Local Expert
Bradley Harden
Living the Sweet Life in a Fantasy Land
I was born in Missouri, but grew up in Minnesota where I was exposed to true winter and the health benefits of shoveling A LOT of snow. After graduating from…
Living the Sweet Life in a Fantasy Land
I was born in Missouri, but grew up in Minnesota where I was exposed to true winter and the health benefits of shoveling A LOT of snow. After graduating from high school I attended Northwest Missouri State University for 2 years and then transferred to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music and earned a degree in Music Business and Management. After deciding that a desk job simply wasn't my thing at this point in my life, I set out to see what the world had to offer. I found a wonderful little town a few miles southwest of Venice called Padova. This small, university town truly captures all of the ideas, visions, sights, and sounds of what you think Italy should be...except the gondolas, that is left for Venice.
I enjoy a lot of different things. Travel is obvious. I have traveled extensively throughout Europe in the years since arriving, trying to see as much as I can. This, of course, includes a vast amount of Italy. I have had a wonderful time experiencing the culture with real Italians that have taken me to the places that you can not find in any guidebook and that are not on any map. During the spring and summer I work as a liaison for travelers; helping them find their way from the airport or train station to their hotels and helping them navigate through Venice or surrounding area to see things that are off the beaten path. Of course, if it’s your first time you need to see the important historical things, but if you’ve been before perhaps a day of ‘live like a local’ is more your thing. I always find a huge amount of pleasure and satisfaction from seeing a city that I know very well through the eyes of someone who is experiencing it for the first time. When this happens I, too, see the city for the first time and I realize that the magic never left.
In addition to all of this, I also enjoy movies, most types of music, going out for a “spritz” in the piazzas during the evenings with friends, and since I’m living in Italy eating AMAZING food and drinking a GREAT glass of wine come almost automatically. This is the definition of "Having your cake and eating it too."
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Italian Police Bust 4-Year-Old Sandwich Crime Boss
Some of you have probably read my article about how it's now illegal to feed the pigeons in Saint Mark's Square, this is still true so don't think that this post is a correction of the facts. But what came to my attention earlier this week is that there are several laws through the cities of Italy that are new and ridiculous. If you're not well versed on some of them before you arrive, you could be spending a lot of hard earned vacation money on fines rather than sight seeing.
I can now safely say that "If it's fun, then it's illegal in Italy". Why can I say this? Because it's true. Here's the new situation that caught my attention.
If you plan on traveling to the city of Verona to see the Roman Arena, Juliet's House, or just to simply hang out in the city center drinking a nice white wine from the local vineyards, be careful that you don't eat anything on the street because if you do, you could be facing a 35 Euro fine from the authorities. Which means, if you love to stop a gelatoria on a hot summer day and get 3 scoops of your favorite Italian Gelato, don't walk away, find a place to sit down because the afternoon stroll with the gelato is a sure way to pay 35 Euro extra for that 2 Euro cup of ice cream.
And these people are serious! It was reported that a mother gave her 4 year old child a sandwich to munch on because they were standing outside Palazzo Barbieri and the child was hungry. Because of the kind gesture of this loving mother, the police fined the 4 Year Old Boy 35 Euro for eating on the street. Yes, that's right the 4 year old boy! So to all mothers out there, I'm sorry to tell you that your children will have to go hungry in the city of Verona.
This type of freedom to create ludicrous and ridiculous laws has been given to the city mayors by the government itself in what it calls "security emergency". This is all an attempt to cover other problems by creating new ones. I was able to find this article at the link below that talks about the situation as well as other cities throughout the country. When the page opens, scroll half way to the bottom to get the English Version, take notes, and make sure that your vacation is an economical one with cash saved instead of spent on something as frivolous as feeding pigeons, sitting three people on a park bench, or leaving the beach in a bikini. Enjoy!
Tourists Beware: If It's Fun, Italy Has a Law Against It
If you would like to contact me directly about this, or anything else regarding Venice or northern Italy, visit me HERE.