To Italy? This will help you so much

Yesterday I wrote about some nice, handy words that you French holiday could make things go a lot smoother. But if you thought the average Frenchman doesn't really speak very good English, then you haven't been to Italy yet. But hey, you wanted authenticity and let's be honest: you're not completely fluent in Italian either, so it's handy to have a few sentences or words on hand. Two tips: Italians pronounce almost every letter separately. So ‘grazie’ is ‘gra-tsie-je’. And, with many exceptions aside, the stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable.

Is there a hairdryer?

C’è un asciuga (asjoega) capelli?

Let's toast

Facciamo (fatsjiejamo) un brindisi

Snack time

L’Aperitivo

Are there sunbeds available?

Ci (pronounced ‘tjie’) sono ancora letti spiaggie (pronounced ‘spie-ja-dje’) disponibile?

In the shade

Nel ombra

The sand

The sand

The problem

Il problema (it ends with an ‘a’, but it's still masculine because hey: problem. Duh.)

The solution

La soluzione (completely feminine. Double Duh.)

The socket

The power outlet

We share this dish

Prendiamo questo piatto in due. (That's very common in Italy, they understand that you can't eat all those 140 courses).

Il coperto

This word has no Dutch equivalent, but you will probably see it on your bill. Coperto is an amount that is often charged for your clean tablecloth, your cutlery, and your bread. The practice dates back to the Middle Ages, when it was common for people to bring their food and eat it in an establishment. You would then pay for your clean plate and your napkin, so to speak. Just know that the coperto is not the tip you give to the service, so it's nice if you leave something for them as well.

Then some expressions that are often used

Non vedo l’ora

I can't wait / I'm looking forward to it

In boca al lupo

Good luck (the other person then says ‘crepi’). This expression comes from Remus and Romulus, the boys who were raised by a wolf and later founded the city of Rome. ‘In boca al lupo’ literally means: in the mouth of the wolf (because that's where the boys were safe). Crepi means: I hope it dies. That's a pretty strange response if you think the wolf was your savior, but okay. Language evolves, shall we say.

Ah, one more to finish it off...

Sunglasses

Occhiali (‘okkiejalie’) da sole

Take one of these three sunglasses with you and you'll be totally awesome there by the way.

Buona vacanza en buon permanenza!