Table for One

In Italy, I do not have the contacts I did in Spain. Most of my traveling here will be done alone, and after the fun-filled and friend-filled time in Spain, I could do with some time to myself.

When you are solo, eating alone and being alone, I have come to realize that you don’t (or shouldn’t) affect anyone else’s foreign experience. You don’t speak much (unless you really get into talking to yourself, which I don’t), so you are not filling the airwaves with English. You take up little space, so most of the time people don’t notice you. And honestly, sitting alone in a café with a book or journal I feel adds to the ambience of being in the world, and the idea of traveling – for myself, and others.

In my search for meals, or an afternoon glass of wine or cappuccino, I have noticed that most people do not assume I am American. They speak to me in Italian first, and if they get a confused look in return, they ask French? Dutch? German? ‘Americano’ is not top on the list, and I am secretly proud of this.

Why? Because Americans in foreign countries can be simply rude! Listen to this…

For my first Italian dining experience, I had taken the recommendation of a shop owner on where to go that evening. I wanted a local feel, not a place flooded with tourists and guidebooks. I wanted to practice my Italian and soak up Venice. The shop owner assured me it was locals only, and I was excited to lose my American counterparts that I found flooded this city.

I walked into Trattoria la Bottega, and asked for a table for one. I got the last table of the seven that filled the tiny dining space. The menu was written on a chalkboard on the wall, all in Italian, I took this as an immediate good sign.

As my waiter brought me a carafe of vino and a salad, my Italian dining experience began to go downhill. Vino was great. Insalata mista was fresh. The conversation around me was ALL ENGLISH. And not just English, American English. These people were simply awful. Especially the table to my right with three people, most likely from NYC. The woman in red pants (which were too tight by the way) could not stop staring in my direction or speaking loud enough about her rent and her amazing job. I couldn’t get over how nosy she was about what was going on at my little table. She watched me eat and would comment on everything… “Is that girl ever going to eat her Spaghetti?”…”If she orders desert too its going to kill me”…I mean seriously? She had to at least have the thought that even if I spoke some Italian, I could speak English too. When her tablemates told her to pipe down the table in front of me picked up where she left off.

“Traveling alone can be so lonely”… “Should we ask her to join us?” NO! God, these people seriously need to get a grip and some manners. Traveling alone can be ANNOYING when you have to deal with people like this. I had not yet had this type of experience and I prayed there were not more on the horizon.