So, I'm going to Italy for 4 months.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

I'm gonna have internet & everything, but I'm not sure when it'll be all set up... I get nervous about international flights, so some good thoughts sent my way would be nice. <33

Also accepting virtual Valium. Oh & if any DUers have lived in Florence, give me the 411.

[RevolutionaryActs]

1. Sweet! I'm jealous though.

:P


Be sure to bring me back a souvenir, you know, like some hot Italian dude. :rofl:


Best of luck! :hug:

[montanto]

2. Good thoughts coming your way. . .

Have been overseas many times. Don't sweat it. Plus you CAN get valium online (I do). Italy is great and though I've been to Florence, never lived there.

[trof]

3. 1. The food sux. 2. Don't drink the water.

1. NOT! Never had a bad meal in Italy.
2. DRINK THE WINE INSTEAD!
;-)
Have fun.

[bigwillq]

4. When are u leaving?

:shrug:

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

10. Tomorrow, monday!

:wow:

[bigwillq]

13. Why are you going

for four months?

Study abroad?

Living with family?

What?

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

15. study abroad

i wish i still had family there...

[bigwillq]

17. Well have a great flight.

Enjoy the country.

Have fun and be safe.

Oh, and do well with that studying thing! :P :)

:hi:

[hippywife]

16. If you have time tonight

get to a nearby bookstore and buy "Eat, Pray, Love," by Elizabeth Gilbert to read on your flight. It's the story of her travels. The first third of the book covers her reasons for traveling and her four months in Italy. Not a big book and it's a great read!

I'm half Italian and I am so jealous! I know I will never get to go. Enjoy!

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

24. I'm Italian American too!

Never say never. I never thought I'd have the chance to go to Africa in my life time, and I did, last May. So things happen when you least expect.

[hippywife]

43. I wish

you a wonderful and exciting trip, paesan!

[CTyankee]

5. God, you are lucky! I was in Italy in November. You will love it!

They have a different way of living. You will eat the best food you have ever had in your life!

Florence and northern Italy have fantastic food. Don't worry. Just go over and eat. I found restaurants just wandering around when I was there. You can't reallymiss!

Good luck! Do you speak Italian? It helps, because it's a big fat lie that all Italians speak English! (You will need Italian for directions, in particular, as they have a way of waving their hand and givingyou general directions which are pretty strange...).

[wildhorses]

6. is there anyway that

you could fold me up and put me in your suitcase:P


have fun:hi:

[Patiod]

7. You are so lucky!!!

I learned a lot of things, but the most embarrassing was when I asked about those little rainbow flags that say "Pace"

Found out it's pronounced "Pa-che" and they are anti-war statements. Was quick to say "hey - he's not MY President!"

[redwitch]

8. Yay for you!

You will have a typically boring and not quite comfy flight ( unless you are flying 1st class). But then you will be in ITALY! For FOUR MONTHS!
You are one lucky girl, I am officially jealous. :-)

[SoCalDem]

9. My son went to college there.. He LOVED it..

The arrow points to his apartment.


After a few weeks there I had to send him a HUGE "care package",. the selection of foods there was not what he was used to..

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

11. I'm worried about that too

I *was* a vegan and am still a vegetarian, so the lack of dairy substitutes may get to be a little annoying. Ah well!

[SoCalDem]

12. He wrote me and said "Mom if I had velveeta & real bacon I could be RICH "

His care package cost me $80 to mail it to him, and i found out that the little scamp SOLD the Cookie crisp for $1 a bowl, and he "marketed" the velveeta & oreos & peanut butter I sent him..

He did not cook much..but one tip from him, you might be interested in. He bought a cheapo bike to get around and gave it to his landlord's kid when he came home. They had a courtyard to park bikes in, and no one ever messed with it or stole it.

You will have a ball there.. don;t forget to take the trains all over europe every chance you get.. He liked Budapest the best :)

[graywarrior]

14. Awesome!

Have a great time, and keep us posted. Send us pictures!

[philosophie_en_rose]

18. Florence is beautiful.

But I would bring any special foods you like. I would also NOT take a laptop or expensive personal things that will weigh you down when you travel.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

27. Well I have to take a laptop...

for schoolwork... it's study abroad... but I have a small room/suite that I will be sharing with a friend, so it isn't like I always have all my things on me.

[GOPisEvil]

19. Have a great trip!

Visit the statue of me. :D :hi:

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

21. omg no way

i knew there was another statue to you somewhere. besides the one i have in my foyer...


i don't have a foyer, but if i did.

[CTyankee]

20. Oh, also. Be sure to eat the ribollita and the vin santo with contucci

Ribolitta is a bean soup that is a Tuscan favorite. Vin santo is a dessert wine, also served in Tuscany, which is strong but a bit sweet and is served with an almond cookie called "cantucci".
You could also try the "panna cotta" which is a dessert, literally "cooked cream." It is like custard only not so heavy. I had it in Rome and it was very light and served with a bit of chocolate syrup. It is very good; just a light "custard" made with heavy cream, unflavored gelatin, and honey. Oh god, it is good!

In Rome you might want to try the "trippa" which is tripe. I did. If you can get past the texture (rubbery) you might enjoy it. It certainly wasn't bad (I had it in a tomato sauce over pasta). In Tuscany, you might want to try to pig cheek which is a lot like pancetta!

Go to Lucca! It is a great little hill town in Tuscany. They don't even allow cars in the center of the town. The food is great; they have pasta that is yellow due to the fact that in the middle ages Lucca was such a rich town they had enough money to put eggs in their pasta. The food is magnificent there. Get on a train and go!

Perugia is a city that has great chocolate. If you have the chance, visit there. They have escalators to take you up to the city. The flagship Perugia Chocolate store is there. It is like Tiffany's but for chocolate! And there are other chocolate bars and stores there. It is great.

Enjoy!

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

23. thanks for the suggestions!

i'll definitely be trying some of those things... except the pig cheek & tripe, cause that's how us vegetarians do it. =)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

37. do they make anything WITHOUT tomatoes???

I am allergic to tomatoes. They make me feel like death warmed over the next day.

There has got to be Italian cooking WITHOUT pizza and calamari and shellfish.

[CTyankee]

44. I never thought about that, but there are some things

In Perugia, you can get a wonderful pasta tossed in their wonderful olive oil with finely shaved truffles on top. That's it, but it a fabulous tasting dish.

Vongole over linguine is wonderful. Great mixed fried vegetables. Rabbit meat sauce over pappardelle (excellent). Various stuffed ravioli in a cream sauce.

You won't starve in Italy if you can't eat tomatoes, but you'll be limited. Don't let that stop you. You cannot eat bad food in Italy, IMHO.

Now if you were allergic to olives, that would be another story...:hi:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

54. I don't like olives. I also can't eat shellfish. Regular fish is OK

Squid tastes like deep fried rubber bands.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

22. Have fun!

:hi:

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

25. thanks

why am i still up when i know i have to leave for newark in 4.5 hours?

[sasquatch]

26. Niccolo Machiavelli lived in Florence, does that help any?

:D

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

28. no

:P

[sasquatch]

29. How about a spanking like the one's I give Rev-Acts?

Just don't tell her I gave you one or she'll get jelous.
:D

[krispos42]

30. It's "Chicken King" they serve you on the airplane

Not "Chicken a lá King", or, with a different emphasis, "chicken Allah King!

If you do that, your journey will end early and unpleasantly.

Watch out for scooters, wear plenty of sunscreen, garlic is good so more garlic is better, Italy uses the Euro now, Kraft is not real parmesan cheese, and those onion rings are really fried calamari (squid).

Have fun and send us some lasagna! :-)

[sasquatch]

32. Isn't lasagna a southern Italian delicacy?

[krispos42]

35. Probably

My grandmother's Sicilian-decended, and she did all the cooking, so that't what I grew up on. I'm 3rd-generation on that side of the family, I think.

My mom made two pans of it when I was out there for the Christmas holiday. I think I ate at least four cubic yards of ricotta while I was there. And at least two gross of meatballs. Big, tennis-ball-sized meatballs. :-)

[usaftmo]

40. Did you get that from the tv show Titus?

That show is the first time I ran across that.

[name not needed]

31. Your plane will crash in the Alps, and you're gonna have to survive by

eating whatever corpses you find in the wreckage.

[sasquatch]

34. LOL!! Man that's evil

and I like it.}(

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

49. YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS

PWND.

[name not needed]

52. Fuck. The plane didn't crash.

Eh, theres always the flight back.

[sasquatch]

33. You can take your "Soprano's" & "The Godfather" DVD's

Since northern Italians look down on southern Italians they don't mind and in fact will find them entertaining. I usually get stone faced drunk before getting on a plane that way it ensures that I survive the crash. I know that doesn't make any sense but you ever notice that the drunk driver never seems to die in a car wreck, that's because they're all limbered up to absorb the impact. Wait you are of legal drinking age right?

[krispos42]

36. Psaw

Drunk people survive the crashes because they're usually the ones running the red lights and stop signs, T-boning the poor soccer moms in their minivans!

My grandfather had flown exactly twice (going and coming) in the past several decades, and both times my grandmother doped him up on I believe Sudafed and vodka for the flight. :evilgrin:

[Vidar]

38. Was there 27 years ago. Wish I had stayed.

[Eurobabe]

39. Hey MissHoneyChurch and I live in Germany, we'll come visit you!

I'm an architectural historian and Firenza is high on my hit list!!

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

50. do!

I want a DU in Florence meetup to take place in the future, haha.

[usaftmo]

41. Recently finshed a 2 year assignment in Italy near Venice.

1) Don't tip in restaurants. They have it already included in the check; it's called coperto.
2) Refills for any drink (including water) aren't free. My first meal in a restaurant I ordered soda
with 3 or 4 refills; the soda cost more than the meal!
3) When ordering Coke don't use that word; say Cola-Cola instead. From my experiences calling it
Coke is mainly done in the States. Outside the States the word Coke means cocaine.
4) The average Italian meal lasts 2-3 hours(see more below).
5) The kind of service in a restaurant takes time to get used to. The Italian waiter/waitress rarely
visits your table. You could be seated for 15-20 minutes easily before placing your order. Your
food could be ready in under 10 minutes, or it could take 45 minutes plus...you never know when
you'll get it. To make that more frustrating, the waiter/waitress won't give you a courtesy update
on when your food will be ready. When getting your food ask for a refill of your drink; you might
not see your waiter/waitress again! The check won't be brought to you; sometimes asking for it
won't help!
6) Dessert ordering is an adventure. The menu usually doesn't help(what's available changes rapidly).
Somewhere in the dining area is a large glass enclosure where they have the desserts. Simply go up
there and let the waiter/waitress know what you want.
7) Coffee as you know it doesn't exist in Italy. It's so strong imagine mixing gasoline and vinegar!
Making matters even more strange the cup is the size of a shot glass!
8) Since Italians take 2-3 hours for lunch stores are closed also. Here's a generic rule until you
memorize the hours of a store you like. Expect the store to be closed from 11:00 am to 2 or 3
in the afternoon.
9) Convenience stores don't exist in Italy.
10) Pizza as you know it doesn't exist in Italy. It's incredible, but popular toppings to Italians
surprise me. Eggplant, corn, peas, and the most shocking of all is tuna fish!

[usaftmo]

42. Florence = Firenze

Rome = Roma

Milan = Milano

Venice = Venezia

Tuscany = Toscana

Naples = Napoli

Sicily = Sicilia

[ghostsofgiants]

45. Don't forget, I want your mailing address when you get there.

You need socks!

[Courtesy Flush]

46. I'm going in April

My first trip abroad (took long enough! I'm 47!)

I'm really psyched about it.

[maxsolomon]

47. you want us to worry for you when we hate you?

i've never gone ANYWHERE for 4 months.

suck it up - plane flights are a miracle of modern life, and when the petroleum is burned up, it will take you 4 months to sail there & back.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

51. wow.

:eyes:

I even get anxiety when NOT flying, didn't really think asking for positive vibes would get such a sour response from anybody. I'm studying abroad, it's not like I'm made of money - it costs me less to study here than at my campus in New York.

ON EDIT: oh, and i don't know who you are... but i'm pretty sure in the six years i've been here, i've never been hated by anybody.

[Arugula Latte]

48. Green.With.Envy.Here.

That is my dream, to live in Italy for several months.

Have a great trip!!

[Pacifist Patriot]

53. Alert, alert! Green-Eyed Monster!

Haven't lived in Florence, only visited. I am sooo jealous.

I'm not a great flier myself. Sending you some virtual Valium. Heck, I can send you the real stuff if you want.