EYP - English Yellow Pages for Italy

I was so surprisd when I first took my clothes to the cleaners. Not only did I not get a receipt, but they did not even asked me my name! They had never seen me before but all the man said was..“They’ll be ready Thursday”. Back home in the States they fill out a receipt with your name, address, phone number and apt. number. I like the Italian way better. It’s quicker and friendlier.

originally posted by: Stephanie L.

I was dining with my Italian husband at an outdoor restaurant. There was an American couple of tourists at a near-by table. At a certain point , I raised my arm to call over the waiter. The woman at the other table called over to me..“You’re American, aren’t you?” “Why, yes”, I said. “How did you know?” “When you raised your arm I noticed you didn’t have any hair under it”
I’d like to be recognized for other things!

originally posted by: Stella L.

Everyday when I pick up my five year old from nursery school, the teacher talks to me only about what little Tommy ate and what he did not eat! She never mentions how he is getting along with the others, or how he colors, etc.! I noticed the teacher is quite elated when she can tell me that he ate a hearty lunch!

originally posted by: Judy

Here you can find American cake mixes, pancake mix and syrup, salad dressings and lots of other goodies.
Castroni has several locations around the city.

originally posted by: Anonymous Reviewer

Located in Rome’s Jewish Ghetto. A must, the fried artichokes!

originally posted by: Vanessa

Just the other day, I was walking by a store and saw a coat that I just had to have. However, they did not accept credit cards and I only had my American checkbook with me. The young storeowner allowed me to take the coat home as long as I brought her the money the following day. Only in Italy!

originally posted by: E. Ness

Ever been to the center on weekend mornings? Notice how the Italians just like to stroll? At first, this concept of the passaggiata, or stroll, was very strange to me. They just stroll through the streets of Campo dei Fiori or Piazza Navona aimlessly wondering. Stopping off randomly at a bar for a coffee in their weekend attire, just strolling in the center. The piazze are so crowded that you have to swim through the couples hanging on to each other passionately and the teenagers grasping each others hands.
However, the passaggiata is a classic example of cultural differences between Americans and Italians. Quite frankly, I had never taken a Saturday morning stroll, locked elbow to elbow with my closest friend talking about what would be the best restaurant to dine at that evening. I quite enjoy it now and cannot imagine doing without it.

originally posted by: David

Can the word appointment really be used like that the pronunciation of the word beach (should you tell them or should I)I see honey, so the Rome soccer team lost because I came with you to the stadium… Okay, let me get this straight. You dont sell stamps, or envelopes, or post cards. Wait a second, isnt this the post office? I have developed a new habit: if my bus does not arrive within twenty minutes of me waiting, I just start walking What is the deal with smoking in banks Dont the gyms remind you of a hamsters cage

originally posted by: Vanicole

As I was getting ready, the telephone repair man rang at my door at 8:45 in the morning. Even though my phone has been out of order for four days, Telecom had failed to make contact with me. Then, out of nowhere, they decide to come 15 minutes before I need to be at work. Because of the screaming Roman soccer fans who won the derby last night, I got very little sleep and I woke up in a bad mood. Late for work and all, this repair guy wants me to make him a cup of coffee.
The reason for my phone line being down ended up being something that had nothing to do with Telecom Italia, at all. My actual cord was broken and therefore, there was no signal. It took him quite a while to fix the cable and neither one of us was happy about that. But in the end, he did not charge me. That was really nice!

originally posted by: Anonymous

Tuesday’s terrorist bombings have freed a lot of people to do things they know they should have been doing for a long time, but had not done for a variety of reasons. Although many analysts are now forecasting a sharp recession for the American economy, which in and of itself would probably cause a worldwide recession, I hold a contrarian view. I believe that the bottom of the well will be reached next week, and that the American economy will rise sharply thereafter.

The special issue of Business Week makes the case for a sharp recession: Falling travel will impact the airline and travel industry, insurance claims will take its toll on insurers, fear will slow consumer spending, and the stock market has normally fallen following exogenous shocksbad news from outside the stock market. These predictions are echoed by the Economist and analysts for the international edition of the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. For me to say that they are all wrong is a big leap. (Me? Contradict the Economist?)

The reasons I believe differently are as follows: First, the price of oil and gold rose quickly, but then dropped back in the direction of previous levels. This indicates that the most nervous (or most sensitive) of investors initially panicked, but now have had a chance to re-evaluate their positions. Second, the U.S. Federal Reserve has taken measures to insure liquidity, and market makers are working together to guarantee settlements and fair transaction pricing. This means that people do not need to make financial decisions based on the fear of the market not working.

Third, Congress has voted to spend a lot of money on recovering from the disaster, and has committed to spending a lot more in case of military action. This type of spending is normally what a national economy needs during an economic slowdown, but Congress had previously been reluctant to do so because of political promises to leave Social Security funds untouched. Fourth, the dramatic impact on American airline carriers will probably lead to governmental intervention on their behalf. This intervention will allow airlines to reduce prices, partly to stimulate business travel, and this stimulus will probably work. Defense Department spending, which would not have been much help if it had been focused on missile defense, will help the economy if it is channeled into what is already becoming a clich, “homeland defense.” The Federal Reserve will probably reduce interest rates by between .5 and 1 percentage points, and the European Central Bank will probably reduce rates as well, although not by as much, and although they will certainly say they are not working in tandem with the Fed.

Seventh, several areas of the American economy had begun turning upwards in the month before the attack, and this was reflected in small business owners’ attitudes and intentions, which became unexpectedly positive. It is impossible to over-estimate the importance of small business in the American economy. It is merely difficult to estimate at all, which is why we don’t hear about it enough.

Eighth, every day that goes by without unleashing the dogs of war reduces the chance that America will act like a spaghetti Western cowboy. Even the five days of grace given so far (I write this on Sunday) mean that the voices of reason are taking effect. There will be American military action, possibly next weekend, probably consisting of incursions into Afghan airspace and other countries, in an attempt to decapitate the leadership of several terrorist organizations. But it will probably not be the sort of war that everyone feared last Wednesday and Thursday.

Ninth, there are no great powers that will oppose American action against terrorism. Both Russia and China are deeply concerned about Islamic fundamentalist opposition to their governments, and will not be disruptive should America take action. Vocal support from the prickly French, the most likely to have objected to American action, basically has left the world as united as it was for the Gulf War.

Tenth, the Bush administration will be judged on how it handles this issue. There will be no sloppy half-measures permitted. Colin Powell, architect of the methodical destruction of the Iraqi army, should have enough influence to see to that.

I make no apologies for the clinical nature of this analysis. What is in my heart is not contained in these words. But business and political leaders will be making important decisions that will affect us all in the next week, possibly the next 48 hours, and I consider it important that they have access to more than the conventional wisdom, important enough to leave my feelings out of this.

Thomas Fuller is an independent Internet analyst based in Turin.

originally posted by: Thomas W. Fuller