Booking a villa with us is easy, but will juggling Italian culture be as intuitive?
Habits, customs, superstitions, sayings; all this at once can be difficult to assimilate and the risk is to be overwhelmed.
Here then, as good Italians, we step in to pave the way for you and mentally prepare you for the thousand facets of our beautiful country (a little healthy patriotism never hurts).
As promised in the previous article, we are creating a Guide to Italy from which you can take inspiration so as not to make mistakes that could compromise your holiday.
Are you ready for a round-up of tips and secrets? At the end of the page you will also find a gift for you.
So let's get started, today we will focus on food and drink in Italy.
1. A CAPPUCCINO A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and the right time to indulge in a cappuccino: note that it is the only time Italians indulge in this type of drink.
To be a perfect local, we recommend pairing your cappuccino with a croissant or 'breakfast pastry': pastries usually made of puff pastry filled to your liking: from cream to apple jam.
Extra tip: don't order a 'latte' unless you want a straight glass of milk, in Italy it is not a well-known drink and it confuses most baristas (don't scare them, they are an endangered species).
2. MID-MORNING BREAK
It's summer, it's hot and you are wandering around the narrow streets of a city of art, you miss your iced coffee and enter the first bar to order it: don't do it.
The iced coffee is not very well known in Italy (except in rare cases), our advice is to order a 'crema di caffè'. The crema di caffè is somewhere between heaven and a winning lottery ticket. Made with espresso coffee, cream and icing sugar, it will give you the right boost to continue your business.
3. WHAT ABOUT LUNCH?
Finding a restaurant on the spur of the moment is not easy, our advice is to always have a look at TripAdvisor, but when you can't, here are the rules to keep in your head.
1. Look at the menus on display and have a look at the prices
2. Look at the opening times, typical restaurants open around 12.30 for lunch and around 7/7.30 for dinner. In Italy you eat late ( compared to England or Spain).
3. If you find dishes like Alfredo chicken pasta, pepperoni pizza on the menu: get out, fast. You are in Italy, try grandma's fettuccine, pizza with a high, thick crust, a good rare steak.
4. Busy does not always equal better, if a restaurant looks like the dining room of grandma's house it will probably be authentic and delicious! (nothing to take away from the very good modern cuisine restaurants, but I will tell you about those in another article).
