Helpful “How To” Articles for Your Italian Vacation

I don’t know if it’s because we’re in the midst of the busy summer tourist season in Italy or what, but a couple blogs I read have recently written “How To” posts about various things in Italy. These are some that I find not only interesting, but useful:

• How to Cross an Italian Street – Anyone who has walked through a busy Italian city will know why this lesson is a valuable one to learn by reading someone else’s tips rather than trying to learn by doing. The former might seem like learning by abstract theory, but the latter could get you killed. The tips in this piece are excellent, but I’d add one more – when in doubt, shadow an elderly Italian woman. They always seem to have the right of way.
• How to Avoid a Pickpocket – This is certainly useful beyond Italy, and I’m not trying to insinuate that everyone who goes to Italy gets pickpocketed (I’ve never had a thing stolen, or even an attempt made), but for anyone who’s at all nervous about it, these are great tips. There’s also some good reminders in there about what to do before you even leave home to go on vacation.
• How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy – While the two points above could be dangerous and/or life-threatening, ordering coffee is certainly on the lighter side of things. Coffee is, however, so central to Italian life that it doesn’t hurt to get up to speed on what the Italians drink. There are pictures and excellent descriptions for each type of coffee drink listed, so you can decide which ones you want to try during your trip. And although I’ve always heard that ordering a cappuccino at any time other than with breakfast is considered very un-Italian, I recently read an article which suggests that might not always be the case.