Originally Posted by jmd001
Will be in Italy (Rome, Florence, & Sorrento) for 10 days in late September. Looking for recommendations [or dis-recommendations] for
(a) books
(b) computer software
for quickly learning enough Italian to get by and not appear too much like an ugly American.
(I have some lingering knowledge of my high school French; I can ask questions with a fairly good accent; however, understanding the answers is an other issue...
)
Don't bother if you have better things to do. Knowing some Italian will not change your degree of uglieness, and the vast majority of tourists there do not know gracia, prego, alora, multa bene, or bon gourino, which is just about enough to get by. All seem to know chao.