In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Nice idea..........
I would send back to the yUK the openness and friendlyness of the Itailans......and have them send back a sense of urgency :yes:
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I would like the Italians to learn not to all speak at once! The number of meetings I have attended where one poor sole dares to offer their opinion only to face a room full of alternative opinions all spoken at once is beyond belief and the noise level and arm waving is incredible!
In return I would send to the UK the Italian openess and always being so willing help - as they keep saying "that's what neighbours are for" - a sentiment sadly lost in the UK.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
queue like the british! That is so right! My husband and I were talking about that the other night. I would certainly bring to Italy the will of doing the right thing without taking a shortcut, Italians always feel smarter thatn their neighbour and that is such a bad thing.
and I would bring in the Uk italian tilers and plummers... so much neater!!
They also say that in Glasgow you can't find a decent fish and chip anymore as all the italians are now lawyers and doctors... so maybe a new wave of immigration is needed!
Paola
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
A great question. So [I]many[/I] things come to mind - both 'here to there and vice.versa.'
But the top two (for me)
From the UK to Italy:
"First come - first served... Get in the queue!" :realmad:
From Italy to the UK:
"Sitting down to 'family meals' - [I][U]every[/U][/I] day! :yes:
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
From Italy to the UK:
Good coffee, particularly cappuccinos.
From the UK to Italy
A good cup of tea that doesn't taste like medicine.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Italy -> UK: respect
UK -> Italy: pavements
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=pigro;89028]Italy -> UK: respect
UK -> Italy: pavements[/quote]
Pavements? What a surprising suggestion! Modern pedestrian-safety thought is moving against these people lanes, and putting the people back into the traffic. There is a wonderful chap in Holland (I think, it just might be Denmark) who has persuaded a number of towns in his own and neighbouring countries to do away with pavements altogether, and reduced road deaths considerably.
One of the greatest pleasures of travelling in the deep South of Italy was going back in time to the days when nonna with her shopping, or nonno with his whellbarrow were kings of the road, and the traffic entirely respectfully waits until they (and the chickens and sheep) have cleared the road for the vulgar internal combustion engines to pass.
Anyway, they only work as extra car-parking....:laughs:
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=Charles Phillips;89032]Pavements? What a surprising suggestion! Modern pedestrian-safety thought is moving against these people lanes, and putting the people back into the traffic. There is a wonderful chap in Holland (I think, it just might be Denmark) who has persuaded a number of towns in his own and neighbouring countries to do away with pavements altogether, and reduced road deaths considerably.
One of the greatest pleasures of travelling in the deep South of Italy was going back in time to the days when nonna with her shopping, or nonno with his whellbarrow were kings of the road, and the traffic entirely respectfully waits until they (and the chickens and sheep) have cleared the road for the vulgar internal combustion engines to pass.
Anyway, they only work as extra car-parking....:laughs:[/quote]
Yes, I've seen the 'new' traffic flow idea (Prince Charles pet project of poundbury I think?) but it majored on less signage, road markings etc and I think still had "pavements" i.e. demarcated areas for pedestrian traffic. I agree with what you say in principle, but it's a big ask. Meantime, I'd like to be able to walk to the village without risking life & limb!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I am a simple soul living a paired down life here in Italy so I would take to UK "the everyday foods we eat in Italy" and bring back "the Charity shops"!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
To the UK from Italy ; cappucino cups , instead of the buckets they use there you end up drinking coloured slightly flavoured milk.
And lots of sunshine , Family's having at least lunch or dinner together .
From the UK to Italy , Branston pickle, people waiting for there turn (not jumping in front all the time ) getting service in places run by the state .
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I haven't been here long enough yet to miss anything about the U.K, except friends and family.
I do miss Marmite, but I beleive you can get it.
To U.K the surprising friendly manner the teenagers display here
To Italy English humour
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
To uk; good food at an affordable price ALL our local(uk) pubs have vile gastro menu that the staff can not understand or prepare!I've never had a bad meal in Italy!! Neighbours that act like they care, and Venice!!
To Italy: Charity shops, birds that don't avoid humans and The Archers.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
To England - the probability of finding free parking nearly everywhere. They've just done away with the last bit of free parking in our UK town centre. It's in a tourist area but it must put tourists off as it's so expensive now.
To Italy - I have to agree with others and say charity shops. They are my major source of retail therapy (sad isn't it).
pam
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I'm surprised to hear so many listings of queuing. In my experience it looks worse than it is. The post office always has the 2 sections, for banking and posting. At our post offices here anybody coming into a full room will ask who is the last person for his particular counter and will then proceed to a corner of the room, a seat or an acquaintance he has spotted. Once you've worked that out it works perfectly well and is a much more sociable event than stubbornly standing in an ordered queue.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
The bank nearest me you have to take a ticket when you arrive so a queue there. In the Post Office only a few people queueing before me, so no problem there.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=Heiko;89061] anybody coming into a full room will ask who is the last person for his particular counter and will then proceed to a corner of the room, a seat or an acquaintance he has spotted. Once you've worked that out it works perfectly well and is a much more sociable event than stubbornly standing in an ordered queue.[/quote]
I have to agree - this is exactly the situation I have found whether it be A&E (non -emergencies only!), Drs waiting rooms, PO, bank, school parents evening etc
Airport boarding gates for Ryanair flights are perhaps the only time I have come across a free for all.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
The queing issue, in my experience, is worse in the south. It's not a problem here either.
UK to Italy = The British legal and political system. Italy certainly could do with it! Berlo would be in jail for a start......infact there would be a building boom for prisons to house them all!
Italy to UK = Time......... Italian life includes time to relax, time for family, time for friends, etc. The priority for my time in the UK has always been work. Extra time at work, time for doing work at home in the evening and time for work at the weekends. I have always been a bit of a workaholic, so the italian influence helps keep my focus on other aspects of life. This probably applies to me more then most though.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Uk to Italy: either Cadbury's or Galaxy chocolate
Italy to UK: The ability to have a good festa without health & safety rules messing it up
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
UK to Italy: The U-bend. No more stink from the dried-out pozzo in summer
Italy to UK: Simple food, prepared on site, with no themes. I might start eating in pubs again if that happened
If you buy six saver tickets then you pay only £1 to travel from say Wmenley to Paddinton which isn't bad. A journey in Rome in €1 so not that vast a difference. London has introduced loads more buses and routes.
What would I like in London/UK??? A very dependable summer, and early spring, late summer.
Italian motorists stopping for you at pedestrian crossings and generally being more considerate to one another.