"It's o.k., no problem!"

Half of the fun of visiting Italy for me is living amongst the Italians. They are very spirited, animated, and just ooze this zest for life. (To clarify, I am only speaking of southern Italians... Northern Italians are very cold and act as if they have a stick up their rear ends.) Italians are the friendliest and warmest Europeans I have come to know. They smile a lot and have sort of a spring in their step. They seem to be so carefree - I don't think there is even an Italian word for "worry". In fact, the one English phrase that we heard the most from Italians on our trip was "It's o.k., no problem"!

Here are a few of our experiences with different Italians during our trip.

Vito "The Sheister"
Vito was the hotel's tour organizer/manager. When you think Italian, you think Vito. He was quite a jokester. He told us a story of when he took his wife to China for their 25th wedding anniversary. When he returned, his business associates were asking him how he was going to top that for his 50th wedding anniversary and asked him where he would go then. And he replied, "Well, I guess I will go back to China and get her." He was constantly swearing in English and using English slang, which was hilarious. Aside from being a jokester, he was a sheister. One day we were trying to sign up for an organized trip to the Isle of Capri, but it was full. So, we asked him how much it would be to have a driver take us to Paestum (about 1 1/2 hours away). He told us that it would be about 240 Euros (@$300). We said, "240 Euros?!" He said, "Yes, but the driver will be English speaking." Oooohhh, now it made sense. So, when we declined his offer, he decided to "sneak" us in on the full trip to Capri. He said, "It's o.k., no problem!" He wasn't about to lose out on our money.

"Uncle" Lello
Uncle Lello was our tour guide to Pompeii. His personality was a little more subdued than Vito's, but he was still quite a character. He immediately told us to refer to him as "Uncle" Lello. He was very animated and constantly "talked" with his hands. On the way to Pompeii on the bus, a person in our group noticed a forest fire up on top of one of the mountains. When he asked Uncle Lello about it, Uncle Lello said, "If you are asking if it is under control... no. But, It's o.k., no problem."


"Mama"
Mama was the owner/chef/waitress at this little restaurant that we ate at a couple of times in Ravello. She was your typical loud, boisterous, and vibrant Italian Grandma. And, her food was the best Italian I have ever eaten. The Tiramisu was in a whole other category from the best Tiramisu that I have had in the states. Eating at her restaurant was like eating at a local's house. She was a big hit with the Edward Jones group and she made a pretty penny off of all of us. She provided lots of tableside entertainment, but she expected to be paid in return. One night, a vendor that was on the trip took us to Mama's for dinner. There were about 10 of us. We ate family style and went through a good amount of wine. When dinner was finished, she asked our host, "How much you want to pay? Write it here." So, he wrote down 450 Euros, which was about right for what we had consumed. She said, "Oh no, you insult Mama!" They went back and forth until she finally bent him over backward and gave it to him real good. He ended up paying her 600 Euros (@$700)! When the bill was settled, she took a picture with all of us. It was the least she could do.


Night Front Desk Receptionist at hotel
As I have mentioned, I suffered a bad case of insomnia while on the trip. One night, Danyel had had enough. He decided to call the receptionist and ask if they could send up some sleeping pills. In America, nobody will even give you an Advil if you ask because of the fear that you will overdose and they would be knee deep in a lawsuit. When he called, the girl said, "No, you have to have prescription for sleeping pill." Danyel said, "But, my wife is going crazy, she hasn't slept in days." The girl said, "O.k., it's no problem. I will send someone to pharmacy and bring them up." You got to love Europe.