Ten Things I Learned about Italy

Observations from my recent journey...

1. There's a gelato opportunity on every corner.
2. Italy is a hyper-democracy, and yet the trains run on time well over 95% of the time. They really didn't need Mussolini for that.
3. The political rhetoric is coarser even than in the U.S., but there's rarely violence associated with it. In Carpi, I saw a stand that had been erected to distribute election materials for the anti-immigrant Northern League. Right next to it, several men of South Asian descent had gathered and were just shooting the breeze. Neither group paid attention to the other. I'm sure it's not this way everywhere, but it seemed to show a tolerance despite harsher anti-immigrant rhetoric than we hear in the US.
4. The police are very active. I saw many random traffic stops, many patrolling officers, and even was sniffed (along with all the other passengers) by a drug dog as I got off the train in Verona. I think the dog liked the smell of the cherry jam I had spilled on my duffel bag, but he didn't give the drug signal to his handler.
   
5. The Italians are as proud of their language as anyone, but they don't expect foreigners to learn it. They're very tolerant of tourists.
6. Stamp every transportation ticket in the validating machine before boarding the vehicle!
7. Wi-fi is slow in coming.
8. Watching simplistic TV dramas with subtitles is the best possible way to improve your Italian quickly.
9. Macedonia (fruit salad) makes the best desert.
10. Espresso is the travelling coffee drinker's best friend. If you learn no other Italian, "un espresso, per favore" will always give you a way to stop for a minute, get some caffeine, read a newspaper, and reflect on how the trip is going while standing at the counter.