Having studied Spanish in high school, I noticed on my first trip to Italy, that the languages are very similar. When thinking about our trip this fall I've starting pinning language tips on Pinterest, listening to a language CD on occasion during my commute, practicing with the free Rosetta Stone Travel Italian app on my phone - and borrowing the Rick Steves' Italian Phrase book that my parents had from their trip to Rome last fall.
Tips I've picked up on from blogs and other articles (and past history) are:
- Try. Try to speak the language. When traveling to another country be prepared to "give it a shot" and know a few key/polite phrases.
- I've read Italians dislike when folks start speaking Spanish to them - yes the languages are similar, but they are not the same. So, I'm hoping to avoid this mistake!
- "il conto" = the bill (when you are ready to pay and leave a restaurant); "il canto" = the singing (resulting in your waiter looking at you sideways and singing for you :)
These are some useful infographics that I know I'll be referring to in October!
