Life in Italy | Friends, Food, and Beautiful Piazzas. Why Aperitivo is One of My Favorite Things

Buongiorno!

Is this Aperitivo statement a bit of an exaggeration? Okay, saying it's THE BEST thing about living in Italy could be over the top. However, it is one of the many reasons I love living here.

In today's video I talk about what Aperitivo is and how it's not the same as our Stateside Happy Hour. The concept started with the Ancient Romans but Aperitivo, as we know it, began in Torino/Turin in 1786 when vermouth was invented. Then in 1860 Campari was invented in Milano/Milan. Both cites had and have a strong cafe culture. Enter the Venetians with their love of Spritzes (hmmm all these places are up north) and the rest is history.

You don't need to drink alcohol but some food is a must. The approach to drinking here is quite different. It's a social thing, not a let's get wasted thing. Drinking without something to eat is seen as strange, even a few chips is better than nothing. The word aperitivo comes from the Latin word, aperitivus, meaning something that opens. The aperitivo opens your appetite.

As I mentioned in the video, here's my list of where to go in Rome for cocktails:
https://www.arlenegibbsdecor.com/blog/a-locals-roman-aperitivo-a-cocktail-list

You can have an Aperitivo at home and/or by yourself. It's a way to mark the end of the work day and start your evening.

#rome #travel #food #aperitivo #wine #cocktails

Contents of this video:
00:00 - Intro
01:00 - How My First Trip to Italy Introduced Me to the Aperitivo
02:24 - Making Sure I don't Trip and Break A Hip
03:13 - Cutting Through Villa Borghese Park and Explaining the Difference between Happy Hour and Aperitivo
04:31 - What is Apericena
04:42 - One Reason Why I Love Aperitivo
10:53 - Walking Through the Gate into Piazza del Popolo
11:19 - Piazza del Popolo
12:40 - Via del Babuino
14:35 - Arriving at Ciampini Caffe
14:56 - Delicious Mocktails
15:15 - Ciao Marta!
15:32 - Heading Home
15:42 - Magical Rome
16:22 - Molto Traffic - Not Magical
16.40 - New Day - New Aperitivo
18:13 - Ciao Courtney!
18:38 - A Birthday Surprise
19:01 - More Mocktails
19:14 - Wrapping up and Thank you

I hope you've enjoyed this video. Please subscribe and hit the "like" button if you haven't already.

Thank you for watching my newish channel, My Bittersweet Life/La Mia Vita Argodolce, where I focus on all things Italiano, lifestyle, and Saint Martin/Anguilla. I call it my bittersweet life because as a woman "of a certain age", there are so many changes. Some are positive and some are heartbreaking. I recently lost both my parents and my life is not the same. I have to figure out this new normal. I'm not a fan. Zero out of ten.

While there is more public discussion about THE CHANGE, the narrative about older women (especially Stateside) is negative. Is it all la dolce vita under the Roman sun? No, but I'm determined to enjoy this phase of my life. I was so busy worrying all the time, stressing about things I had no control over, and buying into a value system that was not my own, that I sometimes didn't see the wonderful things that were right in front of me.

I plan to publish a new long form video on the first and third Sunday on the month and a Short weekly.

Let's talk!

#movingabroad #expatlife #italy #immigration #genx #immigrant #expat

Видео Life in Italy | Friends, Food, and Beautiful Piazzas. Why Aperitivo is One of My Favorite Things канала Arlene Antoinette Gibbs