, Broadway, events, sports…Though the US is nowhere near where Italy is outbreak wise, they are thankfully taking these hard steps as a prevention. I still see a lot of Americans on social media who are dismissive of this virus, and I wish they would look at Italy. Most Italians had that same attitude up until they were forced to completely switch gears. For some it was overnight, and it was a bit bizarre. Accept with grace that your leaders are trying to protect you. I just wish the US would up their testing game, so the virus doesn’t have a chance to circulate undetected for so long like it did in Italy.

If you’re one of my friends who thinks this coronavirus is manmade, leaked on purpose, a new weapon, the world trying to control you, etc etc. I hear you. But is posting all the articles demonstrating IT’S THE DEMOCRATS helping? Is it loving your neighbor? I don’t think it is. The best way we can go forward is to not panic, check your sources, take preventive measures even if they’re hard, and look after those who are maybe less privileged or are more vulnerable than you. If you know of an elderly person near you, make them a meal and deliver it to their doorstep. Or have groceries delivered to their door. Offer to go pick up their prescription for them. Don’t hoard food/products you don’t need. Know a family that has a lot of kids? Maybe bless them by having pizza delivered to their home, so the mom and dad can have a night off from cooking. By doing this you not only help people out, but you help support businesses that are struggling. I’m sure there a ton of different ways I haven’t even thought of that would be a great help. In this day and age with apps like Uber Eats, food and many other commodities are just a click away.

Oh, and can we all stop comparing this virus to common cold/influenza? Flu has been around for a long time, we have some immunities to it, and there are vaccines. This coronavirus is brand new and we just don’t know enough about it. If you try and compare flu data to coronavirus data, is that even fair? Coronavirus only has data from December, the flu has data up the wazoo. We already know this coronavirus is more deadly, so before you “pshaw” it and rattle of a recent year’s data from the flu, just realize we’re trying to keep Covid-19 from becoming rampant like the flu so it never has a chance to kill as many people as the flu, or worse. Currently in Italy, the mortality rate for the virus is 5.8%, where flu in the US has a mortality rate of about 0.1%. I would rather huddle at home and be proved wrong later that it wasn’t that serious, rather than disregard the precautions and later be proved wrong that it WAS that serious.

I’d love to end this with some encouragement like, we’ve got this, or we’re each stronger than we think, we can all be heroes…but you know what? You don’t have to look far to see that our base reaction has been protection of…self. Me. My needs. My comforts. I rejoice that I don’t have to put my faith in myself, humans, governments, or regulations. I rejoice in the Lord, who has the whole world and this situation in His control. I rejoice knowing that this world is not all there is. This life is not all I have. But while I’m here, I hope to be able to love my neighbor well and do my part because, in Jesus, I’ve been shown true selfless love.

One more thing. Toilet paper? Let’s all just calm down now. You know who you are. Leave some for your neighbors. Count your squares, people! Oh, and I hope you stocked up on Desitin as well if you actually plan to use that much toilet paper…

Other Useful Resources

For live cases worldwide and easy to look at statistics, check out this site.

For more info on cases in Italy, check out this page.

For all things Florence and other useful information on coronavirus if you’re in Italy, check out Girl in Florence!

If you’ve read this far and want to really understand why social distancing is a thing, check out this article full of graphs, maths, possible outcomes and general confirmation that this is serious stuff and must be acted on now.

Italian Holidays

Italy, the land of pizza, wine, many hand gestures and many holidays. As you may have guessed from the title, this post is covering the holidays in Italy and why you should care.

The Beach at Viareggio. Most Italian beaches are not free, you have to rent an umbrella and a couple chairs, usually around 30euro per day.

Italy is a predominantly Catholic country and home to Papa, or the pope. Well, technically the Vatican which is in and of itself a country is home to the Papa, but the Vatican is in Italy, so, same thing. There are many holidays celebrated in Italy to commemorate different saints and events in the Bible. Some seem to based more on folklore than actual fact, but they are celebrated with gusto and nonetheless an important part of the culture here.

Whether or not you celebrate them, these holidays will still have an effect upon your life if you travel or live in Italy. If you’ve planned a trip or traveled to Italy, you may have read about or experienced the infamous Ferragosto, the holiday on August 15th where all the Italians escape seaside for vacation. Even though everything closes down like it’s Christmas, the “ferie” or holidays actually start usually towards the end of July and finish the beginning of September. This means having to plan very carefully when you grocery shop, shop, get public transport, go the gym, eat out, go to the doctor, and everything else that includes hours of business. Make sure to tell all your appliances and A/C not to break during August. If they do, and you know that if they do they will during this month, sorry ‘bout ya. The plumber is at the beach. So is the electrician. Also the tabaccheria where you buy bus tickets, your local coffee place, and the doctor who was supposed to perform your surgery. Ah well.

City centers mostly stay open for tourism, but neighborhoods around that don’t get many tourists will almost achieve ghost town status. It’s quite peaceful, actually, until I start missing the pizza from my local pizzeria. Come backkkkk!! I’m hungry!! Ah well, #firstworldproblems.

Another good thing to note is that all Sundays are considered giorni festivi, or treated like holidays. This means that every Sunday there will be fewer buses and shops will probably close earlier, if they were open in the first place.

What about the rest of the holidays? What are they about? Are they a big enough deal to close schools down, or mere formalities?

The following list includes all the major holidays in Italy that usually affect business hours, schools, and public transport, if not all three. This way we can plan our lives in Italy accordingly and not have to wonder why there are witches and stockings everywhere in the stores in January and not October! I say we because this list is as much a refresher for me as it is for you; I’m fairly certain I end up asking or Googling every year the same holidays because I just can’t keep them all straight! :)

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Italian Holidays

1. January 1 - Capodanno / New Year’s Day

   Yes, even in Italy the New Year happens, albeit 6 hours ahead of the EST.

2. January 6 - Befana o Epifania / Befana or Epiphany

   The day in which the wise men visited Jesus according to the Catholic tradition, hence the word epiphany. If you count from Christmas Day you’ll notice that there are twelve days between it and January 6, which is where the Twelve Days of Christmas originated.

   It’s also called Befana in Italy after the old woman who gets on her broom and flies to deliver little gifts to good children who have left out stockings on the night between the 5th and 6th of January. Naughty children will wake up to coal, garlic, or possibly a stick. Children often leave out fruit or treats for Befana and maybe even a glass of wine (ohhh, Santa is jealous). This is similar to the Babbo Natale/Santa Clause tradition, although Befana has been a part of the Italian culture longer than Babbo Natale even.

   As one story goes the three wise men are traveling to find baby Jesus in Bethlehem and find themselves in need of direction. They ask an old woman, Befana, who indicates to them the way. (Another version says she didn’t know the way but instead offered them food and a place to stay for the night.) They are so grateful to her that they invite her to come along. Despite their insistence, she refuses. After they depart she regrets staying behind, and attempts to find them, bringing with her a large bag of sweets. She is not successful and gives out the sweets to every child she meets in the hopes that one of them will be Jesus.

   Another, darker version recounts Befana as a mother whose child dies. Her grief turns to madness and she goes to offer baby Jesus gifts to make him happy, thinking that he is her son. Jesus in turn gives her the gift of being the mother to all children in Italy, and she goes around giving gifts to them.

   You will notice the stores full of witches and pre-filled stockings leading up to this day. The day of Befana usually involves many excited children, parades, and women who dress up like the old, sooty Befana. In Florence there is a parade with the magi coming to see baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph in the nativity setup in front of the Duomo.

   This holiday ensures that the Italian children also get their moment of realization when they find out that Befana is not in fact real, haha!

   This holiday usually signals the end of the Christmas festivities, with school starting shortly after.

3. February/March - Carnevale

   Carnevale is like a much happier Halloween. It’s a festivity that usually takes place over a period of days, usually in Catholic countries. People dress up, there are parades, and also special sweets and food before the Lenten season begins.

   If you’ve been to Venice you probably noticed how many shops sport costumes and masks for Carnevale. In fact, Venice is among the cities most renowned in Italy (and the world) for their Carnevale festivities, along with Viareggio, Cento, Ivrea, Acireale.

4. March/April - Pasqua e Pasquetta / Easter and Easter Monday

   Similar to the US, Good Friday-Easter Sunday are usually government holidays. Easter Monday, or Pasquetta is also a holiday in Italy remembering the women who met the angel at the empty tomb of Jesus, usually spent with family and friends, probably eating.

5. April 25 - Anniversario della Liberazione d’Italia / Anniversary of the Liberation of Italy

   An important day in Italian history when it was freed from fascist control and Nazi occupation.

6. May 1 - La Festa dei Lavoratori / Worker’s Day

   The day that the 8-hour work day became law, first in Chicago, Illinois. This law soon spread to other states and is now celebrated by many countries around the world. Ironically, although it originated in America we now celebrate this achievement in September, and we know it as Labor Day.

7. June 2 - La Festa della Repubblica / Day of the Republic

   A day to celebrate the birth of the Italian Republic after the institutional referendum in 1946 following World War II.

8. June 24 - San Giovanni / St. John the Baptist

   Each city in Italy has a patron saint and celebrates on different days. John the Baptist is the patron saint of Florence, and is celebrated with fochi d’artificio or fireworks, parades, and the final match of calcio storico Fiorentino, a type of historic soccer/rugby.

   Most shops around Florence close in the evening if not the whole day.

9. August 15 - Ferragosto o Assunzione di Maria Virgine / August Holidays or the Ascension of Virgin Mary

   The holiday we discussed in the beginning. It originates from the Roman Empire when Caeser Augustus was emperor in the year 18 a.d. when he designated the August holidays, “Feriae Augusti” in Latin.

   This is also the day that the Catholic church says the Virgin Mary ascended into heaven.

   In reality, these holidays stretch anywhere from end of July to early September, with most businesses choosing 2-4 weeks within this period to close up shop and head to the coast. So while the towns might be quiet, the beaches are crazy. The actual day of August 15th pretty much everything is closed, so this is a day best used for taking a stroll, a picnic, or staying at home.

10. October 31 - Halloween

    While this is not an Italian holiday, it is an American one and thus becoming quite popular in Italy. Italians don’t tend to dress up as much as they go all out with makeup, the more gruesome and scary the better. All the pretty costumes are saved for Carnevale closer to springtime. The exception would be the expat’s children and a select few Italian children who dress up and go from store to store to trick-or-treat.

    This one does not affect schools, transport or business hours.

11. November 1 - Tutti i Santi / All Saints Day

    Just as it sounds, this is a day celebrating all saints. And there are a lot of them.

12. December 8 - Immacolata Concezione / Immaculate Conception

    The day in 1854 in which Mary was declared by Pope Pio IX to have been sinless from the time of her birth until the conception of Jesus. This day deals with the dogma of original sin, and not, as I had originally understood, the day in which the angel appeared to Mary to announce to her that she would give birth to Jesus. That doesn’t work out very well on the calendar anyway if we celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25th…not that Jesus was born on December 25th in the first place.

13. December 24, 25 - Vigilia di Natale, Natale / Christmas Eve, Christmas Day

    The best days of the year celebrating Jesus’ birth!

14. December 26 - Santo Stefano / Saint Stephan

    A day to commemorate the Saint Stephan. Being so soon after Christmas it all seems to just blend together!

15. December 31 - Ultimo Giorno dell’Anno / New Year’s Eve

    I experienced my first New Year’s Eve in Florence, and wanting to make a fun night of it, went with my husband to the Duomo where there were large crowds and we were hoping to find a countdown. There was no official countdown whatsoever, and several different groups of people seemed to announce it at different times depending on when their phones/watches changed. I kept asking, was that it? Is that the New Year? Needless to say, it was a bit anticlimactic with a lot of chaos. Everyone had open bottles and glasses of beer and wine, and it was sloshing everywhere. Don’t wear nice clothes out in public on New Year’s Eve. Lots of noise, major smooching, and the firecrackers are awful. People like to set them off at random, even the week before and after, and it can be frightening and hurts my ears! If you can’t tell, I have since decided to spend New Year’s Eve (at least in Italy) inside with a nice movie and food and not in the city center! But to each his own! The next day there are bottles and trash strewn everywhere, between little rivers of red wine. Just not a fan of drunkenness and the various aftereffects.

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Christmas time is magical around Florence

There we are, a (hopefully) comprehensive list of the major holidays in Italy. If I missed any, let me know in the comments below. Or if you’ve had any funny run-ins or fond memories celebrating any of these holidays, I’d love to hear about it! Until next time!

Resources and Tricks for Learning Italian

Photo Credit to Practical

Learning a second language (or third or fourth or twelfth) can be challenging, enjoyable, frustrating, rewarding, and just plain ol’ take a lot of your brain power, thoughts, and time.

If you weren’t lucky enough to grow up immersed in a bi or multilingual family, then you can hop on the struggle boat with the rest of us while learning another language.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably studying or thinking about starting to learn a new language, maybe Italian, and I commend you! Or, maybe you are curious as to what it might take, or are looking for resources for someone else. Whatever brings you, I’m glad you’re here, and I hope this post might help you or a friend out.

When it comes to learning a language, you will be most successful if you are fully immersed. You’ve probably heard this before, but it bears repeating because it’s true.

If you aren’t immersed, don’t despair. Taking a trip to a country that speaks your desired language or finding a friend, community, or group in your city or online that you can practice with can make a big difference! Even if these are not possible for you, there are still ways to learn a language successfully.

I for one will do everything in my power to search and learn things for free. I don’t want to pay for courses, tutors, programs, books, more books, some more books, and a couple more programs if I don’t need to. (Yes, you can say it, I’m a tightwad.:) Those are all helpful and good things, and if you have the resources to do those things, go for it! But there is more to the equation than just “intensive Italian school = Italian fluency.”

There is a principal ingredient you need to learn Italian or any language: drive. The drive, desire, patience, and determination to learn and work through the moments of frustration and plateaus. If you have the drive but don’t live in Italy, you will still make good progress. On the other hand, if you move to Italy and have no great desire to learn Italian, you will probably pick up very little Italian. It still surprises me how many people I meet who have lived in Italy for years and still can only speak very basic Italian. Some people learn quicker than others and the younger you are the easier it is, but still. You’re only doing yourself a favor if you learn the language and it’s respectful of the culture you are now in. I know it’s way easier to live with and hang out with your culture and every once in awhile order a gelato in Italian…but if you want to learn, get comfortable being outside of your comfort zone.

This may leave you asking, “How long does it take to learn Italian?” I asked people I met and friends this a lot my first year in Italy, those who weren’t native Italian-speakers. Almost everyone responded with “about a year.” Knowing various nationalities who speak varying levels of Italian, I would like to amend the 1 year guideline so you don’t feel too much pressure or behind. You will probably have learned Italian fairly well after 1 year IF you are immersed in the culture and also consistently speaking with others in Italian. If you have Italian friends, live with an Italian roommate, work in an Italian setting, study at an Italian school, or date/marry an Italian speaker, this 1 year guideline could very well be true for you. Otherwise, expect longer and no shame! As long as you are learning new words and concepts and they stay with you, you are on the right track.

Enough philosophy-ing and let’s get to these resources, most of which are free, or if they’re not, I truly think they’re worth it! Keep in mind that the more resources and ways you can expose yourself to a language, the more success you will have. Try not to ever get stuck using just one, i.e. Duolingo or the back of Rick Steve’s Travel Guide. :)

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Resources and Tricks for Learning Italian

Italian Verb Drills, Premium Fifth Edition Buy on Amazon

This Italian Verb Drills book

One of my best friends went to Italy as an au pair and she used this book while learning with her Italian family. Shortly after she got back I went to Italy, and she passed it on to me.

It’s not overly complex because it only covers verb forms, but it’s the simplicity of its layout I think that makes it so useful. And once you understand the verbs, it’s like a door opens for understanding the language.

Honestly, if you were to take just one of the suggestions from this post to add to your current learning methods, I would probably recommend this one.

Pros: Easy to use, excellent for learning verbs, a main component of any language. It’s also pretty cheap. You can also find French, German, Latin, Spanish Verb Drills easily on Amazon.

Cons: Not free, and will only help with verbs and not other aspects of the language.

Duolingo

If learning a language has ever been on your radar, you’ve probably used or at least heard of Duolingo.

Pros: Has a free version, tons of languages to choose from, easy to use, fun, and accessible. You can use it on your computer or download the app on your phone to use anywhere, anytime.

Cons: New words aren’t always easy to remember, and there is no way to go back and easily reference what you’ve learned without doing the lessons over again. They recommend you write down the words you’ve remember after each lesson, but I think they could also provide a list of things learned for each section/level.

I also think they could explain concepts better. While you can often click on words or phrases which opens up a discussion board, that becomes quite entailed to do so every time especially since anyone can comment on the message boards and they can be quite long. For example, I’d rather have someone explain to me that when “a” and “an” in Italian (un/una) is in front of a masculine word that starts with a vowel, it remains separate from the word, but when it’s in front of a feminine word that starts with a vowel, it is separated by an apostrophe.

Un amico (masculine) - or - un’amica (feminine).

Otherwise in Duolingo they would just give me sentences that include this idea, but without actually explaining it. It’s up to you, as the learner, to notice that, hey, why do un and una sometimes stay separate and sometimes are separated by an apostrophe? See what I mean? If not, don’t worry, suffice to say that Duolingo as your only learning source will only get you so far.

Babbel

Another online resource similar to Duolingo. Trying new programs and keeping a variety may be more fun and thus make you more likely to want to practice every day instead of the “I should….” Plus every program has their unique approach and you might learn some words you wouldn’t with other programs.

Pros: Free, easy to use, plenty of languages to choose from.

Cons: To get the full experience you will have to pay, but even just using the free part is worthwhile!

Translator App

Having a trusty translator app on your phone can help you learn, too! Anytime you’re practicing, even if you’re just thinking through things, there will probably be words that come up that you don’t know what they mean or you’re saying or thinking a sentence and missing a word. Pop out your phone to translate throughout the day.

iTranslator is my favorite translator probably. It’s simple and I like that when you translate a word, below it often gives you all the person tenses (if it’s a verb) or all the different synonyms or similar words if it’s a noun or adjective.

Google Translate App is another good one. It’s a bit snazzier, you can even scan a chunk of text and it will translate it on your screen so you don’t have to type anything in, although it doesn’t always work super great.

A word to the wise, don’t trust a translator 100%, especially for longer sentences or paragraphs. It’s a computer and doing its best, but it can’t really know exactly what you’re after. Then add in all the dialects, slang, phrases that don’t translate well, and words that just may not exist in that language and well, just realize it’s not going to be perfect. Always run by new words with a native speaker if you can, especially if you have any doubts.

Coffeebreak Italian

This is a podcast where you get to listen to a man with a lovely Scottish accent while learning Italian. They also have several other languages, I recently started Coffeebreak French to brush up for my impending trip to Paris. Eeeeeee!!

Pros: Listening to a language is SO important, and what better way than to have it clearly explained to you through a hands off podcast? Great for when you’re driving, making dinner, or anytime!

Cons: No visuals, so you can’t see how words are written, which isn’t helpful for my visual learning friends. It can also get annoying to have to keep backing up if you missed something.

Italian Books

If you take a trip to Italy or can find some ones that interest you on Amazon, reading books in Italian is a great way to learn. I suggest reading children’s books (seriously, baby animal and counting books are wonderful for beginners!) and books you are familiar with unless you have a pretty good handle on Italian.

Pros: Reading is good for you, and reading in Italian is also so good for you! If you read adult books it can actually be quite difficult and you will quickly find out how many words you have to learn, but on the upside books contain so many words (no, really Jenny?) that you will see certain words over and over again, thus emblazing them upon your memory.

Cons: There is a special verb tense for writing in Italian. It’s not usually spoken so you really only learn it by reading. However, if you are an avid reader just beware that those verbs won’t serve you in everyday conversations.

Write

I recommend keeping a small notebook handy with you, maybe in your car or purse, to write down all the new words you learn. Writing things down help to cement them in your memory, even if you never reference back to them. And when you can’t remember that word you learned yesterday, you have it handy!

You can also try journaling or writing out your calendar in Italian.

Netflix

Now you can Netflix and chill and be “studying”…yesssss. If you have Netflix (or even Hulu or other paid prescriptions, but I’m not sure on the others) go into the settings on your profile and change your language preference to Italian. Now all the films that are available in Italian or with Italian subtitles will show up on this account. The selection will be different, so you probably want to keep at least one other profile with English or your native language. Similar to reading books, I recommend starting with movies or shows you are familiar with. Watching them in Italian the first time may crack you up, but it will help you understand them better. Disney was my best friend when I started watching films in Italian. I actually went to the Italian grocery store once when they had a sale on Disney movies for 5-7euro each…research, ya know? ;)

Language Tandem Partner

Having a language tandem partner ( a person with which you exchange languages, i.e. I, an American, might meet up with an Italian where we would spend time speaking in both English and Italian) is super helpful. You get to hear a native speaker and listen, I mean, pick up on their accent, and ask all the questions you want while practicing your language in real time.

If you happen to live in Italy, there are Facebook groups called AEGEE and Language Exchange that you can join. Depending on what city you live in, you will join your respective city’s group. I’m a part of AEGEE - Firenze and Language Exchange in Florence - Language Tandem. Usually you post in the group introducing yourself, English or Italian is best so everyone can understand, and ask if someone would like to meet up with you. I specified that I wanted to meet up with a woman, because I don’t love meeting up with strange men, ya know? Then you’ll probably get several messages from people who saw your post and would like to meet up with you. I still got WAY more men messaging me than women, even some offering me romantic sunsets and rides on their vespa…tempting, but no. Then you choose who you want to meet up with! The AEGEE group also offers free courses in various languages and organized events or trips.

Pros: Free and a good way to make new friends. Plus you get to learn all the best spots to eat and drink around the city, from a local!

Cons: This may only work if you live in Italy or can find someone who speaks Italian in your area. Also can be quite intimidating the first few times, especially for uh, introverts. But I wouldn’t know by experience, nope!

Think in Italian

This isn’t a resource as much as it is a suggestion. As you go throughout your day, try thinking in Italian! This is best done after you have a decent base, but you’ll soon find words you don’t know and become curious how to say them. As I hinted above, use a translator app to learn new words throughout your day. For a bonus, put sticky notes around the house with new words or phrases, or ones that you’re having a hard time learning.

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Are you learning or have you learned a second+ language? What really helped you learn? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

How to Learn Some Italian Using Words You Already Know - Lesson 3

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Here we are at the third and final installment of this little series, “How to Learn Some Italian Using Words You Already Know.”

What originally began as my fascination with the amount of English words used in Italian ended up turning into these comical learn-Italian-effortlessly lessons. Aren’t you glad I decided to write them down? Heheheh. :)

In Lesson 1 we saw all the English words Italians use in every day conversations, or that are the same. Words like budget, Facebook, privacy, password, etc.

In Lesson 2 we saw all the Italian words we can learn simply by adding vowels onto the end of English words, like tubo, musica, dieta, cono, etc.

After Lesson 2 you might be feeling pretty snazzy with all the new words you learned. If you spend any time listening to or reading Italian, maybe you have started to keep an eye out for other words that can easily be deciphered. You’ll probably notice plenty of them that didn’t even make it in these lessons!

Therefore, before things get too comfy, I am going to burst your bubble a bit in Lesson 3. How lovely. We are still going to learn some new words, but we will look at a variety of words that are the same (at least written) or that you think would be the same or mean something similar. But they’re not, or they don’t.

For example, let’s look at the word “peperoni.” You might be looking at an Italian pizza menu and spot a friendly face: Peperoni Pizza. (Truly it would probably be called “Pizza ai Peperoni” or “Pizza con Peperoni” but regardless, you understand “pizza” and “peperoni,” right? Maybe not—>) You order your peperoni pizza while snickering at how they spelled “pepperoni” with only one “p” instead of two. Your pizza arrives and to your shock and dismay, you have a cheese pizza with bell peppers, not pepperoni, and are snickering no more. This is an all too common mistake made by meat-loving American tourists, as indeed “peperoni” means bell peppers in Italian, not spicy-meat-sausage-pizza-condiment.

One more for ya: If you saw the word “arma” you might think it means “arm.” I probably would, too. But guess what? It actually means “weapon.” So don’t go around saying what a nice “arma” that person has, thinking you’re complimenting their strong biceps, alright?

You’ll be happy to see that today’s list is not as extensive as the other lessons, but I’m sure it will continue to expand as I’ve been adding new words almost daily to the other lessons since I’ve posted them. If you want to be of help in growing any of these lists, drop me a note in the comments below or send me a message!

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Italian Words That Are Not All That They Seem

1. Camera (CAH-mair-a) - not a photo camera, but a room. An apartment with two camere.

2. Lampone (Lahm-PO-nay) - you might think this means lamp, but it actually means raspberry.

3. Lampo (LAHM-po) - still doesn’t mean lamp, but this refers to a twinkle, flash of light, or lightning. I frequently get this confused with lampone and am forever saying “ohhh, did you see that raspberry in the sky?” It’s embarrassing.

4. Stiro (STEE-ro) - not stir, but a verb that means “I iron.”

5. Topo (TO-po) - I’m on topo of the world! Nope. Topo means mouse.

6. Formica (for-MEE-ca) - You might be thinking formica countertops? Nope. Formica means ant. So you might have a formica or two on your formica.

7. Peperoni (peh-per-OHN-ee) - As mentioned above, this is not pepperoni misspelled, but actually bell peppers. By the way, I love peperoni on my pizza! Give me all the pizze ai peperoni! ;)

8. Sale (SAH-lay) - Shopping friends, don’t get too excited, this doesn’t mean sale, as in discounts or reduced prices. Sale in Italian means “salt”.

9. Salsa - salsa means sauce. While Americans take salsa to mean the spicy red tomato and pepper sauce (ya know, chips and salsa?), this is used much more generically in Italian. It can be used to mean a dressing, condiment, sauce, gravy, etc. You can also say sugo, which is a bit more specifically translated to sauce. So if you’re deciding which sauce you want to go with your pasta, you would be better off saying sugo.

10. Moka - if you hear someone talking about moka, you might be thinking of the mocha with coffee and chocolate. What they’re probably referring to, though, is a moka pot, the instrument of choice for making espresso at home!

11. Latte - another word that often results with tourists in a conundrum. Latte as it is known in the English speaking world is really a shortened form of caffè latte, which is Italian in origin. So when you try and order a simple latte in Italy, you will end up with a glass of milk. If you want a latte WITH coffee, then go ahead and order that caffè latte, sometimes also spelled caffelatte or caffellatte.

12. Kebab - While we could call anything in America that’s skewered (fruit, meat, veggies) a kebab, in Italy it refers to the very large hunk of mixed meats that is skewered and slowly roasted while rotating. This meat is shaved as it’s roasted and used to make kebab wraps or sandwiches, referred to as just kebabs. It has origins in the Middle East, and is why most of the kebab restaurants will be Pakistani, Turkish, Indian, etc. It’s delicious, by the way.

13. Granite (grah-NEE-tay) - more countertops? No, rather the Italian version of a slushy. I’ve never had one, maybe because I don’t much care for slushies. I’m sure if I tried one, in its little 8oz-ish cup with fresh fruit flavors, I would enjoy it, especially if I were in Sicily where they’re supposed to be the bomb.

14. Gusto (GOOS-toh) - I always thought we used this to mean with oomph, with style, in English. As in, “he swirled his cape with gusto.” In Italian, this means taste. So it still kinda works, “he swirled his cape with taste.” Eh, not quite the same.

15. Punto (POON-toh) - Not a football punt, but a point, period, or dot. Get my punto?

16. Solo - dance solo, flying solo? Yes, finally one that is more or less correct! Solo means by yourself, alone, or just or only, as in “just one pizza, please!” How many cones of gelato did you eat today? “Solo uno!” (Only one!)

17. Mano (MAH-no) - if someone asks you if want a mano, they’re asking if you want a hand, not a man, silly. Man is uomo. Mano is hand.

18. Oro - do you want pizza oro pasta? <——Not correct usage. Oro means gold. The Italian way to say “sweet dreams” is to say “sogni d’oro” or literally, dream of gold! Awwwwwww.

19. Argento - maybe this one isn’t all that close to Argentinian, but if I didn’t know what it meant that would probably be my guess. It actually means silver! Now that you know how to say both silver and gold in Italian, you can sing your favorite song come Christmas time. Argentooooo e oroooo, argentoooo e oroooo..!!

20. Avvocato - if you ask someone what they do for a living and they respond with, “I’m an avvocato,” they’re not delusional, they mean that they’re a lawyer. That double v and t for a d makes a very big difference in differentiating between our little green friend and a career choice.

21. Slip (sleep) - we might say slip in reference to an under-dress or under-skirt, but in Italian this refers to underwear. This can be men’s briefs or ladies’ undies.

22. Casino (cah-ZEE-no) - you might think Italians talk an awful lot about casinos as you hear them mutter, “che casino!”, but this really means “what a mess.” If you come to Italy to live you too will soon be muttering this under your breath, often and fervently. To say casino it’s actually casinò, with the accent on the end.

23. Per - this literally means for in Italian, and although it is used in both languages, we use it a bit differently in English. If you want to translate the English per to Italian, sometimes it’s per, other times a. “Let’s make 3 cookies per person” / “Facciamo 3 dolcetti per persona.” “We earn about $100 per day” / “Guadagniamo circa $100 al giorno.” It can also be used to talk multiplication. Five times five equals twenty-five. Or cinque per cinque fa venticinque.

24. Grasso - what a nice, lovely yard of green grasso you have there! Grasso means fat. We basically just insulted someone’s fat yard. If you want to say grass, say erba.

25. Grosso - not gross, but another way of saying big, fat, and wide. For example, the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is called “Il Mio Grosso Grasso Matrimonio Greco” in Italian. If you wish to say gross, say schifo. Che schifo! / How gross!

26. Fine (FEE-nay) - La fine / the end! Not “Fine and dandy!”

27. Arma - this one we also discussed above, so you should be wise enough to know it doesn’t mean arm, but rather weapon. Unless you swing a good one and want to think of your arm as a good one?

28. Pronto - “I need the report pronto!” meaning right away, asap…in Italian, this means ready, and also what they say when they answer the phone. “Pronto? ahh ciao Chiara, come va?”

29. Vesto / Vesti / Veste - none of which mean vest. These are the first, second, and third person of the verb vestire which means to dress, so I dress, you dress, and he/she dresses, respectively. Sounds like an article of clothing but refers to dressing, easy enough to remember, no?

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Here we are, 3 lessons later, actually 4 if you needed a refresher on the Italian alphabet and pronunciation. What have learned? Oh, ya know, only 200+ new Italian words!

How to Learn Some Italian Using Words You Already Know - Lesson 2

In the first lesson of How to Learn Some Italian Using Words You Already know we focused on all the English words Italians use on a daily basis, thus making our lives that much easier when trying to communicate. There are over 70 words, in fact, that are either English, the same in Italian and English, or so similar that you understand anyway, and I keep finding words to add to that list!

To read Lesson 1, click here.

For Lesson 2 we are going to focus on taking the English words you can turn into Italian, simply by adding a vowel on the end. (If you hadn’t noticed from lesson 1, these lessons aren’t exactly serious… they aren’t aimed at the studious, full-time Italian-language student, but rather can be enjoyed by anyone, whether you speak any Italian or not. :)

If you have spent any time around the Italian culture (or just watching The Godfather) you will have noticed that Italian words all end in vowels, and that it’s very easy to imitate them by adding a vowel on to any word. This is often found highly entertaining by other cultures (ahem, American), even if it (obviously) ends with made-up words. '“Yes, ciao, I will take-o the pizza and the pasta to take-away-o!”

If you don’t want to sound like you are speaking Ameritalian or someone who has lived their whole life imitating Italian stereotypes, read this post about the Italian alphabet and pronunciation of key letters. Some words in the list that follows are spelled the same as in English but with a vowel on the end, but the pronunciation might be slightly different. Likewise, some are spelled differently but are pronounced the same, aside from that last vowel, of course. If I don’t indicate how it should be pronounced, that means the accent and pronunciation stay essentially the same as in English.

One more note to remember as we progress: Italian words are split into two categories, feminine and masculine, usually ending in a or o, respectively. The ending of adjectives can fluctuate, depending on if the word or person they are describing is masculine or feminine. For example, “buono” is an adjective that means “good,” and you could say “oliO buonO” or “pizzA buonA.”

One more example to make sure we’re clear, let’s take #1 from the list below. I am an American, (and a woman) so I would say, “sono un’Americana.” I can’t (or shouldn’t) say “sono un Americano” because the adjective “Americano” no longer matches what it is describing, me the woman. So if you see the o/a below or realize a word is an adjective, remember it depends on if the noun the adjective is describing is masculine or feminine!

Ok, ready to add to your Italian vocabulary?

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English Words to Which You Can Add Vowels to Make Italian Words

1. American, Italian, Indian, and others / Americano/a, Italiano/a, Indiano/a - This holds true for several nationalities, but not all. For example, Australian is Australiano/a, but British is Inglese and French is Francese, Ah well, helpful for some!

2. Person / Persona (per-SOHN-a)

3. Tube / Tubo

4. Cube / Cubo (COO-Boh)

5. Sphere / Sfera (SFAIR-ah)

6. Case / Caso (CAH-zo) - in any caso…

7. Event / Evento - Hey let’s go to that evento!

8. Concert / Concerto (cone-CHAIR-toh)

9. Art / Arte

10. Ballet / Balletto - Ah, finally you can pronounce that “t” sound like you’ve always been tempted to!

11. Dance / Danza (DAH-nza)

12. Music / Musica (MOO-zee-cah)

13. Tambourine / Tamburino

14. Battery / Batteria (Baht-TAIR-ee-ah) - this also can refer to drums.

15. Angelic / Angelico/a (ahn-JEL-ee-co)

16. Content / Contento/a - I am so contenta to see you!

17. Conversion / Conversione (cohn-VAIR-zee-ohn-ay)

18. Impression / Impressione (eem-PRESS-ee-ohn-ay)

19. Candle / Candela (cahn-DEL-ah)

20. Diamond / Diamante (dee-ah-MAHN-tay)

21. Mark / Marchio note that there is also “marca” but that means a brand or make, such as Gucci or Ferrari, rather than a mark on something.

22. Television / Televisione (tel-eh-viz-ee-OHN-ay)

23. Kiosk / Chiosco (kee-OH-sco) - or newspaper stand.

24. Zone / Zona

25. Current / Corrente (cohr-EHN-tay) - this can be used for all forms of “current” in English, current in water, current events, etc.

26. Equilibrium / Equilibrio (ee-quil-EE-bree-oh)

27. Diet / Dieta (dee-EH-ta)

28. Vitamin / Vitamina (vee-tah-MEE-na) - Let’s go soak up some vitamina d!

29. Ingredient / Ingrediente (een-GREY-dee-en-tay)

30. Rice / Riso ( REE-zo)

31. Cone / Cono

32. Carrot / Carota (cah-ROH-ta)

33. Melon / Melone (Meh-LOHN-ay)

34. Marmalade / Marmellata (mar-may-LAH-ta) - you might not eat marmalade very often, but “marmellata” refers to all jams, jellies, and marmalades.

35. Olive / Oliva (oh-LEE-va)

36. Liquor/Liqueur / Liquore - although liquor refers to stronger spirits (vodka, taquila, etc.) and liqueur to sweeter spirits (Kahlua, Bailey’s, etc.) both of these are encompassed in the Italian “liquore.”

37. Cream / Crema - this can refer to any kind of cream, such as a face cream or a cream you would eat. Crema is also how you would say “pudding” in Italian.

38. Spinach / Spinaci (spee-NAH-chee)

39. Protein / Proteine (pro-tay-EEN-ay)

40. Pork / Porco it’s also often referred to as “maiale”

41. Pen / Penna - if this word looks familiar, that’s because yes, penne pasta literally means “pens” in Italian! Remember to lay those n’s on nice and thick, because if you take away one “n” you end up with a completely different word that you definitely don’t want to be ordering for dinner! (If I got you curious, it’s anatomy, not a swear word or worse, but you can go translate it because I prefer to keep this blog G rated. :)

42. Train / Treno (TRAY-no)

43. Airplane / Aeroplano (air-oh-PLAHN-o)

44. Airport / Aeroporto (air-oh-PORT-o)

45. Bank / Banca (BAHN-ca)

46. Post / Posta - this can refer to the post in your mailbox as well as the actual post office.

47. Postal / Postale (post-AHL-ay)

48. Pharmacy / Farmacia (far-ma-chee-ah)

49. University / Università (oon-ee-vers-ee-TAH)

50. Camp / Campo (CAHM-po) also means field, realm, sphere, domain, any of those kinds of camp.

51. Metal / Metallo (Meh-TAHL-lo)

52. Metallic / Metallico/a

53. Atomic / Atomica (Ah-TOH-mee-ca)

54. Comic / Comico/a also known as a comedian or used as an adjective to describe something funny

55. Animal / Animale (ahn-ee-MAHL-ay)

56. Elephant / Elefante

57. Lion / Leone (lay-OHN-ay)

58. Dolphin / Delfino (del-FEEN-o)

59. Serpent / Serpente

60. Rat / Ratto

61. Vote / Voto

62. System / Sistema (sees-TAIM-a)

63. Problem / Problema

64. Terrible / Terribile (tair-REE-bee-lay)

65. Crucial / Cruciale (croo-CHYA-lay)

66. Special / Speciale (speh-CHYA-lay)

67. Incredible / Incredibile (in-cred-EE-bee-lay)

68. Important / Importante (eem-por-TAHN-tay)

69. Fine / Fino - thin, the dimension, not “fine, be that way.”

70. False / Falso - true or falso?

71. Liberty / Libertà

72. Destiny / Destino (des-TEEN-o)

73. Ocean / Oceano (och-YA-no)

74. Divine / Divino/a (Dee-VEE-no) - not to be confused with “divano” which means “couch.”

75. Noble / Nobile (NO-bee-lay)

76. Dollar / Dollaro - (DOL-lar-o)

77. Button / Bottone (boo-TOH-nay)

78. Distant / Distante (dee-STAN-tay)

79. Second / Secondo

80. Moment / Momento

81. Medicine / Medicina (meh-dee-CHEE-na)

82. Pulse / Polso (POHL-so)

83. Palm / Palma

84. Penicillin / Penicillina (pen-ee-chee-LEE-na)

85. Vein / Vena

86. Nude / Nudo/a - Don’t come in, I’m nuda! In English we more commonly say naked rather than nude, but in Italian you get one option. Try not to laugh too much the first time you actually get to use it.

87. Cigarette / Sigaretta

88. Rose / Rosa - means rose as well as pink.

89. Vase / Vaso (VAH-zo) - I got you a vaso to put your rosa in.

90. Medium / Medio (meh-dyo)

91. Category / Categoria

92. Comment / Commento (cohm-MEN-toh)

93. Phrase / Frase (FRAH-zay)

94. Alphabet / Alfabeto

95. Letter / Lettera - as in English, this can mean both a letter in a word and a letter you write someone.

96. Note / Nota - like a note you write someone along with musical notes, etc.

97. Icon / Icona (ee-COHN-a)

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There is yet another taste for you, that Italian can be easy to learn! And fun(ny). There are many, many more words like this, which is why it can be almost effortless to expand your vocabulary of nouns and adjectives. And this doesn’t even touch upon all the letter combinations you’ll start to pick on, those that are in English but not Italian, then figuring out the Italian equivalent, which enables you to translate words on your own without using a translator or asking a friend. Huh? Let me explain quickly.

Take for example, words in English that end in “tion.”

Frustration. Eradication.

If I tell you that “frustration” becomes “frustrazione” and “eradication” becomes “eradicazione,” you can see that the root of the word stays the same, and the “tion” suffix becomes “zione" in Italian. Easy, right? I bet you can figure out the next three.

• Extraction = Estrazione

• Indication = Indicazione

• Indecision = Indecisione

Did you catch the exceptions? Where one root word didn’t stay the same, and one word didn’t end in “tion”? The “ex” in “extraction” became “es” in “estrazione,” and “indecision” ends in “sion.” This, in turn, could open the next letter combinations you could translate by yourself. There is no “x” in the Italian alphabet, therefore the combination of “ex” usually becomes “es,” and words that end in “sion” often become “sione” in Italian.

• Expulsion = Espulsione

• Extrusion = Estrusione

• Extrinsic = Estrinsico

• Invasion = Invasione

I’m getting ahead of myself, and going beyond the just the light-hearted lesson I had planned-o today-o, but I’ll leave you with on last word to translate on your own. Conversation…go!

Until next time, alla prossima!

How to Learn Some Italian Using Words You Already Know - Lesson 1

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Did you know that you already know a whole bunch of words that Italians use everyday? You’re basically fluent in Italian and don’t even know it. Ok, ok, not really, but the fact is, Italians use a good bit of English in their everyday jargon. I’m not talking about Italians when they’re speaking in English, I mean the English words that are thrown in to Italian conversations. English words that have come to replace the traditional Italian, or words that were coined in English in recent decades and have wound their way into Italian.

Some Italian words by now are almost obsolete. I’ve spent almost 3 years’ worth of time in Italy, only including the time in which I was learning Italian and conversing maybe more in Italian than English, and still have yet to hear the Italian equivalent of certain English words. For example, “privacy.” Written, spoken, it’s always “privacy.” I didn’t even notice I had no idea how to say nor had I ever heard someone say “privacy” in Italian until someone brought it to my attention. So I had to ask, how do you say “privacy” in Italian? “Privatezza.” By now with "terms of privacy” and the like around the internet, especially here in the EU, “privatezza” has been rendered all but forgotten, I guess. Maybe just uncool.

Buca di Beppo requires full out Italian speaking mode ON

English is a desired language and thus becomes cool if you can speak any. Plus Italy is so dependent upon tourism that many people’s jobs require them to speak some basic English, if not fluently. Many parents look to English speaking au pairs to teach their children English from a young age, or get them in any programs that involve English native-tongues, no matter the program, just for the language experience. Teaching English is almost always an option for native speakers.

I can’t tell you how often my Italian colleagues in every day conversation would sprinkle in some English. “Yes” would replace a “si,” “excuse me,” “oh my god,” “please,” “thank you,” and “you’re welcome” would be used just as often as their Italian counterparts. And my colleagues often weren’t talking to me, the only native English speaker who worked there. Americans learn a second language often in high school, but because we have no need of the language it is never exercised and usually forgotten. Even the basic words we retain we don’t often use, even if we also think it’s cool, because it seems a bit pretentious. At least I think the general consensus is that it is. Here, I don’t know, maybe the desire to learn English (and French, German, Spanish, etc.) is almost so accepted that it’s more common everyone is “practicing” in a way, and therefore not pretentious? Shrug.

Whether you’re looking forward to an upcoming Italian adventure, learning Italian, or simply curious, here is a great way to add some QUICK and EASY words to your repertoire. Heheh.

Quick Note on Italian Pronunciation

Even if it is a true English word that Italians use, they often pronounce it with their wonderful accent ( and sometimes may not understand you the first time [or ever] if you pronounce the same word but in the correct English way.) So as you are reading the words that follow, you might want to learn or brush up on the Italian alphabet and how to pronounce some of their key words to get the full appreciation. (Click here to do so.) It’s way more fun to pronounce things in an Italian accent anyway, so let your inner Fabio/Martina come bursting forth!

If you want to actually learn Italian or you have a base that you would like to build upon, I have found this book to be very useful in clarifying all the different verbs in Italian. One of my dear friends used it while she was in Italy as an au pair, and later passed it on to me when I first came to Italy!

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Italian Words You Already Know

Some they borrow from us, some we borrow from them, either way we understand each other!

1. Weekend - Il Weekend. By now everyone wishes you a “buon weekend!” instead of “buon fine settimana!” I once heard an elderly gentleman say “buon fine settimana” to an acquaintance on the bus. It actually made me turn around and take note of this gentleman. And that’s it. Just that one time I’ve heard it. It’s really just the older generations that use it. I think it’s a bit sad, really, that some words aren’t hardly even used anymore. As someone who wants to learn Italian and learn it well, it feels a bit like cheating injecting words you already know!

2. Relax - you could use the Italian verb rilassarsi, but why don’t you relax and use what you already know? ;)

3. Budget - I was using the Italian “bilancio” for the longest time until I realized that Italians use “budget.” Why do I even try?

4. Zero - one number down, uh, a couple trillion to go?

5. Radio - La radio. This I learned when briefly taking Italian lessons. Yay for words that are the same, just a slightly different pronunciation! Rahhhhdio instead of Rayyyydio. Remember those pronunciation rules?

6. Computer - they even say this one a bit like we do, the u is a “yoo” sound instead of the usual Italian “oo.” But try and roll that r a bit. I know I know, but you’ll get there!

7. iPhone, Android, iPad, and other well-known technological products and companies - Even though Android seems to have a higher number of cell phone users, Apple is still as desired here as it is in the States. Except an iPhone can cost about €100-300 more than it’s American retail price. Add that in with a weaker economy and it doesn’t take much imagination why Android is still #1.

8. Social - the only difference here is that Italians don’t say “media” after. It’s always just “social.”

9. Facebook, Instagram, selfie, etc. - all those trendy words coined in recent years are all the same!

10. Email - la email…

11. Password - la password…I don’t even know if these have a translation in Italian. I think they are what they are.

12. Account - I believe you can also say il conto, the same you would say when asking for the bill or tab at a restaurant. But I’ve never heard anyone use anything other than account, so, no worries!

13. Display - what a nice display of words we have here! There are several different ways to say this in Italian, such as “mettere in mostra” / to put on display, or “sfoggiare” / to show off, display. But it’s much easier just saying display, now, isn’t it?

14. Wi-Fi and Internet - need WiFi? You can communicate with one word. WiFi? Si? Grazie!

15. TV - pronounced “tee-vo,” and short for televisione, but reading it is the same.

16. Modem and Router - at this rate you might be thinking you can handle calling a help center for internet or something. You can say password, account, email, internet, modem, router…right? Wrong. This bit of knowledge I can pass on to you, internet, cable, and phone companies are awful to talk to all the world round. You may have already known this. ;)

17. Giga - like social media, they don’t say the second word. Instead of giga-byte, it’s simply giga. I have 50 giga per month, and so far my phone service has only taken unauthorized money from my account once, and they fixed it afterwards, these are two positives of my phone company!

18. Touch Screen - you could be all fancy and say “schermo tattile” or “schermo sensibile al tatto” but I haven’t seen those readily as touch screen is way easier to say, no?

19. Cliccare and taggare - these might be the only verbs on this list, but they make me laugh because they just turned English words into Italian verbs. All Italian verbs end in “are” (ah-ray), “ere” (air-ay), or “ire” (eer-ay) in the infinitive form. Thus “click” became “cliccare” (to click) and “tag” became “taggare” (to tag, as in Instagram).

20. Privacy - as stated above, I finally had to ask, how DO you say privacy in Italian? Ah. Privatezza. But goodness, you’re so uncool if you say the Italian.

21. Area - pronounced like the name “Aria” this is the same in Italian and English.

22. Marketing - Italians have taken American marketing to new levels. The kind that makes you roll your eyes and say “marketing.”

23. Logo - “il logo” logos are logos the world round!

24. Range - this one seems really random to me. But useful, because I can’t think of how to say it in Italian. Gamma, assortimento, portata, actually there a quite a few.

25. Babysitter - or you can be a tata!

26. Stalker - useful. Very useful.

27. Gas - as in water “with gas.” You’ll hear this quite a bit in restaurants, but not necessarily to be used for gasoline, or the other kind. Um, flatulence?

28. Spa - the relaxing wellness center, not to be confused with S.p.a. which is the Italian equivalent of our LLC.

29. Fitness - fitness is so important, people! Even Italians understand this.

30. Personal Trainer - there are so many at the gym I go to!

31. Zumba, Spinning, Yoga, Pilates, Box, and other popular sports and activities - there are also plenty of corsi di fitness at my gym. Note that boxing is said just “box.”

32. Studio - Pilates è in studio 1. Pilates is in studio 1. Only one word is different. Crazy, huh? (Although 1 would be pronounced “uno”)

33. Sport - lo sport, very important in Italy and Europe.

34. Basket - like social and box, basketball is just “basket.” Or pallacanestro.

35. Trek - un trek!

36. Adidas, Nike, Prada, Timberland, any well-known international brand - except, much to my enjoyment, the pronunciations are sometimes different. Not just the letters but the accent, too. I grew up hearing Adidas as “ah-DEE-des” but here it is “AH-dee-das.”

37. Performance - or spettacolo.

38. Record - un nuovo record! Used as in “setting a record” and that type of record, but I haven’t heard it used as the type of record related to music and other meanings.

39. Stop - I learned some Italian phrases before coming to Italy for the first time, including the useful “basta” (stop, or enough). It would have been nice to know I could’ve also used good ol’ STOP, too.

40. Bus - short for autobus, but ends up essentially the same in the abbreviated.

41. Mascara - long a’s, ladies, for long eyelashes.

42. Shopping - shoppers, rejoice!

43. T-shirt - mi piace la tua t-shirt! Italian is “maglietta,” but they are interchangeable.

44. Jeans - jeans are jeans. “Pantaloni” refers to all long pants, but if you want specifically a pair of jeans, the term is jeans.

45. Push-up - I’m not sure about the exercise push-up, but ladies will have an easy time finding a certain type of lingerie in this style!

46. Influenza - the sickness, but is also Italian for “influence.”

47. Stress - lo stress. Yes, even Italians living their dolce vita experience stress. Che stress / what stress!

48. Idea - what a great idea! Che bella idea! It’s the same, different pronunciation.

49. Blu - said the same as our blue, but without the e. There is another word for blue in Italian, azzurro, that is more commonly used, especially for medium and lighter blues, but for your purposes, using “blu” is just fine.

50. In - this is actually Italian and English, and generally used in the same way: Inside something.

51. Me - also both Italian and English. Chi, me? Yes, you.

52. Circa - this is usually used in English to determine an approximate date. “He was born circa 1950.” You can use it this same way in Italian, but also in many other ways, such as: with regard to, about, approximately, roughly, thereabouts, etc etc.

53. Via - Used similarly in the two languages, to express a means of getting somewhere. “I sent it via email.” Only in Italian, however, it is the equivalent of street. I want to live in Via delle Belle Donne! In Italian you can also say “attraverso,” meaning through.

54. Film - usually used in place of movie. Do you want to go see a movie? Vuoi andare a vedere un film?

55. Set - film set, set of plates/set di piatti, set of silverware/set di posati…if Italians lift weights in the gym they probably have a number of steps they do. I just said set too many times in my head and now it seems like the most bizarre word. Set. Weird.

56. Fan - this is widely used in Italian in reference to a fan club (not the ventilation fan), but if you want to sound more Italian you could say appassionato/a, fanatico/a, or tifoso/a for a sports fan.

57. Video - a videoclip on Facebook or recording on your phone is considered a “video.”

58. Foto - short for fotografia, but pronounced the same.

59. Piercing - your parents might not appreciate that there isn’t even much of a language barrier for getting a piercing here. Heheh.

60. Bomber - I’m not cool enough to know how to use this exactly right in actual English, but I do know that Italians understand it as a cool, “fuoriclasse,” or out-of-their-league person. Cristiano Ronaldo is a bomber. Maybe “This cake is the bomb” and if you made the cake, you’re the bomber? I’m trying, ok!?! Let’s just say it can be used exactly the same in Italian as it is in English, mmmk?

61. Rock, Pop, Rap, and other types or styles of music - la radio, pop, per favore! Look, we’re already able to easily build phrases from this list. Amazing. “Per favore” I realize is not on here, but you’ll find that in any guidebook. ;)

62. Bar - bar is the same in both languages, although it is a bit more widely used term in Italy. Bar is used to refer to just about any place that sells coffee. A true bar usually opens early with coffee and pastries, somewhere around 10am transitions to selling sandwiches “panini” and maybe some lunch dishes, and sells alcohol all day long, and finally closes sometime in the early evening.

63. Hotel - these, of course, you will see everywhere, and if you ask an Italian they will point you to the nearest “otel.” Italian is albergo, but maybe they also eventually adopted hotel because the people who search for hotels, that would be tourists, would find and understand hotel better than albergo. Just a theory.

64. Pizza - I think this has long been accepted as both English and Italian.

65. Pasta - Another dual citizen here, except it has a few more meanings in Italian, not always meaning the delicious plate of carbs with wonderful sauces. Pasta can also mean dough, batter, paste, and pastry.

66. Spaghetti, Gnocchi, Linguini, etc. - these probably seem obvious, however I will add a quick note: for whatever reason, types of pasta are sometimes referred to in their singular form. You may not notice this as a tourist, but if you hang out enough with pasta and Italians, you’ll start hearing “spaghetto” and “raviolo” or “gnocco” and “casereccia.”

67. Panini - important note on this one…panini is PLURAL. You shouldn’t ask for one panini in Italian, that’s like ordering “one sandwiches.” It’s panino, and denotes any kind of sandwich rather than the American grilled sandwich. Just so you know. :D

68. Cheesecake - there are many cheesecake gelato flavors and cheesecakes themselves in restaurants and gelaterie, but they generally taste quite different. They are more like a semi-freddo in texture. I don’t know why. I thought it was the cream cheese, but after making cheesecakes at home that turned out great, I still don’t understand. It shall remain a mystery for now.

69. Hamburger - to be pronounced as Jacques Clouseau from the Pink Panther. Hamburgers are very popular here, and based on the restaurants Italians seem to think that America is stuck in the 1950’s diner era and all we eat are hamburgers, French fries, and milkshakes. Ah well, Americans think Italians only eat pizza, pasta, and wine, so we’re even, right?

70. Hotdog - not as popular as the hamburger, but it has it’s own following and can be found in most grocery stores.

71. Yogurt - the yogurt section can be quite extensive in grocery stores, as Italians are rather obsessed with their digestion.

72. Avocado - millennials, rejoice! No translator needed to find your beloved green fruit. Your wallet will not rejoice, as avocados usually hover about €5/kg (that’s about $2.50-3.00/lb)

73. Banana - you say “bah-naaa-nah,” Italians say “bah-nah-nah.”

74. Lime - sometimes called the same as a limone. But lime and lemon are very different, how can I tell what you are offering me if you say limone? I don’t understand.

75. Sushi and other ethnic foods - entering an ethnic restaurant that then tries to explain under the title what the dish is in Italian, can be very amusing to me. Lo mein that is explained as spaghetti just doesn’t get it for me, haha.

76. Paprika - spelled the same, but in Italian it has a different pronunciation: PAH-pree-kuh instead of pah-PREE-kuh

77. Curry - the same, although the u is not pronounced as the Italian u, instead it is a strong a, like in “carry.”

78. Sultana - we usually say raisin in English, but sultana works in English and Italian!

79. Brioche - technically a buttery, enriched French bread in French or English, this term in Italian applies to any pastry.

80. Cocktail - cocktail and most of the classic cocktail names, Mojito, Moscow Mule, etc. will get you far during aperitivo hour.

81. Espresso, Cappuccino, etc. - yes, all the famed coffee drinks that were invented in Italy are the same and so far we haven’t managed to mess up the pronunciation too much! Good job, everybody!

82. Broccoli - the same in Italian and English. Random, but hey, we could all use a little more broccoli in our life!

83. Hobby - an Italian hobby might be sitting at the local bar and people watching, wine tasting, long dinners, long strolls, watching soccer, discussing soccer, watching news discussing soccer, and playing soccer.

84. Food Truck - Italians have picked up on the food truck trend in America and are following suit with their own trendy hamburger food trucks!

85. Street Food - like food truck above, except I don’t think that restaurant I saw the other day advertising “street food” fully understood the concept.

86. Take-away - mangi qui o take-away? Italian is “da portare via” or “d’asporto.”

87. All You Can Eat - ALL sushi restaurants I have ever seen or eaten at in Italy are always the “all you can eat” formula. And “all you can eat” is always written in English, everything else in Italian. Don’t ask me why.

88. Freezer - I always appreciated this one because for a while there I could never remember “congelatore.” Maybe because I heard the English more often than the Italian, didn’t stick with me, haha!

89. Zebra - the same, except I say ZEE-brah, you say ZAY-brah…

90. Zoo - everyone loves the zoo! It’s the same word except for in Italian you pronounce it “Zo.”

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There you are, a whole list of “Italian” words you already knew. My little Italian prodigies!

I’m sure I’m missing a whole slew of English/Italian words, if you want to add to this list drop me a comment below!

The Italian Alphabet and Pronunciation

A nook along Cinque Terre hiking trails in full Italian speaking mode…you don’t like to find crevices that are just your size??

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Listening to Italian makes you happy, doesn’t it? It doesn’t even matter if you know what they’re saying or not. The rolls and lilts of the language are filled with an over-exaggerated sense of passion and drama, and you can’t help but smile. Unless they’re yelling, then I’m not smiling. Even if it’s probably just a friendly exchange about the last soccer match. I’m very non-confrontational and the public displays of conflict make me nervous. Run awayyyyyy! In fact, someone once thought I was Hungarian because I was so laid back and calm. Hmmm…

As far as languages go, Italian is really not that difficult to learn. Yes, it’s a foreign language and difficult, but. Have you ever tried to learn Chinese or Arabic? That’ll put things into perspective real quick! With Italian you can learn just a few phrases and suddenly you feel alive and all the hand gestures come as if you were born doing them. But before we warm up our hands and our best “mamma mia” expressions, let’s go over the alphabet and pronunciation of vowels that is oh-so-important.

The Italian Alphabet

Alright sing this and see if you can figure out which letters are missing:

A B C D E F G H I L M N O P Q R S T U V Z

(Pronounced: ah-bee-chee-dee-ae-effe-jee-acca-ee-elle-emme-enne-oh-pee-coo-erre-esse-tee-oo-voo-zeta)

Haha got it? See, Italian is easy because they have less letters than the English alphabet! Only 21, to be exact. But they messed up our nicely coordinated ABC song by Mozart. Rude. (You’ve made the connection by now that the ABC song is the same as Twinkle Twinkle, yes? Great. Ok, we can move on.)

The following letters don’t technically exist in Italian, except for in the foreign words that have been adopted:

J K W X Y

(Pronounced: ee loonga - kappa - doppio voo - eex - eepsilon)

And thusly we have eliminated half of the letters in my first name. Thanks guys!

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Pronunciation of Those Vowels in Italian

• “A” in Italian is a long A as in “ah”

  “casa” (CAH-zah)

• “E” is usually a hard A as in “mate,” but can also be softer, closer to “eh”

  “re” (RAY [king]) / “permesso” (pair-MEH-sso [permission]); the first e is harder, the second softer

• “I” is a hard E as in “feet”

  “ravioli” (rah-vee-oh-lee)

• “O” is usually a hard O as in “poke,” but can also be softer, closer to “moss”

  “otto” (OHT-toe [eight]); the first o is softer, the second harder

• “U” is a hard U as in “fluke”

  “cappuccino” (CAP-poo-CHEE-no)

How to Pronounce Key Consonants in Italian

• “C” is a hard c as in “cup” unless it is immediately followed by an i or e in which case it is a soft c as in “chocolate.”

  “cono” (CO-no [cone]) / “cioccolato” (CHYO-co-lah-to [chocolate]) / “cena” (CHAY-na [dinner])

• “Ch” is always pronounced as a hard c.

  “chiuso” (kee-OO-zo [closed])

• “G” is a hard g as in “gas” unless it is immediately followed by an i or e in which case it is a soft g as in “Germany.” (J doesn’t exist in the Italian alphabet, so any j sound is made with a g and an i or e. The Italian version of my name is spelled Genny, short for Giovanna.)

  “gatto” (GAH-to [cat]) / “giardino” (jyar-DEE-no [garden]) / “gelato” (je-LAH-to)

• “Gh” is always pronounced as a hard g.

  “ghiaccio” ( ghyA-chyo [ice])

• “S” is a z sound like the s in “pose” if it is between vowels, otherwise it is an s sound as in “soup”

  “casino” (ca-ZEE-no [mess]) / “pasta” (PAH-sta)

• “SS” is an s sound like in “messy”

  “bellissima” (bell-EE-see-ma [so pretty])

• “Z” is a normal z sound as in “zebra” at the beginning of words, otherwise it is a ts sound as in “mats”

  “zucchero” (ZOO-kair-o [sugar]) / “stazione” (Sta-tsee-O-nay [station])

• “R” is always semi-rolled, not the “er” sound we make in English where the tongue doesn’t come in contact with any part of the mouth.

  “mercato” (mair-CAH-to [market])

• “RR” is an exaggerated roll. And yes, you can learn to roll your r’s!

  “ferro” (FAY-rrrr-o [iron])

• “GN” is pronounced like the ñ in Spanish; the g is silent.

  “gnocchi” (nyO-kee)

• “GLI” when it is in the middle of a word or used as an article (“gli” [plural for the]) is the L version of ñ; the closest example would be like the lli in “million.” This one is harder to write without hearing it, especially because many people struggle with this subtle but particular sound. It’s like saying “Lee” while trying to stretch the back of your tongue between your molars and the roof of your mouth instead of just touching the tip of your tongue to the front of the mouth to make the normal L sound…or in other words trying to say it more from the back of your mouth than just the front. (How are we doing? If there is anyone by you, you may want to explain why you’re contorting your mouth so much.)

  “famiglia” (fa-MEE-lya) / “gli uomini” (LYEE oo-OH-mee-nee [the men])

• “SC” is an sh sound as in “shop” if it is followed by an i or e, otherwise the letters are pronounced normally as in “escape.”

  “scienza” (shee-EN-za [science]) / “sconto” (SKOHN-toe [discount])

• “H” is always silent.

  Santa Clause says “ho ho ho” / Babbo Natale says “O O O”

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In my head it was going to be a lot easier writing all that out than it actually was. It seems like a lot of information, but don’t worry, it’s actually quite simple with a bit of practice!

Food in Florence: Great Aperitivo

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Aperitivo. You either love it or…don’t know what it is?

Aperitivo in Italy refers to a period in the evening, usually between 6pm - 8pm where people gather to drink cocktails, wine, or non-alcoholic drinks and eat some light snacks and food. You usually pay between 7-10euro for a drink and includes all the food they have set out in a buffet-like style. It’s a bit like happy hour, except the point isn’t to take advantage of the cheap drinks, but to stimulate your digestion before dinner. Ya know, science, heheh.

Plate of random food from buffet at O Bar

In my personal experience, if I actually want to be able to eat dinner afterwards, I just get a drink without going for the actual “aperitivo” price which includes the snackies. But. Also in my experience, if you plan on going out for aperitivo, especially with a group of students, people on a budget, or people with light appetites, that actually means you’ll linger so long you basically eat a meal of the hors d’oeuvres, or end up ordering a couple plates to share because everyone is too full to eat their own but felt bad that their party wiped clean the buffet bar. The larger your group I think the more likely the latter is to happen, but it’s not uncommon, and either way is highly enjoyable. Either way you look at it you’re with good food, drinks, and company.

A Quick History of the Aperitivo

The Italian word “Aperitivo” comes from the Latin “Aperitivus” which means “che apre” or “which tends to open the bowels.” (Do I sound like the dad on My Big Fat Greek Wedding?) Namely, a drink that is able to stimulate or “open” your digestion from the forthcoming onslaught of food. That thing we normally call dinner.

Apparently, in the 5th century the Greek physician Hippocrates discovered that a drink based on white wine, flowers of dittany, absinthe, and rue could help his patients who complained of loss of appetite. This concoction was then passed down through time until it reached the medicinal doctors of Medieval times. These doctors found that it wasn’t so much these particular ingredients that had this effect, but rather the bitterness of them. For this reason, the principal drinks served during aperitivo hour are based on bitter components.

The actual aperitivo as it is known in Italy today was born in Torino in the late 1700’s by one Antonio Benedetto Carpano, who invented vermouth. It was tasted by the then King of Italy, Vittorio Emanule II, who enjoyed this bitter drink so much he made it an official drink of court. It became a must drink for many famous people to come, such as Cavour and Garibaldi. Entering the 1800’s others eventually invented their own bitter drinks for the aperitivo to be drunk before a meal, with amaro, Campani, and Martini becoming particularly popular and are still the main stays of aperitivo today.

Which brings us to the question, what are the cocktails you can expect to find in Florence and around Italy?

Typical Cocktails in Italy

• Spritz - prosecco, club soda, and either Aperol or Campari. Born in Italy, this is probably the most famous aperitivo here. There are two main versions, the Aperol Spritz, with Aperol, and the Campari Spritz, with Campari.

• Negroni - gin, vermouth rosso, Campari. Invented in Florence in the 1920’s.

• Negroni Sbagliato - vermouth rosso, Campari, prosecco. Created by accident in the 1960’s when a barman went to make a Negroni and instead of gin found in his hand prosecco…the rest is history.

• Americano - Campari, sweet vermouth, club soda. Created in the latter half of the 19th century in either Torino or Milan.

• Martini Dry - gin, dry vermouth. Another Italian cocktail born in the 19th century.

These are the typical Italian aperitivi, although be sure to check out the menus or ask wherever you go to see the creations and offerings of that particular place, including all the classics such as mojito, Moscow mule, gin and tonic, etc.

If for whatever reason you don’t want to partake in an alcoholic beverage, you can usually get a tonic with lemon or various other flavors of Schweppes they might have on hand, fruit juice, Crudino (a sweet and bitter non-alcoholic drink similar in taste to the alcoholic ones, I love it), soft drinks, or ask if the barman can make you a special non-alcoholic drink of his or your choice!

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Great Aperitivo

In no particular order

Non-alcoholic cocktail invented by the barman.

1. ARTS INN

   Via del Porcellana, 63r, close to the church of Santa Maria Novella.

   A very cool little place specializing in cocktails, two floors and various nooks and crannies where you’re bound to find a cozy little corner to chat with friends.

2. La Cité

   Borgo S. Frediano, 20, south of the river not far from the church of Santo Spirito.

   This place is also featured on my list for the best coffee in Florence (as is Caffetteria delle Oblate below), because it is such a great and versatile place. Great for meeting friends, studying, going for cocktails or coffee. Like ARTS INN, it has an up and downstairs and much more exciting seating options than your typical place.

3. La Pescatoria

   Via Palazzuolo 80r, not far from the train station SMN.

   This is the aperitivo for fish lovers. Most of their buffet has something to do with some kind of fish, dips, crostini, salads etc. I think my favorite part was the fried fish, so good! Nice atmosphere as well.

4. Caffetteria delle Oblate

   Via dell’Oriuolo, 26, in the center not far from the Duomo.

   An aperitivo on the third floor of an old convent. It has views of the Duomo without paying the higher prices of aperitivos usually on hotel rooftops. This place is very popular with students and at times it can be hard to find seating, but sitting on the steps or floor around the terrace is always an option if your bones can take it.

5. Quelo Bar

   Borgo Santa Croce, 15r, two steps from the church of Santa Croce.

   Very chic place with nice offerings in a relatively quiet street leading straight to Santa Croce. Limited outdoor seating, nice seating inside.

6. O Bar

   Via de’ bardi, 54, just a few steps from Ponte Vecchio.

   Nice wines and buffet with a great view of Ponte Vecchio and the river! Prices aren’t bad either considering, I believe it’s 10euro for drink and buffet, which is pretty standard.

7. Gallery

   Via dei Benci, 30, close to the church of Santa Croce.

   This for me is the quintessential aperitivo in Italy. Something about the type of place and their offerings make them appealing to many and accessible, but not super special. This was one of the more frequented places for meeting with friends when I first came to Florence. There are quite a few aperitivo places on the street, and it has quite the night life.

8. Kitsch

   Two locations: Viale Antonio Gramsci 1/5r on the east edge of the city center, and Via San Gallo, 22r, close to San Marco.

   An eclectic place with a decent offering of drinks and buffet food. Usually one of the first places suggested when trying to meet for aperitivo, as it’s known to most and has two convenient locations.

Seasonal summer pop-ups:

Because these are seasonal places they don’t usually have an actual address, but you can find it on Googlemaps by typing in the name. These places don’t include the buffet but you can choose to order some small plates or meals along with your drinks.

1. Utopiko

   Lots of unique and hand crafted seating in a park along the river, outside the city center. They have some delicious cocktails, but their non-alcoholic options are limited.

2. Lungarno del Tempio

   Food truck style food kiosks and bars appear for the summer in this park along the river just outside the crazy city center. Great to finally catch the breeze off the river while sipping on a cold drink after a hot day walking around the city. Note: Typing in Lungarno del Tempio will get you a pin on the map actually across the street, for more accuracy type in La Toraia Lungarno del Tempio which is one of the food kiosks.

3. Molo Firenze

   Outdoor and great summery aperitivo on the river, just past Lungarno del Tempio. They can get the music going so best if you want more of club vibe than a quiet, chat with my friends type feel.

For a classy aperitivo experience try:

1. The Fusion Bar & Restaurant

   Vicolo dell’Oro, 3, a few steps from the Ponte Vecchio.

   A part of a hotel, this place is a local institution with competent barmen and original cocktails. The food is Asian fusion cuisine, so don’t forget the sushi! Higher end prices.

2. Harry’s Bar Firenze

   Lungarno Amerigo Vespucci, 22r, just a 6 minute walk from the American Consulate.

   Elegant ambience in a historic Florentine locale with nice views and elevated prices.

3. Locale Firenze

   Via delle Seggiole, 12r, between the Duomo and Santa Croce.

   A historic restaurant with a notable bar and aperitivo smack dab in the center of the center. If you decide to stay and dine you’ll find well-thought out Italian dishes. You’ll want to dress up a bit for this place for sure.

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If you have any questions or have suggestions to add to the list, leave a comment below! I always love hearing from you guys!

Food in Florence: Where to Find the Best Eats

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Choosing where to eat in a new city is always one of the hardest decisions. Especially if that city is half way across the world and you don’t get over there every day.

This is important because I essentially love traveling for two principle reasons: The culture and the food. But how to find, say, good Belgian waffles and frites in Bruges, Belgium, or croissants and baguettes in Paris, France, or pizza and mozzarella di bufala in Napoli, Italy, when most of the places you see are screaming “tourist trap!”?

Unless you are fortunate enough to know some locals, you are completely left to yourselves, aside, of course, from the hundreds of books and online guides touting the 10 best places to eat. The overwhelming part for me is weighing through the endless sites and opinions, some of which are good, and an amazing number of which are not at all reliable. So here I’m just going to throw myself in the mix, as a local in Florence, with some of my favorite places to eat, namely lunch and dinner!

Lunch and Dinner in Italy

First, a few quick notes about lunch and dinner in Italy.

Sit-down lunchtime is roughly from 12:00pm - 3:00pm, with the peak being 1:00pm - 2:00pm. If you go before or after these hours, chances are the restaurant will be closed or not serving lunch anymore.

If you find yourself in need of a snack before lunchtime hits, pop into any bar and pick up a quick sandwich. If I eat a late breakfast at a bar I often notice quite a few local workers who pop in for a sandwich starting as early as 10:00am. These sandwiches are pre-made (but should be made that same day!) in the display case and slowly replace the pastries as the morning wears on. You can get a large or small, and they are usually simple with just 2-3 ingredients on a focaccia type bread. You could try a mozzarella, tomato, and lettuce, or prosciutto and tomato, or mortadella (Italian equivalent of bologna) and cheese, or bresaola (prosciutto made with beef instead of pork), arugula, and grana padano, etc.

Dinnertime in Italy generally starts from 7:30pm and can linger on until 11 or later, especially in the summer when that is when it finally cools down. Most restaurants don’t even open until 7:30pm for the dinner shift. It’s rare to find a restaurant that doesn’t close between the lunch and dinner shifts, as you’ll be able to see from the opening hours below.

Remember, if you sit down in a restaurant there will almost always be a “coperto” or cover charge, usually about 1.50 - 2euro per person, which cover the cost of napkins, bread, etc. And you have to pay for water, even if it’s tap water that comes in a refillable bottle. For more dining and Italy tips take a look at this list.

Hours may vary. You can make reservations on quandoo.it or thefork.it or by calling the restaurant directly.

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Where to Find the Best Eats

In no particular order

Simbiosi Organic Pizzeria, plus organic beer and wine

Margherita Pizza from Le Follie di Romualdo

Fuori Porta

All'antico Vinaio

Upstairs at the Mercato Centrale

Da Nerbone

Pizzeria Orto del Cigno

Pizza split with the “Contadina” and “Parmigiana” toppings

Aji Tei

Ararat Ristorante Armeno

Avanti - Pizza & Grill - Arab Restaurant

Apetizer

Rosticceria Tavola Marrochina

couscous, harissa, bread, olives, chicken kebabs

Bistecca Fiorentina (Florentine steak)

Stuffed Gnocchi

“Gnocchi ripieni” spinach gnocchi stuffed with panchetta in an asiago cheese sauce, upstairs at the Mercato Centrale

1. Simbiosi Organic

   Via de’ Ginori, 56r, 58r/60r (two locations), near to San Lorenzo.

   Simbiosi has two different locations around the corner from each other. The original location is an organic pizzeria, with great decor: exposed bricks and chandeliers! The second location features organic pasta and other dishes, and both locations have a nice selection of organic beer and wine. Oh, and the food is really good, especially the pizza. They appreciate reservations.

2. Osteria Cinghiale Bianco

   Borgo San Jacop, 43, just a bit away from the Santa Trinita bridge in a lovely neighborhood south of the center.

   Lovely local place with delicious typical Tuscan food and wine, housed in the bottom of a tower from 300 a.d.! I would highly recommend reservations, even if during the “off” season (which hardly seems to exist in Florence anymore) or you may not get in.

3. Enoteca Fuori Porta

   Via del Monte alle Croci, 10, on the way to Piazzale Michelangelo.

   This is a cute little wine shop with great meat and cheese plates and, of course, wine. Great for a snack, a light meal, or just a drink. Indoor and outdoor seating and conveniently located on the way to Piazzale Michelangelo (a nice uphill hike to get the views) for a snack after all that exertion. ;)

4. All’antico Vinaio

   Via dei Neri, 76, between Palazzo Vecchio and the church of Santa Croce.

   This is the most famous sandwich place in Florence, and have had lines since the first time I went in 2014. They have since expanded to at least 3 locations all on the same street near each other, two for sandwiches and one Osteria. I recommend going before or after prime lunch time to avoid the long lines; I’ve never been for dinner so can’t vouch for what the lines are like. Take your sandwich to go and sit on the steps of a church or piazza to enjoy your food. Keep in mind that if you don’t eat or don’t like pork, your pickings will be slim. They usually have turkey, sometimes bresaola (the beef equivalent of prosciutto), or you could always get some of the vegetable toppings with cheese and call it a day if you’re vegetarian.

5. Antica Panineria

   Via Faenza, 53. Between the train station and San Lorenzo.

   Another delicious and cheap focaccia sandwich place. Located not too far from the train station, this makes for a convenient lunch on the train, or there is a nice area outside to sit! Unlike All’Antico Vinaio here there are is usually no or a very short line which is convenient for a quicker meal.

6. Gustapizza

   Via Maggio, 46r, south of the river.

   Decent prices and just really good pizza. This is considered by some the best pizza in Florence. In my personal opinion, as they’ve become well known and busy, their quality control has dropped a bit. Obviously, they still made this list, but maybe instead of THE best they are one of the best. How’s that? They’re small and often full but even if Italy doesn’t have much of a “to go” culture, pizza is always acceptable to get to go. In fact, if they’re full up, take your pizza a few steps away and sit and eat on the steps of the church of Santo Spirito or in the piazza.

7. Mercato Centrale

   Piazza del Mercato Centrale, Via dell’Ariento, near to the church of San Lorenzo

   On the second floor is the Italian style food court, except everything is made fresh and on the spot. This is great for larger groups because there is something to please everyone, but be warned, it can get crazy up here even if there are hundreds of tables; it’s popular! So aim for a bit before or after lunch or dinner, if you can. There’s pasta, pizza, sushi, hamburgers, steak, vegan, seafood, various typical Florentine options, and more. My only word of warning is that not every stall is made equally. I personally recommend the pizza (that fluffy Neopolitan crust, oh man!), the seafood fresh or fried, the famous Florentine steak (bistecca fiorentina, one of the best), gelato, bread or desserts from the French stall “Bedu,” and vegan. They also have large TVs setup so you can watch the soccer matches, although that also means many seats will be occupied by people who aren’t even eating during those times. Rude. ;)

8. Da Nerbone

   Piazza del Mercato Centrale, near to the church of San Lorenzo

   This is a very busy, very delicious, traditional Tuscan food stand on the ground floor of the Mercato Centrale among all the farmer’s market stands. They usually have a long line but it moves fast enough. The hard part is getting a seat, so have someone ordering and picking up the food, another scouting and claiming a table! The seating is quite tight but for a taste of scrumptious Florentine comfort food, it’s worth it. I love the Lampredotto (very typical Florentine, I’m gonna go ahead and let you google that one), any of the pasta dishes, and the beef cheek called “stracotto.” And I don’t even hardly eat beef! Comfort food at it’s greatest.

9. Pizzeria Orto del Cigno

   Via di Varlungo, 27, on the east side of the city center not far from Tuscany Hall.

   A pizzeria that feels like home, because they serve large pizzas that everyone can eat a slice from American style, instead of the individual pizzas. You can get each pizza with 2 or 3 of the topping options, so you can try more! I absolutely fell in love with the parmigiana…definitely one of the top 5 pizzas I’ve ever eaten!

   I recommend taking a stroll from the city center along the river going east, the sidewalk eventually turns into a peaceful reprieve from the touristy center, with nature and the river on your right and locals jogging past. About a 45 minute walk and the pizzeria will be on your left.

10. Aji Tei

    Viale Spartaco Lavagnini, 20A, not far from the tip of the city center, Piazza Libertà.

    My favorite sushi in Florence, and that’s saying something because there are a ton of Japanese restaurants around. I know of very few sushi places in Italy that are not the “all you can eat” formula, but have you ever not wanted to eat all you can of sushi? Their menu is extensive (sushi, sashimi, special rolls, fried stuff, hot and cold plates) and the “all you can eat” includes everythinggggg except drinks, I think it even includes dessert. The price is higher, 29euro a head for dinner, but if you break down how many rolls of sushi I can consume, it turns out to be a pretty good deal. Unlike some sushi places, their price is the same for lunch and dinner. Oh, and the ambience is super cool. I recommend asking to eat in the garden if there is space. Even in the off season this place fills up quickly so I recommend making a reservation.

11. Ristorante Giapponese Rakutei

    Via della Casaccia, 19-21-23, on the east side of the city center.

    I just mentioned my favorite sushi above, but this place is also really good and much more conveniently located for where I live, and also for those of you who are staying on the east side of town or at the campground. “All you can eat” once again! Take bus 14 to get here and get off at the “casaccia” bus stop. Their prices are a bit lower, and you can take advantage of the lunch hour and pay 14euro for all you can eat, otherwise it’s 24euro drinks excluded for dinner.

12. PassaGuai

    Borgo San Frediano, 44r, on the south side of the river near to the church of Santo Spirito.

    This was one of the favorite places my family ate at during our vacation here in 2014, a cool little spot with absolutely delicious sandwiches for 4euro. It’s now evolved into a restaurant with an emphasis on meat and fish, but still the same owners and quality food.

13. Le Sorgenti

    Via Chiara, 6r, right by the Mercato Centrale.

    One of my favorite Chinese places, although there are so many and quite a few of them are delicious! Order lots of small plates and share, they’re reasonably priced. I recommend the taglierini alla griglia (basically grilled lo mein) and the branzino alla griglia (grilled sea bass). YUM.

14. Los Chicos

    Via dei Benci, 15r, near to the church of Santa Croce.

    Florence has a sadly lacking Mexican food scene. This place, however, can get a you a nice burrito or taco! The tacos are 3euro each, and you can get a burrito starting at 5euro. Choose your protein then add all the condiments and veggies you like. Oh, and don’t forget margaritas!

15. Ararat Ristorante Armeno

    Borgo la Croce, 32r, near to Sant’Ambrogio on the east side of the center.

    I had never had Armenian food until I ate here, but I can now say I’m a fan! Their food is well-executed with lots of meat and vegetables. The flatbread is DELICIOUS. It’s also a really pretty place, golden silverware, anyone?

16. Avanti - Pizza & Grill - Ristorante Arabo

    Via S. Pier Maggiore, 6r, close to the Santa Maria Nuova hospital.

    The menu is a mix of pizza and Iraqi food, and although I can’t speak for the pizza, I haven’t eaten anything short of scrumptious from the Iraqi section. And why would you need a pizza if you have such Arab goodness in front of you?

17. Rosticceria Tavola Marrochina

    Piazza del Mercato Centrale, 11, directly opposite the Mercato Centrale on the parking lot side. Beware of the pinpoint on google maps because it isn’t on the right street, even if the address itself seems to be correct.

    This is a little hole in the wall restaurant owned and run by a Moroccan family. The seating can be a bit tight and the ambiance not the best, but the food is delicious and the prices decent. In short, this is not the place to bring to impress, but if you’re familiar with Morocco and wanting a taste, this is a great casual place to go. Lunchtime is best, as the options get slimmer the longer the evening wears on. My favorites are couscous (of course, and you can get a “small” plate for around 4euro), the harira soup, msemmen (thin, crispy bread often filled with cheese, harissa, and boiled eggs or cheese and honey), and the mint tea.

18. Foody Farm

    Lungargno Corsini, 2A, on the river not far from Palazzo Strozzi.

    When Foody Farm first opened I didn’t care to go just because of the name…too many cliché ideas in a title for me. Then they moved to their current location on the Arno and by then I had heard enough good things to want to go. When I finally went the old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” came to mind. The service was friendly and the menu fun. They offer both a normal menu and one made up of pictures so you can see what each dish looks like. Their wine menu was made up of a collage of wine labels so they are more easily recognizable. What’s more, most of their menu is able to be ordered in half or full portions, so everyone can easily order two dishes getting to try more! I loved the whole experience and thought the food was delicious and creatively served.

19. Pizzeria La Luna

    Via Vincenzo Gioberti, 93r, just outside the city center near to Piazza Beccaria

    A delightful pizza place I stumbled upon by accident one night when I was far from home but needing nourishment. Although I have passed this pizzeria many, many times, it never struck me as a “must try” and I was pleasantly surprised when the pizza was absolutely delicious. I’ve only ever gotten the pizza to go, but it seems to get pretty busy so if you’d like to sit down I would go with a reservation! They offer gluten-free pizza.

20. Le Follie di Romualdo

    Via di San Niccolò, 39r, south of the city center on the way to Piazzale Michelangelo.Romualdo is a well-known “pizzaiuolo” (pizza maker) around Florence and beyond, his being named among the top 20 best pizzas in the world by the New York Times and has received twice the highest acknowledgment from the best pizza guide Pizzerie D’Italia del Gambero Rosso. All that to say, you’ll eat some really, really good pizza here. The other food is good, too! During the summer he has a popup pizza place near the river. This location is on the newer side, the location where I was introduced to Romualdo’s was further away from the center, much bigger, and always bustling. I liked the old location better even if the new location is nice and easier to get to; their menu seemed to shrink and it was emptier. To be fair, I’ve only been to the new location once and that was towards the end of October, the pizza was still delicious and the wines great.

21. Koto Ramen

    Via Giuseppe Verdi, 42r, close to Santa Croce, and Borgo San Frediano, 41r, not far from the Ponte alla Carraia.

    If you’re craving some good ramen this is a good place to come! The menu is not overly extensive, but what they do, they do well with fresh ingredients and vibrant flavors. They have some good gyoza and appetizers, really all you need to supplement a large bowl of ramen.

Now I’m hungry…ah well off to eat some homemade vegan sloppy joes, it’ll be just as good. I hope.

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More Ideas

This is a list of places that I would like to try one day, either that I’ve heard good things about or they just looked really interesting walking by! If you try any of them before me, let me know in the comments below how you liked it!

1. Adagio

2. Cacio Vino Trallalla

3. Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura

4. Ristorante Sultan (Turkish food)

5. Royal India (Indian food)

Where are your favorite places to eat around Florence, what have I missed? Have you tried any of the places on here? Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love hearing your thoughts and experiences!

Coffee Culture in Italy

Last Updated July 12, 2024

Coffee. caffè. قهوة. ቡና. koffie. kafe. սուրճ. קפה. kaffi. caife. café. コーヒー. кофе. 咖啡. káva. kahve. ყავა. coffi. καφές. kope. ikhofi. cà phê. کافی. കോഫി. kahvi. kape. kohvi. kafo. kaffe. కాఫీ. kafija. capulus. kahawa.

More than 33 ways to say coffee in at least 37 different languages.  (Some overlap, i.e. café is Spanish, French, and Portugal.)  And even the ones that don’t share the Latin alphabet and I can’t even begin to sound out sound similar to the word “coffee.”  I know that because Google Translate and transliteration.  Amazing, isn’t it?  I mean, the languages, not Google Translate, but yeah, that’s pretty amazing also.  So many different cultures and people and centuries, and coffee is so important in so many of them.  Not least of all Italy, which is why I’m writing this post.  (Coffee in Italian is the second language written, “caffè,” and you will hear it and see it, ALOT.) 

In fact, Italy is the birthplace of many of the coffee drinks you drink today, including cappuccino, espresso, macchiato, and latte, although ordering them at Starbucks is going to get you something very different than what you would get in Italy.

So, what are the principal coffee drinks in Italy?

(You can find your own espresso depresso t-shirt on Amazon, yasssss)

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The drinks on a typical Italian coffee menu

Cappuccino

• Espresso - “Expressed”

  A strong shot of coffee and what is considered “normal coffee.” If you go into a bar and order a “caffè,” they will usually clarify by asking “caffè normale?” which of course, literally means normal coffee. It is drunk throughout the day at any time, and particularly after lunch and dinner to help digestion.

  You can order a “ristretto” (restricted) where the espresso shot is pulled early resulting in a shorter, stronger shot, or you can order a “lungo” (long) which is the opposite, a taller and waterier (is that a word?) shot of espresso.

  The name means “expressed” which could denote any or all of the three meanings of the word in English or Italian. First, the method in which espresso is made, where the steam “expresses” and pressures the coffee flavor into the water, second, that it is made quickly or “expressly,” and third, that it is made “expressly” for one person. This, however, still does not give you license to call it an “expresso,” mmk?

• Macchiato - “Stained”

  You can order a macchiato two ways: A caffè macchiato or a latte macchiato. Caffè macchiato means “stained coffee” so you will get an espresso with a small dollop of milk, usually foamed. A latte macchiato means “stained milk” and will get you hot milk with some coffee served in a glass, with or without the foamy milk, depending on the different preparations.

• Cappuccino - “Little Hood”

  The Italian coffee of choice for breakfast (and mine!) and probably doesn’t need much intro. The cappuccino, also called cappuccio which means just “hood,” got its name from the color of the hood of the Capuchin monks which it apparently resembles. According to this site (in Italian) a cappuccino should be 25ml of coffee and 125ml of milk with lots of foam.

  Oh, and you might have heard that you should never drink a cappuccino in Italy after noon or you’ll get kicked out of the country? Not exactly true. It’s mostly because, according to most Italians, milk upsets digestion unless it is a part of the traditional cappuccino and pastry breakfast in which the milk acts as an element of the meal.  But consuming milk after a heavier lunch or dinner, especially at night, is too much.  As this Italian Mamma explains, “When the casein in milk combines with the hot coffee, given the high temperature, it combines with the tannic acids characteristic of the drink (or rather the coffee); this meeting then produces a chemical composition that weighs down the digestion.” I’m not here to vouch if this is sound science or not, just quoting so you can get an idea of the Italian thinking. If you choose to abide by this “rule,” drink your cappuccino by itself or with a cookie, pastry, or something small and light and far away from mealtimes, breakfast aside.

• Caffè Latte - “Milk Coffee”

  Or caffellatte. In America we have long since dropped the “caffè” and simply order a latte. This strategy in Italy, however, will simply get you a glass of milk. A caffè latte is essentially a cappuccino without the foam.

• Caffè Americano - “American Coffee”

  A larger cup of weaker coffee in comparison to the classic espresso.  The classic way to prepare a caffè americano in Italy is to add hot water to an espresso.  Yum.  Not.  There are a few places you can find that have drip “American” coffee and even a few who do pour overs. 

• Caffè Corretto - “Corrected Coffee”

  Because, normal coffee is not correct. It must be corrected, and with a small amount of liquor. The type of alcohol used can vary depending on the region, but usually grappa is used, sometimes brandy, Sambuco, or l’anice, a type of anise liquor, or even Bailey’s.

• Caffè al Ginseng - “Ginseng Coffee”

  This is definitely one you should try, delicious even if it is a bit pre-fab. It is usually a powder mix they add to a machine and dispense as ordered, so not fresh coffee, but it’s a pungent and sweet little drink that I unabashedly love. You can order an “alto” tall or “basso” short, depending on if you want it to be the equivalent to roughly a shot of espresso or double shot. The sugar usually lies at the bottom so you’ll want to stir it before consuming.

  Ginseng has long been a part of Chinese medicine and has become popular around the world where you can find it in just about any store’s health supplement section. It is supposed to have many health benefits, including being a powerful antioxidant reducing inflammation, benefiting brain function, benefiting against cancer, boosting the immune system, increasing energy, lowering blood sugar, and having aphrodisiacal qualities. However, many of these studies seem to prove only the “may benefit” or “could help” factors with nothing concrete.

• Marocchino - “Moroccan”

  Despite its name this drink was also invented in Italy, in Piemonte. At first glance it may seem just a cappuccino with cocoa, but it is much better than that. There are quite a few different preparations, but almost all include espresso, cocoa, and steamed milk served in a clear glass. Often the glass is first sprinkled with cocoa, then the espresso is added, then steamed milk and finally more cocoa. The official site of Illy (one of the top Italian coffee roasters, you’ve probably heard of them or seen their coffee in the States) gives the preparation for the Marocchino at home as thus: Place about 1 Tbsp / 10-15ml of hot chocolate in a glass, then prepare directly in the same cup about 2 Tbsp / 20-25ml of espresso, sprinkle with a thin layer of cocoa, then steam about 2 Tbsp / 25ml of milk and add to the glass over the cocoa.

• Shakerato - “Shaken”

  Coffee shaken in a cocktail shaker with ice and if desired, sugar. The resulting refreshingly icy coffee with a bit of foam is usually served in a martini glass, sometimes a flute glass.

  I like this word because it is an English word that has been Italianified. I don’t think that’s even a word. “Sh” doesn’t exist in traditional Italian spelling, nor does “k.” They say a “sh” sound, but it is spelled with “sci” or “sce.” Essentially they took the word “shaker” and turned it into an Italian verb, shakerare, which means to shake drinks in a shaker. Then this drink’s name is the past tense, shakerato, meaning shaken. It makes me laugh, neither truly Italian or English!

• Caffè d’Orzo - “Barley Coffee”

  For those who prefer decaffeinated drinks you have the choice between ordering your favorite coffee decaffeinated or with orzo / barley instead of coffee beans.

  Decaffeinated coffee, as you probably know, are coffee beans which have gone through a process to remove the caffeine. They process often involves hot water and methylene chloride, of which trace amounts will end up in your coffee (it was recently banned for use in paint and paint strippers). The USDA requires that a minimum of 97% caffeine be extracted for coffee beans to be considered decaffeinated. Decaffeinated coffee will always have a small amount of caffeine in it. If you’re interested to see if the decaf coffee you drink uses the chemical process for decaffeination, check out this article here, which tested out some top decaf coffee brands as well as what to look for in labeling when buying decaf.

  Crushed barley is used much like coffee beans to attain a dark and bitter drink which assimilates coffee, although it has its own distinctive taste. It became popular during war times in Italy when coffee beans became too expensive. Unlike decaffeinated coffee, barley is completely caffeine free, but not suitable for those who can’t consume gluten.

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The Italian coffee experience

You could parachute out of a plane and land just about anywhere in Italy and still be in sight of some place that sells coffee.

My happy face while trying the coffee at Sant’Eustachio Il Caffè, a historical cafe and roastery in Rome.

The Italian bar is a way of life here. “Bar” is a general term for any place that sells coffee. Often the name of the place has “bar” in the title, but this can also include any cafe or pasticceria that sells coffee. A bar usually has, what do you know, a bar with a rung at the bottom for standing comfortably with one foot propped up while you wait for, then down your coffee.

Anytime you see an old friend or need to meet up with a colleague, you head to the nearest bar, offer them a caffè, throw it back, and you’re each on your way. This can happen several times a day, because I don’t think I’ve met an Italian yet who stops at one coffee a day. It’s very different from the lingering 2 hour catch-up with friends or I’m-just-going-to-sit-here-and-use-the-free-wifi-on-my-computer-and-get-some-work-done experience in America. In fact, the very few times I’ve brought my computer and sat in a bar or pasticceria I felt very strange, and very millennial. Even if I linger over my coffee for more than say, 20 minutes, by the time I leave it’s a whole new crowd. The exception seems to be some of the older generation who will sit outside and people watch for hoursssss.

If you are looking for more of an American coffee shop type experience, there are a select few that are on the cutting edge, and these are the only ones that I don’t feel the oddball out if I linger too long or decide to bring my computer. You’ll find that the other young and international people who take their coffee seriously and felt more at home in a “coffee shop” type setting have gravitated to these places as well.

Then there are the restaurants, where you will always find caffè as your post-meal digestive, a must for many Italians, lunch or dinner!

For the best coffee around Florence, read this.

What are your favorite coffee drinks in Italy? Let me know in the comments below!

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