Padova at night!

“What a nice night for an evening”

-Steven Wright

 So, I think that I am so in love with Italy, that it has turned me into a new parent, fawning over my new baby, so completely sure that this is the first, the smartest, and the best drool producing baby in the world.

It’s as though everything I come across here, I think it is so novel, so Italian, so unique, and I didn’t really notice this until my friend came to visit.

While we were walking about, I pointed out to her this really incredible idea that Italians have: public drinking water. It normally comes out of a pretty, antique looking statue or fountain that spits out the water at a decent height and you can just go up and drink the water! Public drinking water! How novel! She turns to me. “Like drinking fountains?”

Oh…right. Still…my Italy has…prettier fountains!

One of the things I am planning on importing back with me is the Italian tradition of Aperitivo. Seeing as Italians eat so late, what do you do after you around 6 PM if not eat dinner? Bars provide a convenient alternative! You drink! Let’s call it aperitivo! You go out to a bar, some of them have little buffets of finger food and you enjoy a drink and a friend and share what happened in your day. I was for sure this was an incredibly unique Italian invention, something that everyone should learn to do, until I was in a bar today and saw on the wall “happy hour!” And was reminded about happy hour. That US tradition…of drinking before dinner…even Italians know about it, and want to use the term “happy hour.”

Shoot.