« fare la spesa / to shop for groceries | Main | cartolina da Palermo: caciocavallo all'Argentiera / postcard from Palermo »

October 09, 2007

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Joanna

Fascinating. I didn't know you should keep the receipt so long!

This time last year we spent a day in Bergamo, which is - as you say - a lovely city, worth visiting for a week

Thanks
Joanna
joannasfood.blogspot.com

Peter

Greece can be the same way with receipts. Tax evasion is a national sport and the police want to ensure the proprietor is collecting AND paying VAT with the coffee sales.

Also, the European way of drinking coffee is so civilized....slow down people~!

Maryann

Very interesting about there being no "to go". It makes sense. In the home, we also say "demitasse" when we talk about espresso, but maybe that word has to do with the size of the cup? Great post, Simona.

Katie

It's much the same in Spain, and the coffee is equally wonderful! No one goes for more than 3 hours without stopping for a coffee. Even the bus from Andorra to Barcelona (a 3 hour trip) stopped for a coffee half way.

Kevin

In Europe, I find 'to go' coffee is downright dangerous, even when they DO do it. Worst I can recall is a melty tall plastic cup of coffee, grounds piled at the bottom, scalding hot at a road-side meat stand in Poland. Hot drinks. Flimsy plastic cups. Not so good. But I DO have quite a few pictures of me in Italy downing my daily shot of espresso. Good post!

Simona Carini

Hi Joanna. I am so glad to read you have visited Bergamo and you liked it.

Peter, I agree with you: slow down is the right advice.

Thanks, Maryann. I think demitasse is a French way of indicating the size of the cup.

Hi Katie: I love the story of the coffee stop!

Kevin, your description of the 'to go' coffee in Poland sounds scary. Better keep to the ceramic cups, I think.

Lisa

I so enjoyed reading your post. I love learning all the little details that you include. And isn't it also true that no Italian would drink coffee with milk, except in the morning? I can't think how gauche I must've been in Florence, drinking cappuccinos (and decaf ones, at that) in the afternoon!

Peggasus

Hi there ~

When I lived in Rome after college, my Italian boyfriend Gianni was always mortified when I insisted on ordering a cappucino at any other time than in the morning. He said it made me look like a 'turista.' My blonde hair was already a dead give-away, though.

I did like 'un caffe con un po' di grappa' on occasion though.

I like your blog - Italian is such a beautiful language, and it's coming back to me now.

the chocolate lady

This is so evocative of so many coffees so deeply enjoyed. I did not know the law about keeping the receipt when I was in Italy. Fortunately, I was not stopped!

Simona Carini

Lisa, I must confess that I sometimes order a decaf cappuccino in the afternoon, as a snack. I would not say it is typical, but I think it is OK. Drinking a cappuccino at the end of a meal is definitely something no Italian would do.

Hi Peggasus and welcome. Caffè corretto con grappa is indeed a classic.

Eve, I was also never stopped for a receipt. I think now the controls are not as frequent as they were soon after the law was passed.

Melanie

When I lived in northern Italy 1999-2003, I did notice a number of locals ordering cappuccino in the afternoon, usually at a sit-down bar/pasticceria to go with their little snack. As you say though, never after a meal, and never in the evening.

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Your Information

(Name is required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)

briciole di italiano

  • The words and images on this blog are small fragments (briciole | brɪCHōle ) I let fall to entice you to follow me, a peripatetic food storyteller.

    Contact: simosite AT mac DOT com
Privacy Policy
Get new posts via email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
follow us in feedly

briciole on Facebook