The Hindu Business Line : Where wine is cheaper than Coke

Florence, Nov. 13 Style, elegance, fashion, history and great architecture… these are the words one would use to sum up the Italian experience. On the roads of Rome, Venice, Milan or Florence, it is near impossible to find an Italian male or female who is not stylishly and elegantly dressed.. the women also make a fashion statement with the world famous Italian handbags and colourful scarves.

Again, you have to look very hard to find an overweight Italian! Is it their food, their lifestyle or plain concern for their looks that makes them so trim and good looking, you wonder.

But a close look also shows that there is a lot of careful grooming that goes into sporting the chic and elegant look. The women have artfully applied make up with a lot of close attention to their eye make up, which is often complete with eyeliner and mascara. More about the elegance of Italian men has been stated before in these columns!

But it’s not easy to get by in Italy without some knowledge of the local language, at least the basics. We don’t have even that, and asking for directions can be dicey, because people will just shrug and move on. Unless they are either middle aged or elderly.

Travelling in Italy, you soon master the art of asking for directions from at least middle aged; the young, as everywhere in the world, are too busy, or couldn’t care less. But ask a middle aged person for directions and even if she or he cannot speak English, they will soon get hold of somebody who can, get your requirements translated, smile, say a Prego (Welcome) and only then move on.

In one of the metro stations in Milan, I even had a woman who explained to me the complications of first taking one line and then switching over to another line, and then stopping by to ensure that I took the right direction.

Unfortunately, I didn’t! But she was watching and came running, held my hand and directed me to the right corridor!

Pizzas galore!

Don’t listen to anybody who tells you, as a food journo from Delhi told me, not to eat Pizzas in Italy. It is not junk food, as some hoity-toity food specialists might tell you. There are over a hundred varieties of pizzas in Italy and if you don’t take pork or any other meat, go in for vegetarian pizza.

The vegetables here... aubergine, zucchini , red and yellow peppers, tomatoes and everything else... are just heavenly. Walk into any pizzeria along the road and order a vegetarian pizza… you have so many choices.

Pizzas in Italy are not just round pieces of flat dough on top of which is slapped tomato paste and cheese. They are delicately crafted food items – if you prefer your pizza simple, go in for just tomato paste and mozzarella cheese, but make sure the pizzas are made in wooden ovens to ensure the perfect aroma and flavour. You can go in for either the thick and fluffy variety or the thin and crunchy one – both are delicious, though I would vote for the thin and crunchy base as it is much lighter.

In Florence, we are told, a pizza is a perfect excuse for a get together with friends or family members.

And, Florence is also the right place to savour the best of wines... both white and red. Almost each eatery has its home wine to offer... and a quarter pitcher – around two glasses – of red wine can cost as less as €2.1.

But after a week-long olive oil conference, where the best of Italian food and wine has been served to you, you can tire ot wine. And hence, one evening in Florence, one did the unthinkable and ordered a Coke Lite, amidst strong protest from my companion.

It cost €2.8 … much more than the delicious red wine that he had ordered.

Welcome to Tuscay!

More Stories on : International Travel | Breweries | Rasheeda Bhagat

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Where wine is cheaper than Coke