I'm planning to go to italy in September/October so i really need your good advice and dips. Do younger italians speak good English (i've heard they don't. If it's true, i need someone to teach me some italian )? i don't want it to be a typical tourism trip so have you any suggestions where i should go to spend good time? Well, every opinion and answer is welcome. Thank you all!
hey i just got back from Italy last Sunday and had an amazing time without a tour group and planned trip. The people i talked to that only went on tours with english speakers said the whole trip was a blur and they didn't get to experience the culture. I did not go to Milan, but was in Rome, and Florence. I didn't have a problem getting around with only knowing english. I did notice that the people there didn't like when you expected them to speak english, and liked it better when you tried to speak Italian. The young people I ran into (around 18-20s) knew better english than I expected, and I found that many people know atleast some english. As for meeting and carrying a decent conversation with people there, i found it very tricky unless you know some italian. if you want to be able to converse with people, knowing the language helps, but if you just want to see sites and that sort of thing, you can get by with just english. sorry about the long reply. hope i helped! peace <3
Oh thank you a lot for your help. I'd really like to learn some Italian. So i should probably consider takeing some courses. After all, i'd really like to talk to italians not to some guide Thanks again!
hey dear!!! I am from italy... altough not from milan... but... whatthehell are you gonna do in milan??? there are hundreds of better places than milan that worth a visit!!! milan is a gray, industrial, foggy, polluted and noisy city... not at all nice to be visited... welll.. if you like some high end fashion shopping places...that's the place, of course... I can assure you that you won't have any problem travelling around italy without knowing italian... we havew in fact quite a few million turists every year.. and I think almost none of them can speak italian ;-) about english... surely young people (under 25) can at least speak and understand some english... especially if you are not english mothertongue and speak not too fast... ... but are u coming here for a trip or for living a while? and just milan? I live and study in bologna... which is a wonderful student old university town... if u wanna drop by consider yourself as a welcome guest, as all the other hipforums sisters and brothers! peace on u!
Thanks for your answer, Manolao! What the hell i'm doing in Milan? Well i'm not very into fashion stuff (and i don't have enough money for this crap anyway..). But i'd rally like to go to La Scala to see real opera. And i'd like to see a football match with ac milan. I'm planning to spend about two weeks in Italy so i hope i'll have enough time to see other (near) cities. so i'll think about bologna. thanks! My main aim is not to go sightseeing and see as much as i can. i want to see some places and meet new people and see places that normal tourists don't see. peace
oh... 2 weeks is long time... I understand for the opera... ..but for milan... :-/ I am really not into football... probably especially I am italian... and here all are always talking about football and bla bla bla... bologna is just 2 hours far by train from milan.. and is not a very touristic place..although is very nice and lively... so... since in september/october I will be there for sure... you are welcome! ciao! peace
i'm coming with a friend who is almost crazy about football. i don't know much about it but she makes me become intrested in it too. so i think it's a good possibility to see a good game. hope so. and watching it at a stadion and listening to people's reaction is different from watching it from tv. we are planning to go at the end of september or at the beginning of october when la scala is opened and football matches start. and weather should be quite beautiful at that time as well? i'll talk with my friend about it but i'm really intersted in bologna. big polluted cities are not excactly my taste. at least not for a long time. i just want to check some places and go to somewhere beautiful. thank you a lot, manolao. i have a lot to think about now peace
ohh.. I see ehehe well..bologna is still a city..but of the more lively I think lots of student life... open air culture and nightlife... nice people (ok, not all of them of course!).. andm, yes, around that time the weather should be very mild... not to hot and not to cold... so..welcome to italy (and bologna if u want)
thank you very much, manolao. you've been most helpful! and you're always welcome to estonia if you ever want to come here!
Oh really!? That's great, I just hope that not at the same time i'm in Italy (it's quite cold here in September/October anyway).
no, no... I will wait when you'll be there ehehe either in the summer (august) or another time... hugs!!!
i think that august is quite suitable time for visiting estonia (and other baltic countries) unless you enjoy skiing ofcourse but at the end of july there's a great folkmusic festival in estonia if you like that kind of things. (ok, it seems like it's a little bit offtopic already...) big warm hugs to you too!
GOT TO ROME!!! Milan sucks... i study there.. we have a beautiful ancient university ..but the city isnt really that much to see... beside as u said.. La Scala, il Duomo, Brera and some other museum.. really it isnt that big deal! it's expenisve, dirty (and smelly), and i milanesi mi stanno proprio sulle palle! GO TO ROME INSTEAD!!! AS MY SIGNATURE SAYS (IT'S LATIN!) ROME IS THE CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!!
mm..if this is an invite,...well.. I could arrange my holidays af august with destination "baltic countries"...
Miss_Tambourine_Girl, i am sure that trere are so many places and things to see in Italy. But i cannot see all of these at once. No doubt, i will come to Rome one day. In the near future i hope. But i think that i should have more knowledge about italian culture, history etc before i visit Rome. Manolao, i and Baltic countries are waiting for you!
