Every year millions of tourists plan to visit Italy for different reasons – sightseeing, food, culture, etc. If you are one of them, you have probably already read one or more tourist guides to prepare yourself for the trip. Despite this, you could still ignore some useful information.
PARKING
If you’re hiring a car, for example, you should know that parking lot lines have different colors in Italy. They can be yellow, pink, blue or white. What’s the difference? Well, yellow lines are reserved for disabled – remember to place a handic
apped parking permit on the dashboard. However, in big cities yellow lines mean also that parking is restricted to residents only. Pink lines are both for pregnant women, and for women travelling with children up to one year old. Blue lines are for everyone. However, if you want to park there, you have to pay a ticket and place it on your dashboard. Finally, white lines are free for everyone. If you manage to park there, especially in big cities, you’re probably luckier than Gladstone Gander. Anyway, be aware that the majority of white parking lots come with time limits. So, remember to place a parking disk on your dashboard before getting off your car. What if you park in the wrong lot? You’ll probably get a fine or, worse, a fine plus Denver boot/clamp.
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Instead,
if you’re planning to travel by public transportation, remember to buy tickets before getting on it because they aren’t sold on-board. Besides, if you take buses or trams, you have to validate tickets as soon as you get on them. By contrast, if you take a train or the subway, you have to validate tickets before getting on them. One last piece of advice: don’t worry or get irritated if transportation isn’t on time. This is very common in Italy, especially with trains. The only thing you’ll get worrying too much is just a headache!
BUYING SOUVENIRS
During your holiday, you may want to buy some souvenirs for friends and family. Credits and debit cards aren’t always accepted in public places. So, remember to always bring some cash with you.
KISSING
Finally, don’t worry if your friends and family greet you with a kiss on each cheek. This is perfectly normal in Italy and, in these cases, you’re expected to do the same. However, be aware that you shouldn’t give them a real kiss – this might be considered inappropriate. Instead, you should put your cheek next to theirs and make only the sound of a kiss – no saliva involved.
More tips in the next weeks -> Part 2; Part 3.
And you? Have you already visited Italy? Feel free to share your thoughts below.
Also men kiss each other on their cheeks as a greeting. The first time I was really shocked. Nowadays I’m more used to it. I also understand now women complaining about guys that don’t shaved themselves :-)
Hi Rob, thanks for reading. Travelling is a real way to open up one’s mind, isn’t it? ;-)