After the series about France and Belgium, here comes Italy. So you know that you've been in Italy far too long when :
- You consider accepting the dinner invitation at the house of someone you just met.
- You can have a conversation with a stranger comprised entirely of facial expressions, hand gestures, and no words.
- You can't imagine not wearing a black down jacket and black sunglasses most of the year.
- You keep honking at the traffic, not at anyone in particular, just to keep the flow moving...
- You have become an expert in parking your car in the narrowest space and driving while talking on the phone and having a conversation with other passengers at the same time.
- You don't hesitate to overtake a car blocking the street through the pavement/sidewalk.
- You automatically ask for the vino della casa (house wine) when you have a casual lunch out.
- You can convey all your feelings with a single "maa..." or "boh".
- You refuse to go out if it is raining, even a bit, and wear a scarf whenever it's not over 25°C.
- You don't raise an eyebrow when you are asked to apply for your application at a government office.
- You don't even check for opening hours and schedules anymore as you know they don't mean anything.
- You only have coffee for breakfast, then if you feel a bit peckish get a pastry at 10 am with more coffee, in between two other morning coffees.
- You don't cringe at the idea of having offals for lunch.
- You can't imagine having lunch before 1 pm.
- You dip your bread in olive oil - even at home.
- You know that a true espresso shouldn't contain more than a few drops of extremely concentrated coffee, which can be diluted with sugar.
- You know that Starbucks isn't real coffee but you go anyway because of it's trendy and American, and they have free Wi-Fi.
- You start calling your mother every day, sometimes several times a day, although you never did before.
- In a queue, you constantly keep an eye for line jumpers - unless it's you !
- You have twenty favourite flavours of ice cream, because you have to be selective.
- People back home think you speak too loudly.
- You understand that when someone tells you that it's impossible, he is just asking for you to negotiate.