When in Rome....

The Spanish Steps in Rome

It astonishes me to observe that, in this day and age when travel is so common, people are less and less aware of the customs and cultures of people around the world. With a few keystrokes a person can find out a million things about a locality with respects to preferences, etiquette and behavioral and social quirks.

But it seems that people misunderstand the term "When in Rome...".
They take it to mean "follow the local customs", which it partially means, but they fail to grasp that it also implies the need to also follow local habit and attitude as they follow the customs. To understand the reason for the customs.

Trevi Fountain

I saw so many "ugly Americans" in Italy. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors. They want to travel the world, but they want the world to be exactly like their home. Every person must speak English, every restaurant must serve hotdogs or hamburgers, and manners are wasted on those unlike yourself. When is it ever acceptable to stop in the middle of the sidewalk when there are obviously people walking behind you? According to the ridiculous americans (they don't deserve capitalization at the moment) anytime you feel lost or see something interesting its perfectly acceptable to stop in the middle of the street, sidewalk, etc.



Colosseum

I suggest...
Don't stop at drinking café and having a pastry for breakfast when in Italy or France. Take the time to understand that the large meal of the day is lunch and so the breaking of the overnight fast is light and fast but includes caffeine and carbs to power you through to lunch. And that lunch is not the largest meal only so that people can hide from the noon sun. It is a time to relax and share a meal with those closest to you.



Pantheon

Don't just go to a site because it was suggested on a travel website. Understand the significance of the places you visit. Ask the locals their impression of it. And by all means ask them where you should go and what you should see. And if they ask to take you somewhere or feed you: let them!

And I just realized there is no actual food so this really is a foodless journey post, but I will return in a few days with a review of FOOD SHOULD TASTE GOOD chip/crackers.

Beautiful, but random view in Fiesole, Florence