Italian coffee bars

One of the immense delights of traveling in Italy is the ubiquity of coffee bars. You go in and get your coffee receipt from the cashier. Depending on the bar and how busy they are, they may forgive you for forgetting and going right up to the bar instead of paying first at the cassa. It's usually only one euro for espresso or macchiato but will be more for cappuccino and may be more at an Illy bar or fancy place. You put your receipt on the bar and tell the bartender what you want. He or she puts out a saucer and spoon and brews the coffee. And then you drink it, standing at the bar, and go immediately to heaven.

When Christie and I are together in Italy, our morning ritual is a variant on this. She rather likes to check the day's weather forecast, work on directions and transit for the day's adventures, check in on the news, and similar preparation things. I really like my early morning walk to the nearest bar for our cappuccinos and croissants, take-away per favore. I am a regular by the second or third day. In Milan, many of the bars were run by Chinese. On Sunday in Turin, I had to go further afield since our regular Wonder Bar, around the corner, wasn't open. The further place gave me a paper shopping bag with an insert with two indentations for coffee cups, for taking away. I kept that and it became part of my regular costume for fetching coffee. I didn't think to take a picture but it definitely identified me.  Yeah right, as if they thought for a second that I was Italian. A couple of the bartenders used small pieces of aluminum foil to cover the cup. Reduce, reuse, recycle. When I took the foil back the next day for reuse, they smiled. The Chinese bartender in Milan even said "bravissima" when I showed him that I still had the foil.

Yes, "take away" is the usual term for getting something to go.