I saldi
Twice a year Italian shops cut their prices: i saldi, the seasonal sales — in January and in July. You scout them in la vetrina, the shop window: guardare le vetrine is the national sport of not buying anything.
| In January the sales start. | A gennaio iniziano i saldi. |
Come paghi?
At the register the question is paghi in contanti o con la carta? — i contanti is cash, always plural like i soldi. Cash comes out of il bancomat, the ATM; Italians also say il bancomat for the debit card itself. Paper money is la banconota; the small stuff is il centesimo, the cent — one hundred make one euro.
Pay with a big banknote and you get il resto — the change. Ecco il resto is what the cashier says handing it back.
| I pay the bill in cash. | Pago il conto in contanti. |
Gratis e i dollari
The best price of all is gratis — free. It never changes form: il caffè è gratis, i musei sono gratis. And for money talk beyond Europe there is il dollaro, the dollar.
