Above is the ticket booth for the Atalanta football stadium in Bergamo. My husband and three of his pals from Scotland wanted to see the match Atalanta v Chievo. This is probably a mystery in itself. I was the driver. When we got to the ticket booth we were asked for ID (passport or driving licence). As this isn't something we would normally carry about, only half of us had ID. And it meant we never got in to see the match (it was rather dull).

By law in Italy, you have to produce ID to buy tickets for a football match. I understand it is to stop hooligans. Another thing to bear in mind is that (again by law) Italians carry their ID cards around with them at all times. So for them, it probably isn't an issue. For unwitting tourists, it is something to bear in mind.

Still, we had a nice wander about the old part of Bergamo (Bergamo alta). But it was heaving with well-dressed Italians. I have never seen it so busy. It was like the streets were peopled with ants. Probably because it was a Sunday. It was sunny. And there was a home match.

​I know I am a bit anal about timetables, but a recent trip to Lake Como out of season and I realise there is a whole new vocabulary out there to learn.

Feriale is workdays (and can include Saturday – on the more detailed timetable Fer5 = 5 days Mon to Fri, Fer6 includes the Saturday).

Scolastica is school days (as many schools operate on Saturdays, you need to check the note). Si Effettua al Sabato means it operates on Saturdays. Soppressa al Sabato means it doesn’t run on Saturdays.

​Don’t get caught out by the note (Si Effettua nei giorni non di Scuola – Soppressa al Sabato). In other words it operates during school holidays but not on Saturdays.

Festiva is Sundays and holidays (but we knew that).

Gornaliera is daily.
​
But beware. If in doubt, try asking… 

This summer I noticed two things on the Lake. Firstly that it was quite common for English-speaking tourists to address bus drivers, train ticket officers, shop keepers, in English as though they would be understood. Particularly at train stations. And then they would become frustrated if they weren't responded to quickly and courteously. Nor did they try and sandwich their request between at least a couple of words like buon giorno and grazie. I live most of the year in Glasgow. It wouldn't occur to me to expect the ticket officer at Glasgow Central to speak Italian.

The other thing I noticed was bus drivers asking the tourists to direct their question to their smart phone for a google translate version in Italian. Then the bus driver would direct the answer back to the smart phone to be translated into English. Made for some interesting listening!

I am not sure what all this means, but a bit of language learning might be an option.

That is us back in Glasgow after a long summer on Lake Como. The advice about timetables was spot on. Even though my friend Jackie at the Tremezzo Tourist Office had given me a specially printed bus timetable for the summer (and most importantly for the changes in August), when I went to catch the bus I wanted she told me that there was no shuttle between Argegno and Menaggio (as printed). For financial reasons, there was no money to fund it this year. I think there were a lot of irate tourists. But what can you do? You just have to go with the flow. Or lack of flow in this case.

Always double check timetables in August. This is the month that Italians traditionally take their holidays and you will find that there will be fewer buses running. Particularly ones that are for getting people to work.

This is a 10-euro top up card for a mobile. It's probably the most difficult way to do it. Once you have bought it (probably in a newsagent or tobacconist), you have to scratch clear the number on the back and key into your phone when prompted by a fast speaking Italian voice. Alternatively you can give your mobile number to the tobacconist and they will do it online through the till. Which means you can choose what amount you want and you will be given a receipt with a bar code that you can then produce the next time you want a top up.
Ricarica Telefonica - Phone top up. Ricaricare means to top up or charge. You would do use the same word when you need to charge your phone, battery, etc.
Caricare means to load, charge or wind up (of clock).

Ricaricare means to top up or recharge.
Scaricare means to download.

Buying a bus ticket on Lake Como can be a real pain - for tourists and bus drivers. Mainly because you have to buy them in advance for the longer distance buses and you have to find out where the bus tickets are sold. In Tremezzo, for instance, they are sold in the local butchers and the travel agency. In other villages or towns it might be a bar or newsagents. These places might be shut in the afternoons between one and three so you need to think ahead.  
The question you need is:
Dove vendono i biglietti di corriera/autobus? (Where do they sell bus tickets?)
The buses that travel up and down the lake are more like coaches than city buses - hence they are usually referred to as corriera and the city buses in Como are called autobus.
The tickets are sold according to distance. Tariffa 1 is the shortest distance, probably two or three villages. This ticket would take you from Tremezzo to Menaggio (a distance of about 5 km). Tariffa 5 would take you to Como. Tickets aren't dated, so it is best to buy a good supply:
Dieci biglietti tariffa uno, per favore. (10 tickets tariff one, please)
When you get on the bus, the driver tears off the bottom tab and you keep the rest. The tickets are valid for one journey so if you are going there and back, you need two tickets. If you haven't got a ticket, the bus will stop at the next place that sells them and you will have to hop off and buy them (holding up the bus). In cities, it is a different type of ticket and you have to validate it in the punch machine on board.
Now you can see why it is a pain!

The words you need to recognise are:
ricevuta - receipt
vino - wine
bibite - soft drinks (including water)
antipasto - starter or appetizer
primo piatto - first course (often pasta or soup)
secondo piatto - second course or main course
contorno - side dish (usually veg or salad)
formaggio - cheese
dessert - no need to translate!
caffe - coffee
liquori - liqueurs (like brandy or whisky, etc)
Note how euro prices are written with a comma: So 147 euros are 147,00.
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It's not that often that you are going to go for all the courses: antipasto, primo, secondo, formaggio, dessert (unless you are very hungry, have lots of time and money is no object!). Some restaurants have a buffet-type selection of antipasti which is a great way of sampling lots of different titbits.

This sign tells you a number of things:
Clementines are for sale. Singular in Italian is clementina. Plural is clementine. In other words the final a changes to e. This is how most words that are feminine (that take la as the article) become plural. You also have to change the article la to le.
They cost 3.5 euros per kilo. Note how in Italian the comma is used 3,5 euro. Euro is technically a made up word. The plural is the same: un euro and dieci euro. In English we add an s: one euro, ten euros.
The clementines come from (provenienza) Spain (Spagna). They look good.

The word for strawberries is fragole. Notice here that it is fragoloni (the ending tells you that the strawberries are nice and big).
Provenienza tells you their provenance (where they come from). Italians are keen on local produce so Italia is good.