Italy from the Inside

Something to remember when you go to an Italian bar

Pay first Italian bar- Italy from the Inside

A “pay first ” sign in a bar in Rome

In many Italian bars, you need to pay before consuming your coffee, drink, or whatever you order. This is to avoid people leaving the bar without paying. What you need to do is to pay at the cash register, take the receipt and give it to the bartender. The bartender will tear or stamp the receipt and then he/she will give you what you ordered. Before leaving, remember to take the receipt with you. You must do it by law. This law has the goal to protect the State from being cheating out of the tax.

Same message, but in Italian:

At an Italian bar- Italy from the Inside

“Please, get the receipt at the cash register first. Thank you”

{This is an excerpt from chapter 4 “Gelaterie and Coffee Houses” of the eBook “Italy from the Inside. A native Italian reveals the secrets of traveling in Italy”. Buy our eBook on Amazon and leave us a review! If it’s good, you’ll make us happy, if it’s bad, you’ll make us improve. Thank you either way!}

This is what makes Italian gelato even more delicious

Whipping cream machine- Italy from the Inside

In Italy, every gelateria has either a machine to make whipping cream (panna) or cream already whipped and displayed like regular gelato in the big containers. You can order a cup or a cone of your favorite ice cream and then add some whipping cream on top. You can also ask for some syrup (chocolate, cherry, crème caramel, etc.) to be added on top of your amazing “gelato con panna” (ice cream with whipping cream).

Gelato with whipping cream- Italy from the Inside

In my hometown, Trieste, this is called berlina and it has whipping cream on the bottom, gelato in the middle, more whipping cream, and finally syrup on top.

{This is an excerpt from chapter 4 “Gelaterie and coffeehouses” of the eBook “Italy from the Inside. A native Italian reveals the secrets of traveling in Italy”. Buy our eBook on Amazon and leave us a review! If it’s good, you’ll make us happy, if it’s bad, you’ll make us improve. Thank you either way!}

 

A gelato menu? Yes, indeed.

Gelato menu- Italy from the Inside

An Italian gelato menu

Did you know that some Italian gelaterie have a menu? If you decide to sit (sedere) at the gelateria table to taste your Italian treat instead of eating it on the go, occasionally a complete ice cream menu will be given to you, and sometimes pictures will help you decide which ice cream will make your day. On the menu you can also find some salty snacks. As you can see, the four “intruders” have been placed on the far right of the page: pizzette, ciabatta farcita, tramezzini vari and ‘tost’. Yes, tost. But make no mistake, the spaghetti (last row, fourth from the left) are made of gelato!

{This is an excerpt from chapter 4 “Gelaterie and coffeehouses” of the eBook “Italy from the Inside. A native Italian reveals the secrets of traveling in Italy”. Buy our eBook on Amazon and leave us a review! If it’s good, you’ll make us happy, if it’s bad, you’ll make us improve. Thank you either way!}