Mom with her Fiorentina in Siena which she described as being 'not as good as Alberta beef'.
This past trip marked my mom's second trip to Italy, albeit the first without being on an organized tour catered to North Americans. She made many rather hilarious observations about the country during our two weeks, so I thought I would share some of her remarks in this post.
"How do you use this thing, every time I try, the water sprays everywhere except where it's supposed to!"
- my mom referring to the bidet.
Commentary: she eventually figured out how it worked. I personally am enamored with the bidet, I think it is a necessity and it is a crying shame we do not have them in bathrooms as much in Canada. There is even a whole market for intimate soaps like 'Chilly Gel' (an Italian intimate soap that you will see very commonly, I love the name). I just had to share this quote from Maple Leaf Mamma, another Canadian blogger living in Italy:
The ubiquity of sapone intimo is surely tied to the Italian obsession with genital and anal hygiene. According to Wikipedia, Italians are some of the world’s biggest bidet consumers, with 95% of Italian households containing one.
You can read the rest of her post here: http://www.mapleleafmamma.com/2012/09/italian-intimate-soap-creepy-or-cool/
"There are so many Chinese people here, I feel like I'm in Vancouver. It feels like home, you should move here instead of Bergamo."
- my mom referring to Siena.
Commentary: there are SO many Chinese people in Siena, it is true. We ended up deciding that this is because there is what seems to be a rather prestigious music school here (Accademia Musicale Chigiana) and we all know how serious Asian parents are about musical instruments. What made me laugh about this observation from my mom is that we are second generation Chinese-Canadians so not sure why she thinks being surrounded by Chinese people who speak Mandarin (I speak only English and Italian) would make me feel 'at home'...!
"How do you use this thing, every time I try, the water sprays everywhere except where it's supposed to!"
- my mom referring to the bidet.
Commentary: she eventually figured out how it worked. I personally am enamored with the bidet, I think it is a necessity and it is a crying shame we do not have them in bathrooms as much in Canada. There is even a whole market for intimate soaps like 'Chilly Gel' (an Italian intimate soap that you will see very commonly, I love the name). I just had to share this quote from Maple Leaf Mamma, another Canadian blogger living in Italy:
The ubiquity of sapone intimo is surely tied to the Italian obsession with genital and anal hygiene. According to Wikipedia, Italians are some of the world’s biggest bidet consumers, with 95% of Italian households containing one.
You can read the rest of her post here: http://www.mapleleafmamma.com/2012/09/italian-intimate-soap-creepy-or-cool/
"There are so many Chinese people here, I feel like I'm in Vancouver. It feels like home, you should move here instead of Bergamo."
- my mom referring to Siena.
Commentary: there are SO many Chinese people in Siena, it is true. We ended up deciding that this is because there is what seems to be a rather prestigious music school here (Accademia Musicale Chigiana) and we all know how serious Asian parents are about musical instruments. What made me laugh about this observation from my mom is that we are second generation Chinese-Canadians so not sure why she thinks being surrounded by Chinese people who speak Mandarin (I speak only English and Italian) would make me feel 'at home'...!
Siena (minus the Chinese people)
"I'd give anything for a decent breakfast!"
- my mom referring to the lack of bacon and egg breakfasts in Italy.
Commentary: this is a common American complaint because an Italian breakfast normally consists of something sweet-ish + a cappuccino or espresso. There is not typically anything savory involved. My mom was so annoyed by this that we often had to go to the grocery store and stock up on deli meats etc for her to stash in the hotel for breakfasts whereas I love going to the little bars and having my brioche and cappuccio.
"Your grandma would not be happy that there are condoms right next to the gum."
- my mom referring to the condom/lubricant assortment always readily available at the checkout.
Commentary: priorities seem to be a little different on this side of the ocean and honestly, who can really say which country has it right. In Canada, there are gossip magazines, gum, chocolate, and candy. In Italy, a slightly more blush-inducing guilty pleasure.
Hope you liked this post. I might do more in the future as I remember more sh*t my mom said in Italy!
- my mom referring to the lack of bacon and egg breakfasts in Italy.
Commentary: this is a common American complaint because an Italian breakfast normally consists of something sweet-ish + a cappuccino or espresso. There is not typically anything savory involved. My mom was so annoyed by this that we often had to go to the grocery store and stock up on deli meats etc for her to stash in the hotel for breakfasts whereas I love going to the little bars and having my brioche and cappuccio.
"Your grandma would not be happy that there are condoms right next to the gum."
- my mom referring to the condom/lubricant assortment always readily available at the checkout.
Commentary: priorities seem to be a little different on this side of the ocean and honestly, who can really say which country has it right. In Canada, there are gossip magazines, gum, chocolate, and candy. In Italy, a slightly more blush-inducing guilty pleasure.
Hope you liked this post. I might do more in the future as I remember more sh*t my mom said in Italy!
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