Tag Archives: Italy

365 meters above and below the Gallura | Sardinia, Italy

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Sardinia – Summer-like temperatures at the end of November – dreams do come true. Beautiful blue skies and calm waters called our names; we hiked to the top of a mountain to collect fresh mushrooms in the early morning rays; we hiked along the rugged coastline in the hot afternoon sun and we relaxed seaside sharing plenty of laughs.

This is what we saw … (click on any image to view in a larger format.)

365 meters above and below the Gallura | Sardinia, Italy

How was your day?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Green

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Green are the farmer’s pastures where animals lazily graze. Sardinia, Italy.

Want to see more green things? Click here to check out more awesome green submissions!

40 ways you know you’ve lived in Sardinia too long

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I recently read a hilarious meme on Eupedia titled: you know you’ve lived in Italy too long when... It was an awesome read and made me think about the past five years of my life; holed up in small-town Sardinia. So, I decided to write a list about living in Sardinia, Italy.

40 ways you know you’ve lived in Sardinia too long

  • Time ceases to exist in all matters of urgency and you learn patience really is a virtue.
  • You talk with your hands and a few facial expressions to get your daily bread.
  • The deli clerk, butcher, bartender and painter know what colour your underwear is.
  • You don’t care when people push in front of you while waiting in line as you now have this iron clad patience.
  • You hear multiple gunshots go off in the near distance signalling that it’s October & hunting season has begun.
  • Casu Marzu intrigues you and you are tempted to ask the local shepherd about it but can’t stomach the thought.
  • You notice a community poster stating that construction will begin on your street in a months time. The following morning construction begins.
  • You find a job and work like a horse only to be paid months down the road.
  • You go for a 6k run and finally have the courage to flip the finger and shout asshole to anyone that drives past you faster than 30mph.
  • You get irritable if you miss your 3 hour siesta.
  • You stop comparing prices against the Canadian dollar because fuck, everything is expensive on an island, in Italy.
  • You foolishly believe that Sardinia is a country on to her own and are shocked by the shenanigans of the ‘mainlanders.’
  • You drink only purified spring water from the mountains high up because plastic bottled water freaks you out.
  • You walk 3km up-hill to collect this precious spring water; carrying 10 litres on your back on the way back down-hill.
  • You say ‘only if He permits’ as you gaze sky-wards when old ladies ask you why you’ve not created life.
  • You carry little old ladies groceries home from the supermarket, cause well, they remind you of your Nana.
  • You speak more of the local dialect than you do in the national language.
  • You hitchhike and people pick you up because you’re that crazy Australian, American, Canadian girl and they want to know more about you.
  • You are a converted espresso drinker; you drink three cups of espresso before 11am.
  • You realize that one mirto is okay but two mirto will knock you out for days.
  • You go mushroom hunting in the mountains and step in cow dung; you don’t squeal like a girl because tonight you are cooking a mushroom risotto for 8 people.
  • You go wild asparagus hunting and fend off wild dogs with a stare down.
  • You eat pecorino cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner because it’s just that good.
  • You don’t own a cell phone because all your friends & family are on Skype.
  • You have no real girlfriends here because they are all jealous of your Australian, American, Canadian heritage.
  • You show up an hour late to every appointment because that’s just the way the cookie crumbles in Italy.
  • You are scheduled for a pap smear while menstruating and when you try to protest the doctor asks you – what’s your problem?
  • You pay €100 for every gynaecologist visit which lasts seven minutes and involves two doctors a nurse and your husband.
  • You befriend every local cat, kitten and dog even when the locals tell you not to.
  • Other expats reach out to you who are living/lived in Sardinia and they confirm that it’s not easy to live & work in Sardinia.
  • You have a few haters because of your blog; they want you to shut the hell up and stop talking smack about the reality of living on a small island in the Med.
  • After 5 years you realize the grass is the same colour all over the world.
  • You receive baked goods, canned goods, fresh fruit & vegetables instead of iStuff for Christmas, Thanksgiving and your birthday.
  • You stop a friendship with an elderly man because he asks you how many times you “lay under your husband.”
  • You hear and see jet fighter planes that soar too low and think the world is coming to an end and hide under the bed for the rest of the afternoon.
  • You wear the same clothes for five days in a row and sometimes sleep in them.
  • You refuse to work for € 3.90 an hour because it’s unethical and against your Australian, American, Canadian rights.
  • You are chastised for refusing the above payment – you should be grateful to even have a job at all – but you aren’t.
  • You pee in the bushes, even on the side of the road and you don’t care who see’s you.
  • You respond to yes questions with Eja and say Ajo all the time.

 Did you laugh out loud at any of these points? Which ones? Tell me below.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Geometry

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I got a little funky in Photoshop, for this week’s photo challenge – Geometry.

To tip or not to tip in Italy?

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In one of my online expat forums a few good questions about tipping in Italy were posted: Do we tip in Italy? What is the coperto? Why did the restaurant automatically add 15%?

A tip (also called a gratuity) is a sum of money tendered to certain service sector workers for a service performed or anticipated. Such payments and their size are a matter of social custom. Tipping varies among cultures and by service industry.¹

This is a rare sight in Italy but I found it at one restaurant just yesterday.

Many travelers who are from countries where tipping is customary; and are visiting non-tipping countries are often left wondering – to tip or not to tip? I’ve seen graphs from five years ago, stating that it’s customary to tip 10% (in addition to a service charge) in Italian restaurants. I disagree with this, five years ago and today. We have never left a 10% tip in any restaurant in Italy and I know other Italians who never tip the 10% which is stated in these charts.

To tip or not to tip? That is the question on everyone’s mind.

Do we tip in Italy?

There is really no straight forward answer to this. If it’s in your means to tip, then tip; but make sure that the hotel or restaurant has not already included an automatic service charge to your bill. Read all fine print.

I worked in a fancy hotel/restaurant this past summer and on occasion the customer did slip a few €10’s into my pocket. The tips came from the Brits and Italians – two countries not accustomed to tipping but they tipped anyway. I’ve also worked in a little coffee-house, not one tip, ever.

What is a coperto?

The coperto perfectly translated means cover charge. Most restaurants add an automatic, per person coperto. The €1-3 coperto is charged for taking up space in the restaurant; it goes towards the cleaning of the linens, glassware and sometimes it’s divided among the staff.

In Sardinia the average coperto is €2.50. From up-scale, posh restaurants to Mom and Pop diners with paper place-mats and plastic cutlery will charge the coperto. Be sure to check the small print on your menu. Some regions in Italy have tried to ban the coperto but to no avail. It still exists and people are still paying it.

Why did the restaurant add and automatic 15% to my bill at a restaurant in Venice, Florence or Rome?

The truth – you’re a tourist and they know it. Most locals are not given the automatic 10-15% when they dine in these tourist spots. However it’s illegal … unless it is written in the menu.

What is the difference between a service charge and the coperto?

A service charge is based on the customers discretion of service rendered. The service charge is divided among the wait staff, bartenders, kitchen staff and sometimes even the management. Generally the service charge is an extra 10-15% of your total bill.

A coperto is an automatic charge that goes towards the cleaning and repairing of linens, glassware and taking up space in a restaurant. Between €1-3.

What if the restaurant added a 15% service charge and the coperto?

Be sure to read all the fine print on the menu before handing the menu back to the staff. Then be ready to fight it, if you have it in you. It’s illegal and they are taking advantage of the unknowing tourist.

What to look for on the menu or bill:

Aggiungere – To add

10-15% automaticamente aggiunto per servizio. 
10-15% automatically added for service.

Coperto – cover charge

I have never tipped extra in the 5 years I have lived in Sardinia. We didn’t tip extra when we went to Rome or Padova. Why? Because of the coperto. If we are dining with 10 friends at a fabulous restaurant by the sea the total coperto charge will come to €25. That’s a lot of extra money for cleaning linens or replacing broken glassware. Generally in a posh place the wage it somewhat higher than say a beach bar. Some servers in these posh establishments will take offence at your extra tip.

However – if you find yourself at a wonderful wooden beach bar which is packed with tourists, generally there is no coperto. The staff in these type of establishments make poor, poor wages.

How do I know this?

I was offered to work in such a beach bar this year and was offered the following:

€1000 a month; 7 days a week; 8-10 hours a day for 5 months (May-September is high season in Italy.) Pretty crappy, eh? So, tip that bartender or waitress who has run around making fancy cocktails and bringing you the local beer. They will be grateful.

To tip or not to tip in Italy? That’s up to you – the traveler, businessperson, backpacker or tourist. Just remember to read all the fine print otherwise you may find that you’ve been double charged a service fee.

What is the custom of tipping in your country?

Source: Wikipedia¹
Related articles from around the globe:
How to order like a local at restaurants in Portugal 
How much to tip the waitress in Hawaii

A magical mushroom tour at 365m above sea level

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Wild mushrooms are a hot commodity in the hills of Italy and each year hundreds of Italians will die from mushroom poisoning. On October 20th, 2012 a family of four from Pisa, all died from the mushrooms that they had collected earlier that day.

DEATH CAP

The mushrooms that killed this innocent family are appropriately named the Death Cap; there is currently no cure for those that ingest this mighty mushroom.

This past Sunday we headed into the Sardinian mountains to hunt mushrooms, wild rabbit and sparrow. I’m just kidding about the latter two. What we did find was a lot wild mushrooms blooming between, beneath and on top of cow dung. It was a splendid afternoon I tell you – the winds were cool and the afternoon sun was warm and bright.

Wild mushrooms dotted the rugged mountain tops and I made double sure that there were no cows – in any radius.

My husband has been mushroom hunting for years; as a child he would spend his mornings collecting fresh mushrooms to later sell for a few lira down at the local supermarket. Two years ago – we made such a huge haul of mushrooms that I pickled them into 15 different jars!

We were a little late at getting out mushroom hunting this year and plenty of the mushrooms were already being attacked by small worms in the stalk. We left a ton of rotten mushrooms mountain top and made our way back home with about 5kg of Sardinian mushrooms.

I’d just turned on the T.V when the 5 o’clock news came on and we heard the story of this family in Pisa. My husband assured me that the mushrooms we picked are not poisonous. However, I did protest and he was grossed out by all the worms that we decided to ditch our loot of mushrooms.

(Click on any photo to view original size.)

Pick with care; know your shrooms!

Are you a mushroom hunter?

Related articles:

A Gathering of Mushrooms – via My Sardinian Life
Two die after eating death cap mushrooms – via ABC, Australia
Poisonous mushrooms – via Wanted in Rome
Mushroom hunt claims 18 lives – via The Independent

Travel theme: Couples

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Both photography themes this week have thrown me for a loop. I generally never take photo’s of people or other couples and I’m certainly not that advanced in my photography for silhouette‘s. The following is what I’ve come up with for Ailsa’s travel theme: couples. There’s even a little surprise among the photos. Can you find it?

Friendly couples catching up on the daily gossip
A couple of men selling hats.
Mamma & Baby Couple
A modern day Sardinian wedding
Floppy with this wife Shatzy.
Inflatable couples at carnevale
Oh – look at this couple. I wonder who it is?
A traditional Sardinian wedding couple.
A couple of horse riders in Olbia

Do you photograph people/strangers? Do you ask first if you can take their photo or do you snap and run?

Top 10 Reasons I’ll Miss the Italian Job

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It would be a complete injustice if I wrote only about the horrors I faced this year with my Italian job(s). There were a few good points to waiting tables in Italy and I’ve listed them for you in a fun Top 10 List.

Top 10 Reasons I’ll Miss the Italian Job
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10. The fabulous multi-cultural clients.

9. The extra €20 slipped into my pocket, every other night.

8. Being offered to sit and drink with clients during my shift (was offered many, many times but never took anyone up on the offer).

7. Nightly raids of the (permitted) gelato station – pistachio here I come!

6. Well-behaved gorgeous children from all walks of life.

5. The Russians. They were hilarious, generous and polite.

4. The blazing orange sun-set.

3. My Italian, Sardinian, Czech, Hungarian and German colleagues. They were all a fabulous bunch of people.

2. Packing take-away lunch and dinner for my husband from the staff dining-hall. The food was good – plus I had to pay for it!

1. Speaking English to Italian clients; speaking Italian to English clients and speaking a mix of both to the Russians. They laughed, I laughed, and we all laughed together. Priceless moments.

What are some of the pros and cons of your expat work?

Related articles:

Top 13 Reasons I Quit the Italian Job
The Raw Reality of Expat Life in Small Town Sardinia

Hit the Ground Running | Hunting Season in Sardinia

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It was a normal Sunday morning like every other Sunday morning. The only real difference is that it’s now October. You’re probably wondering why just one month would make a huge difference – on a Sunday. It makes a difference if you’re a runner and enjoy Sunday morning runs that are traffic free.

It was beautiful this morning when I decided to tie on my runners and head out in the beautiful Autumn morning. At around the 2k mark a slight stitch came into my side and I ignored it – like I usually do, it goes away. I was just about at my half-way mark –  3k away from home when I heard the familiar jingle-jangle in the bushes.

Continue reading →

Top 13 Reasons I Quit the Italian Job

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I had a job this summer. For 30 days, I was an English-speaking waitress who worked in a buffet restaurant on the island of Sardinia, Italy. Here are the reasons I quit my job.

Top 13 Reasons I Quit the Italian Job
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13. Being belittled by an angry co-worker in front of 10 other co-workers because I forgot a cappuccino, on my second shift.

12. Being docked €5.00 a day to eat prepared meals in the staff dining-lounge, even if you choose not to eat with your angry co-worker(s).

11. The corns and calluses were growing on my feet faster than a speeding jet.

10. Working for 5 hours then sleeping for 5 hours – rinse and repeat twice a day, is no easy lifestyle.

9. Losing 12 pounds off my bones in 21 days is a sickly sight. And I ate like a horse – which is pretty usual for me.

8. Finding out that my co-workers’ rent is paid for the 5-6 six months of employment was utterly shocking! No one offered to pay my mortgage – why?

7. Seeing co-workers bringing in their laundry to be laundered by the hotel – for free. (My laundry basket runneth over.)

6. Button down shirts with a fancy necktie and long black pants should be banned, anywhere where the temperature rests on boiling.

5. Working 4.5 hours on a scheduled day off – is not a day off.

4. No over-time pay – say what?!

3. Management asking for English translations on all menus – without pay!

2. Being told to speak only in English when conversing with co-workers. Wait a minute – I thought I was in Italy, the only Italian speaking country in the world. Hey Dorothy – can I borrow your sparkly red shoes?

1. Working 4.5 hours in the morning + 4.5 hours in the evening = does not equal the 6.4 hours which is clearly stated in my contract.

Related articles:

The Raw Reality of Expat Life in Small Town Sardinia
My Expat Job Struggles | Sardinia, Italy