Italian All-in-One For Dummies (82 page)

Navigating Public Transportation

If you'd rather not drive yourself, you can get around quite comfortably using public transportation, such as taxis, trains, and buses. The following sections tell you how to do so using Italian.

Calling a taxitaxi

The process of hailing a taxi is the same in Italy as it is in the United States — you even use the same word:
Taxi
(
tah
-ksee) has entered the Italian language. The only challenge for you is that you have to communicate in Italian. Here are some phrases to help you on your way:

Può chiamarmi un taxi?
(pwoh kyah-
mahr
-mee oohn
tah
-ksee?) (
Can you call me a taxi?
)

Vorrei un taxi, per favore.
(vohr-
rey
oohn
tah
-ksee, pehr fah-
voh
-reh.) (
I'd like a taxi, please.
)

In case you're asked
per
quando?
(pehr
kwahn
-doh?) (
for when?
), you need to be prepared with an answer. Following are some common ones:

alle due del pomeriggio
(
ahl
-leh
dooh
-eh dehl poh-meh-
reej
-joh) (
at 2:00 p.m.
)

domani mattina alle 5:30
(doh-
mah
-nee maht-
tee
-nah
ahl
-leh
cheen
-qweh eh
trehn-
tah) (
tomorrow morning at 5:30
)

fra un'ora
(frah oohn-
oh
-rah) (
in one hour
)

subito
(
sooh
-bee-toh) (
right now
)

After you seat yourself in a taxi, the driver will ask where to take you. Here are some potential destinations:

all'areoporto
(
ahl
-lah-reh-oh-
pohr
-toh) (
to the airport
)

a questo indirizzo: via Leopardi, numero 3
(ah
kweh
-stoh een-dee-
ree
-tsoh:
vee
-ah leh-oh-
pahr
-dee
nooh
-meh-roh treh) (
to this address: via Leopardi, number 3
)

alla stazione, per favore
(
ahl
-lah stah-
tsyoh
-neh, pehr fah-
voh
-reh) (
to the station, please
)

in via Veneto
(een
vee
-ah
veh
-neh-toh) (
to via Veneto
)

Finally, you have to pay. Simply ask the driver,
Quant'è?
(kwahn-
teh?
) (
How much is it?
) For more information about money, see
Chapter 5
in Book II.

Moving by train

You can buy a train ticket
alla stazione
(
ahl
-lah stah-
tsyoh
-neh) (
at the station
) or at
un'agenzia di viaggi
(
ooh
-nah-jehn-
tsee
-ah dee vee-
ahj
-jee) (
a travel agency
). If you want to take a
treno rapido
(
treh
-noh
rah
-pee-doh) (
express train
) that stops only in the main stations, you pay a
supplemento
(soohp-pleh-
mehn
-toh) (
surcharge
). You can travel first class or second class. On some trains it's a good idea to reserve your seat; on others, a reservation is absolutely required. The faster trains in Italy are called
Inter City (IC)
or
Euro City (EC)
if their final destination is outside Italy. The
Euro Star
and the different kinds of
Freccia
(
frehch
-chah) are even faster options (the
Frecciarossa
[
frehch
-chah
rohs
-sah] and
Freccia argento
[
frehch
-chah ahr-
jehn
-toh] being the fastest at 250+ kilometers per hour).

Keep in mind that in Italy you have to validate your ticket before getting on the train at
il binario
(eel bee-
nah
-ryoh) (
the platform; the track
). Therefore, the ticket validation boxes are located, in most cases, on the platforms. If they're out of order (sometimes it happens!), write the date and the time on your ticket. This is considered a proper validation.

You can find out all about trains by checking out the Italian national rail website at
www.trenitalia.com
. It tells you about duration of the trip and price, and it even lets you purchase your ticket ahead of time. After exploring your options, you have to make a decision and buy a ticket.

Talkin' the Talk

Bianca is at the train station in Rome. She goes to an
ufficio informazioni
(oohf-
feech
-oh een-fohr-mats-
yoh
-neh) (
information counter
) to ask about a connection to Perugia. (Track 25)