Before You Go to Italy...

Italy is by far and away one of the best places to visit! But before you go, here's a list of things I experienced that I didn't hear about in any guidebooks:

1. Never order more food than you can eat

I'm not sure you'll be able to help it, because Italian restaurants have big servings, but it's best to eat everything on your plate. One girl in our group ordered a sandwich, which turned out to be too much for her, but when she asked if she could have a box to take it back with her, it offended the restaurant owner. At pizzerias you can take pizza back and it doesn't offend them - at least, we didn't offend anyone when we had leftover pizza - but in some of the nicer restaurants, it's only polite to eat everything.

2. No, everyone does not speak English

I remember hearing in America that, no matter where you go in Europe, everyone speaks English, and that does not apply to Italy. In one restaurant, they gave us English menus but the waitress had to have an Italian menu with her so she could understand what we were ordering. Other places, they had to write down the amount for dinner so we knew how much we had to pay - and this was in the historical, probably-very-touristy part of Orvieto. There were plenty of places where they spoke English, but just as often as not we were in places where no one spoke enough English for us to easily communicate with. After all, English isn't their language - Italian is. 

3. Even if they don't speak English, they will know you're American

You don't even have to open your mouth to be identified as an American in Italy. Enough said.

4. Italy is a beautifully hospitable country

In America, we eat to keep going. We eat in the car, we eat quickly, and we eat anything as long as it's cheap. Not so in Italy - restaurants only open for dinner at around 7:30, and when you make a reservation, you can keep the table you reserve until the restaurant closes. Italians love to savor dinnertime as a social event; in the restaurants, they don't bring you the bill quickly and try to hurry you on your way. They take pride in their hospitality, and they treat their guests very, very well - even if they don't speak English.

We stayed in a hotel that is advertised as a 3-star hotel, and frankly, it would put most American 5-star hotels to shame. With a small staff - I only remember seeing four staff members - they laid out a scrumptious, even lavish breakfast every morning, made reservations for us at restaurants, and generally treated all their guests better than most expensive hotels do in America. Americans tend to award stars based on glass fountains and the size of rooms, but the service in a 3-star Italian hotel far outstripped any service in an American 5-star hotel.

5. Waiting in line in Italy is not the same as waiting in line in America

I found this out for myself several times: cutting in line is more acceptable in Italy than in America. In Florence I was in line for gelato and had to check my phone; when I looked up, a grown woman had just crowded right in front of me. At the Epiphany nativity in Orvieto, everyone was crowding their way through with no regard to who was there first. At the airport, even, when waiting in line to check in, somebody just plopped his stuff down right in front of one of the professors. I think in America, cutting in line is one of the few offenses we take seriously, but it didn't seem that way in Italy.

6. Go to Orvieto

And set aside at least three days to explore it. I've been there twice, and I haven't seen everything the city has to offer. It is the loveliest, most interesting, most under-advertised city you can ever stay in. I'm not sure what else I can say on the matter - Orvieto defies words. For that matter, it defies pictures. Simply put, if you are going to Italy and you can only go to one city, go to Orvieto. For that matter, if you can only go to one foreign city, go to Orvieto. You will not be disappointed. Orvieto is magic.

7. You will not want to leave

Be it Orvieto, Florence, Assisi, or Rome (or Venice, for that matter) you will not want to leave Italy. It is a unique and beautiful country that no one can ever adequately describe. I've heard hundreds of comments on Michelangelo, the Coliseum, the Pantheon, the leather market, the Cathedral of St. Francis, and so on, and so forth, but there is something about Italy that no description can ever fully capture.