One of the biggest things to look forward to the most when traveling to Italy is easily the food and drinks! But, there are a number of rules to keep in mind when dining and drinking in Italy. Chris Atwood with See Italy has come up with "11 Rules For Eating In Italy", but our agents have thrown in an extra couple rules ourselves 😉  *Look for See Italy’s original article that is linked at the bottom of this post*

#1. Pasta portions are individual sized.
              Here in the United States, we have Americanized Italian plates to a crazy amount. Most Italian restaurants that we know, offer enormous portion sizes of their pastas that are easily big enough to share. This is NOT the case in Italy. The pasta in Italy, considered there as “Primo” is individually sized and this is not because the cook is being stingy. Italians like to stagger their meals. They eat their appetizers first, then their pasta and THEN their main entrée. By keeping their pasta dish to a smaller size, Italians hold on to their appetites long enough to full enjoy all courses without feeling too stuffed. Leaving room for plenty Tiramisu for dessert!

#2. The pizza toppings are totally different in Italy.
              When ordering a Pepperoni Pizza in Italy, you will get a pizza pie covered in peppers. Why? Because pepperoni in Italy means ‘bell peppers’. Pizza originated in Italy, but again, we have Americanized the Italian Pizza to a crazy amount. For example, BBQ chicken pizza, Hawaiian pizza & yes, even the pepperoni pizza originated here in the United States. NOT Italy. The traditional pizzas found in Italy will be the Margherita (mozzarella, tomato & basil), the Marinara (which is just crust & tomato sauce), the Quattro Formaggi (white pizza with four types of cheese), and the Capricciosa (artichokes, ham, mushrooms, and black olives). So keep this in mind when going to order your favorite pizza pie in Italy!

#3. You do not need to order the whole menu.
              As noted above, Italians stagger the way they eat. Enjoying the antipasta before moving on to first course (pasta/risotto/soup). The second course is either a meat or fish dish. This is why you will NEVER see a meat or fish entrée served on the same plate as your pasta. Italians consider these as two separate dishes that should be enjoyed separately, with the pasta being served before the main dish. Insider tip: Split your antipasta and then order either a pasta or an entrée. If you are STILL hungry, you can always go back for more 😉
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#4. ONLY drink wine or water at a restaurant.
              We come from a land with AT LEAST five drinks choices being offered on almost any menu here in the States. At many sit-down restaurants, Italians will only sip on two drinks; wine and water. The wine in Italy will be served in chilled glass bottles and will usually cost about 2 euros per bottle. The waiter will usually ask you if you want “acqua naturale” which is flat mineral water or “acqua frizzante” which is fizzy mineral water also known as sparkling water. Do not ask for tap water, most restaurants will refuse to serve that to you. House wines can be ordered by the liter and are usually the same price as the water! Most will offer wine by the bottle also.

#5. Oil & vinegar are the only salad dressings offered.
              “Italian dressing” in Italy does not exist. That salad dressing was (yes, you guessed it) Americanized as well! When ordering a salad in Italy, the waiter will bring extra virgin olive oil and vinegar to the table or “olio e aceto”. This is the only way Italians eat insalata. Another fun fact! Italians will absolutely not dip their bread into olive oil and balsamic. 

#6. No bread before pasta!
              With foods like pizza, pasta and focaccia most think that Italians eat nothing BUT carbs. This is actually not the case. When ordering pasta, Italians would never consider eating their bread before their bucatini. The bread that is served at restaurants is used to scoop up the leftover pasta sauce onto your plate and ONLY when you are finished consuming the pasta.
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#7. There are no such things as “doggy bags” to bring leftovers with you.
              Italians love fresh, homemade meals. They do not appreciate leftovers the way we do here in the states. You must be careful not to over order while dining in Italy. The pasta that is left on your plate will be taken away and not returned back to you. So, enjoy the food that is in front of you while you can but do not expect to take it home with you. 
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#8. Some dishes will not exist in all of Italy.
              Rome is world famous for Carbonara. Florence is known for its Fagioli and Venetians go crazy for their risotto. Wherever you travel in Italy, each region will provide you their own flavors. So the food you enjoy in Rome will not necessarily resemble what you enjoy in Sorrento. Insider tip: before heading to Italy, do some research as to the local specialties in each of the places that you will be staying.
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#9. Cheese does not always go on your dish.
              It is not customary to ask for grated cheese on top of your dish. Sprinkling grated cheese on pasta dishes and Italian entrees is yet again a very American thing to do. Unless your waiter offers you a spoonful of grated cheese, do not ask for it. It is not meant to be on that dish or it will be offered after it is served.
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#10. Enjoy a caffe or digestive after dinner.
              Only foreigners will order a cappuccino with or after dinner in Italy. Italians would much rather order a caffe or macchiato after savoring a full, slow meal. Cappuccino’s are filled with milk and cream and is considered much too heavy after consuming a bunch of carbs. It is also very common to order a caffe corretto after dining, which is a shot of espresso spiked with liqueur. Insider tip: NEVER pass up on dessert while in Italy.

#11. Ask for your bill, when YOU want it.
              Here in the States, we are so accustomed to the waiter bringing us our check when we are finished dining. This is not the case in Italy. The waiters in Italy want you to sit and enjoy your meal and do not want to hurry you out the door. Instead, they will wait for you to ask for the bill (which you can simply do so by flagging them down and requesting the “il conto”  when you are ready to pay because they do not want to rush you out the door.
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#12. Peel your fruits and vegetables.
              Italians do not consume fruits and vegetables with the skin on them. They will always peel the skin off first. Many think that this is because Italians think the pesticides are unhealthy but most will say that this is because of tradition. If you start to bite into a fruit that still has the skin on it, you will most likely have the fruit ripped from your hand and the skin cut off for you by a local. Don’t get embarrassed this way 😉

#13. Arrive late to any dinner party or dining event.    
              It is considered rude in Italy to arrive early or on time to a dinner event. Italians will always try and arrive just a tad after the planned time as to not rush the host or chef. 

​Below you can find pictures shared by Travel Consultant Julie Skrainka, who travelled to Sorrento back in May. She & her husband, Alan spent an evening at their Agriturismo making pizzas with their host Natalia, her mother-in-law and her husband Luigi. Once Julie & her husband were finished creating their pizza masterpieces, Luigi then baked them in their own beautiful wood-fired oven. 

​This summer I went on a 4 night Jamaica getaway to Secrets Wild Orchid with my friend Libby.
 
Secrets Wild Orchid shares their property with Secrets St. James. Each resort has their own set of rooms and their own main pool areas but they share the restaurants and the entertainment. You have access to both properties! 

​There is also a Preferred Club room section at each resort which offers an additional exclusive pool area and some extra amenities. With Preferred Club room status you also have access to the Breathless resort nearby. 

​I really enjoyed the nightly entertainment at Secrets and the fun activities at the pool. There was always something going on for us to take part in, especially in the evenings. We met a great group of people who we quickly became friends with!! Couldn't complain about the delicious drinks either!

​St. Louis was my home for more than 40 years and during that time, I used Brentwood Travel for several of my world travels.  Even though I now live in Florida, I still received excellent service from  Travel Consultant Ashley Curry as I began planning a trip to Europe.  In August of 2018, my wife Sue and I embarked on a wonderful 14-day river cruise across Europe from Amsterdam to Budapest aboard the Avalon Waterways ship Illumination. 

​We flew into Amsterdam and flew home from Budapest. At the Amsterdam airport we were met by the Avalon driver at the huge red and white checkered meeting place in the middle of the airport.  Very easy to find the spot!  Working with customs in Amsterdam and Budapest was very easy. They looked at our passport, asked us where we were going, stamped our passport and told us to “have a nice vacation”.  It took no time at all.

​​​We were immediately driven to our beautiful hotel, the Room Mate.  Even though it was five hours before check-in time, they cleaned our room for us and we were settled in by 10:30 AM.  Our hotel sat right on the harbor in the very heart of Amsterdam and we were able to walk everywhere we needed to go.
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​The next day our Avalon Waterways ship was tied up a mere 150 yards from our hotel’s front door. An Avalon representative picked up our luggage in the hotel lobby and when we checked into our room on the ship later that afternoon, there was our luggage already in our stateroom. Great service!
 
We can’t say enough good things about the crew and staff of the Illumination. They were friendly, fun and very helpful. Dining was always a pleasure because you were treated like royalty by the waiters. We all laughed at all the knives and forks and spoons set before us. I never quite figured our which fork or spoon to use with each course. The waiter was always switching my forks and spoons around because I’d use the wrong one. I should have brushed up on my table manners before I went. Fortunately no one else knew any more than I did.  It was fun!  
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​The ship was beautiful, modern, clean as a pin, and comfortable. We loved our nice big room with the queen bed facing the huge wall of windows. We saw dozens of cruise ships on our trip, and I can honestly say that our ship, the Illumination, was one of the most attractive ships on the river.

Life on an Avalon cruise is sightseeing at a laidback pace, and we liked that. No need to ever dress up and everything is casual.  The only dress requirement was to wear slacks to dinner instead of shorts. Sue and I each packed a small 24” roll on suitcase, and we had more than enough clothes for the entire cruise. We did send out our laundry twice on the cruise to the ships laundry service, and it came back beautifully hung on hangers.
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​I had bought a square electric power adapter for our iPhone charger and our electric toothbrush, but it didn’t fit into the round electric outlets on the ship. Not to worry, the ship loaned me the correct adaptor. Furthermore, there were two USB connectors on the light switch next to our bed into which we plugged our iPhones each night to charge. That was unexpected and very convenient. 

I love visiting cathedrals and beautiful churches. I have seen cathedrals all over England, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain, but I have never seen anything more beautiful that some of the churches I saw on this cruise. I was blown away.  One of my favorite churches was the Alte Kapelle (translates to“old church) in Regensburg, Germany. It was plain on the outside but step inside and we saw this Bavarian Rococo style church built in the 18th century.  I really enjoyed getting to hear the organ being played.
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​We loved sitting at the stern of the ship each afternoon and watch the world go by. Our ship could hold about 150 people but there were only 100 of us on board, so you could always find a nice quiet spot to yourself.  The lounge was the spot everyone came to in the late afternoon at happy hour. There we would catch up with our friends and hear from the cruise director what was in store the next day.
 
We were always kept well informed. Each morning a schedule of the day’s activities was slipped under our door early in the morning, showing us what was in store for that particular day. When we went on a walking tour, the tour guide spoke into a small wireless transmitter, and each of us wore a small receiver with an earphone so we could always clearly hear what our tour guide was saying, even in a crowded space.
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​​People were friendly everywhere we went and everyone spoke English. I had my iPhone translator app and never needed it.  Sue accidentally left her purse on her chair in a restaurant, and the waiter chased us down the street to return her purse. We loved the restaurants we ate in. Most menus were in English, but the waiters helped us understand those that had no English translation.
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​If you are the athletic type, the ship had plenty of bicycles you could borrow to go off on your own if you wished. We had one group of a dozen passengers that biked on a bike path along the river for about 18 miles. The ship only goes about 7 miles per hour, so they could outrun us on their bikes. 

The best views were always up on the observation deck sitting in the shade. And what beautiful views they were. I never tired of looking at the scenery. I live in southern Florida where there are no hills at all. This type of vacation is relaxing, unlike some vacations I’ve had that the moment I got home I felt I needed another vacation to rest up on. It’s ok to sit all day and do nothing and go nowhere and just watch the world roll by.  One day we did just that and went off the ship on our own into town for an hour and that was just enough.  You can be as active or restful as you want to be. You pretty much control your days. 
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​If you go to Vienna, do yourself a favor and include the evening of classical music option Avalon offers. Even if you think you don’t really like classical music, you will enjoy the evening of music and ballet.  You must not leave Vienna without having attended a classical concert. We loved it. They gave each of us a CD of the evening’s performance. I’ve listened to it over and over since I got home. Dress was casual, leave the tux at home. I sat there thinking “my daughter Allison used to play this music when she was a violinist in the orchestra in college.” 
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​There was just issue we encountered but it was handled very well. Europe was so hot this summer (record heat) that the river water levels got so low that all ship traffic was halted in places. About four days into our trip we were told we would have to change ships because of low water conditions on the rivers we were to travel. Thanks to some heavy rains in Switzerland on day, we only had to change ships once, but we did spend the last two days of the trip on very nice Mercedes-Benz buses and staying in hotels. Mother nature always has the last word on river travel!
 
The hotels they arranged for us were five star, fabulous and beautiful. The fact that Avalon is part of the Globus organization explains why we were able to be placed into such nice hotels with a few days notice. They arranged for all our meals and gave us money to have dinner on our own in Budapest. Avalon went above and beyond to keep us comfortable and preserve our trip agendas.  I have absolutely no complaints about how Avalon handled this situation of not being on the ship for the entire cruise. 
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​​No detail was left to chance. Everything was always perfectly organized. Our busses were on time, guides were always ready, and nothing felt rushed or unorganized. When I do another river cruise, I know I will choose Avalon Waterways.
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This trip of a lifetime began when my aunt and uncle came to me for help planning their cruise to Alaska. As we got further into the planning process, my cousin and I decided to book our own room and tag along!

Vancouver

We started our trip by flying into Vancouver two days before our cruise was scheduled to depart. We stayed at the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel which was in a great location for exploring the city. To see some of the beautiful scenery in the surrounding area, we booked a small group tour with a local guide. He took us North to Squamish, where we were able to see Shannon Falls, the Sea to Sky Gondola, and the famous suspension bridges. 

​Scenic Cruising

Our first full day on the ship was a day at sea. We decided to hangout on the top deck and enjoy the sunny weather while keeping an eye out for whales and dolphins. That evening we cruised through the inside passage, and the crew opened up the bow of the ship so we could all get a great view as we sailed forward! We then went to dinner in the main dining room and got a table next to a window to continue enjoying the passing scenery. 

Ketchikan

The first port we visited was Ketchikan, where we booked an excursion to go sea kayaking. Ketchikan is known for being the rainiest city in Alaska, and even though there was a light rain falling when we started our tour, the guides were prepared with rain gear that kept us completely dry as we paddled through the peaceful coves! After our kayaking adventure, we walked through the famous Creek Street. The sun came out and we had perfect weather as we did some shopping and sampled local beers. We then returned to the ship and spotted lots of eagles as we sailed on to our next port! 

Juneau

Our next stop was Juneau, Alaska’s capitol city. We started or day by visiting the famous Mendenhall Glacier. We took a leisurely hike down to the lake for a closer view of the glacier and Nugget Falls.

​Our next adventure in Juneau was an excursion that I had been looking forward to for months. We had decided to splurge and book a helicopter tour to a dogsled camp on top of a glacier, and it was definitely worth it! The helicopter ride took about 15 minutes each way, and the views from the sky were stunning. When we landed at the dogsled camp, the workers there gave us an insight to their way of life and let us meet some of their sled dogs. (As an animal lover, I was in heaven!) They hooked up a sled and we took off on a ride around the snow-covered glacier. I was happy to see how much the dogs loved running through the snow, and we could see that they were well taken care of by their handlers. This tour was very well done and was a highlight of the trip!

​Skagway

Our next port was Skagway, which is known for the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. We had planned to take the famous train excursion, but there was a landslide the night before and the railroad was closed for repairs. Instead, we took a bus tour up the Klondike Highway (which runs parallel to the train route) and had a great time! Our local driver made multiple stops for us to get out and take pictures of the beautiful scenery, and we spotted a family of bears hanging out right next to the highway. 

​We spent the rest of the day hiking a local trail, sampling the local breweries, and walking around the historic town before heading back to the ship.

Denali

When we arrived in Seward, we were sad to leave the ship, but excited to head up to Denali! We boarded a motor coach and began the drive North. We were able to stop at Potter Marsh for some free time and wildlife watching, and then we continued our drive. As we approached the park, our driver stopped at a scenic viewing point and we got our first look at the massive Denali Mountain! We then arrived at the impressive McKinley Chalet, which would be our home for the next 3 nights.  

​Because we booked a Triple Denali tour, we had another day in the park to do whatever we wanted! We decided to go whitewater rafting, and even though the water was freezing, our wetsuits kept us warm and dry. Our experienced guide told us fun stories about his life in Alaska and kept us safe as we paddled through the rapids. After our exciting rafting tour, we took a relaxing hike that followed a river and led us to a scenic mountainside with a whole family of caribou. 

​After our adventure in Denali, we boarded the McKinley Explorer for our scenic train ride back to Anchorage. The dome windows gave us great visibility as we traveled through the mountains. There were lots of food and drink options available onboard and we had a guide that gave us information about the areas we were passing through. This was a fun and comfortable way to make the 8-hour journey!

Anchorage
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We had one night in Anchorage, and then our flight home was late the next day. We had lots of fun walking around town, shopping, and trying out more local breweries! I was glad that we had free time to explore this unique town before heading back to reality. 

​Overall, this was an amazing vacation! Holland America did a fantastic job of helping us experience Alaska by land and sea. The transition from the ship to Denali was seamless and very well organized. Each employee we met was so kind and helpful, and I would highly recommend Holland America for anyone who wants to visit Alaska. Many people consider this a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but we enjoyed it so much that I know I’ll be back again someday!