Chores on the Italian Road

I’ve been on the road for nearly two months now, and I’m in a great work groove. Even the little chores are fun.

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Tour guides know that when you’re in Europe surrounded by tourists binging on chocolate, cakes, and gelato, you learn extreme portion control. While I rarely indulge in an entire ice cream cone, I do sample gelaterie in every town as part of my research responsibilities. And I’m getting pretty good at taking selfies — even while enjoying a little spoonful.

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For me, one of the small delights of travel is getting a haircut. While it used to stress me out because of the language barrier, now I keep an eye out for a place that feels right (away from the tourist zone, and with a successful but not too trendy vibe) and trust the stylist. It’s easy to drop in, make a reservation that works conveniently into your sightseeing, and then come back later for your haircut. It’s also a fun way to meet a local. Do you have any good or bad experiences at the barbershop or beauty salon while on the road?

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Part of travel is doing the laundry. While I’ve been relying on elbow grease and hotel room sinks for six weeks, soon or later it becomes fragrantly clear that a good, thorough wash is needed. All over Europe, self-service launderettes have smart machines with clear English instructions. This place in Lucca cost me €5 for the wash (detergent was automatically included) and €5 to dry. Suddenly I find people sit with me on the train.

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When I’m updating restaurants for my guidebook, I love having a local friend to help out and give their insights. But it can backfire when the local tells the chef I’m writing a guidebook, and they decide to get all trendy. In these cases, I wind up eating goofy gourmet off-menu morsels like this concoction… and learn nothing about what typical travelers eat when they sit down here.

Comments

4 Replies to “Chores on the Italian Road”

  1. I remember in Paris trying to find a laundromat to wash my duds and I was trying to speak French to the operator of the laundromat. He couldn’t understand me too well. Then I discovered how to wash my gear in the sink with shampoo and I thought I smelt like one million dollars.

  2. In a laundromat in Woking, a suburb of London, my husband and I were doing laundry. The laundromat was in an old brick and wood building near the railroad tracks. I went down the street to find a restroom in the hardware store ( and bought something for using their facilities). When I returned I learned from my husband and the other man in the laundromat that the largest rat either of them had ever seen ran from a hole on one side of the room to a hole in the other side of the room. As soon as our clothes were reasonably dry, we stuffed our things in our packs and got out of there!

  3. Ah chores; I must comment! We have been travelling for 9 months and are still mastering laundry. We do a combination of sink (and dry on our Rick Steves clothesline!) and send out a few heavy pieces in the hotel or the best option, stay in an apartment with a washer. I have a degree in Washing Machine Operation as they are all different and complicated. Learned quickly that when a hotel says it has ‘laundry facilities’ in Europe, it seldom means self-catering.

    As for the haircuts, I show the stylist a picture of me on my phone; in my original haircut, use sign language and sound effects and hope for the best. I always tell myself the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is a week, and hope for the best.

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