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Three weeks in Northern Italy
Random thoughts on Italy

Here are some random things I learned while riding in Italy:

There is no tipping in Italian restaurants. Instead, there is a "Coperto," or table charge if you decide to sit down at a bar or restaurant. This charge, usually a Euro or two, is simply added to the bill.

I was amazed that I never saw trash along the roadway. If I looked closely, I could see cigarette butts but rarely anything else. Often, I would pass places, like bus stops or alcoves along the road, where I expected to see some and didn't.

Unlike the U.S., I didn't see any banana peels on bike paths or along bike routes.

All businesses, other than restaurants and bars, close at noon and stay closed for several hours.

Italy is one of the countries where you have to weigh your fruit and vegetables and attach a sticky price tag to them before going to the cashier.

Most markets supply a plastic glove for you to wear when you touch fruit and vegetables.

McDonald's outlets are all over Italy. The brand is so strong that some stores carry McDonald's labeled catchup, mustard and mayonnaise.

I was talking with one of my couchsurfing hosts when he said he was confused about the difference between the word "beach" and the word "bitch."

You have to carry receipts from stores in case police stop you with purchased goods. If you have no receipt, the shop owner gets in trouble for trying to avoid the VAT. This is particularly important if you buy something from an open market stall.

Italian drivers were very courteous. They would stop to let me cross the street as soon as I approached a crosswalk.

I was not honked at once in the three weeks I was riding in Italy.

It seems as if every restaurant has its own unique bottle of water. I always ordered bottled water when I ate in a restaurant. I didn't see a bottle of water labelled the same way twice!

Italians always say Prego (you're welcome) in response to Grazie (thank you). Always.

When greeting people on the street, "Buongiorno" can be shorted to "Giorno" without loss of meaning.

Italians are very hospitable. I didn't pay for a single dinner that I have had with an Italian host.

The bike paths I rode on were very well signed.

Broccoli is never on the menu, even at Chinese restaurants.

Do not expect to find public toilets in Italy.

Toilets available to customers, in bars or shopping malls, are usually ones you have to stand over. They are flat porcelain troughs with two foot prints where you stand. They require some thought to use properly.

One way to spice up lunch by the side of the road is to buy small jars of pesto sauce and use it as a spread on fresh bread. It also goes good with cheese.

There is nothing quite as refreshing as eating a bag of popcorn by the side of the road.

Expect to be passed by hundreds of loud, speeding motorcyclists when riding on the weekend.

Every town will have a statue of either Garibaldi or Cavour.

Mussolini's shadow is still visible in Italy.

Italian highways will rarely have shoulders.

There was not a way to distinguish on the maps I had between local roads that were paved and those that were dirt. For the most part, dirt roads were well graded and easy to ride.

There are a lot of local bike paths that don't show up on any map. It is worthwhile checking at Tourist Information offices for them.

Not all lake ferries take bicycles.

You can get a cup of espresso (and a container of hot water to make a full cup of American coffee) and a chocolate filled croissant for 2 Euros at any bar first thing in the morning.

Restaurants in Switzerland are very expensive, but food in stores is much more reasonably priced. The 2 Euro coffee and croissant in Italy is 5 Euros in Switzerland.

Conductors didn't seem to care where I put my bike on the train.

Hotel breakfasts start at 7am and usually contained enough food to eat (even for a vegetarian) to serve as solid biking meal.

Swiss National Bike Routes are well marked, but this doesn't mean that they will be on smooth, paved roads.

Lights are required when riding in tunnels.



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