Hello, welcome to Easy English.
So today, we're on the beach and we wanna find out
what Brits think about Italians.
Now, this is a special episode because ''Easy Italian''
are gonna find out what Italians think about Brits,
which you can watch up here.
But let's get back to it,
this is what Brits think about Italians.
Tell me what's your opinion on Italians?
Er… Italians can cook and they're very well dressed
and they’re very stylish and they're… they're very exotic
and usually quite sexy. One of my really good friends is Italian,
we play volleyball together and she meets all those criteria, actually.
Oh really? - So yeah, I don't think it's a stereotype.
So she has you over to cook quite a lot? - She does actually, yes.
And she makes lots of pasta and pizza,
but I think that's because that's what I ask for.
I think I'm the stereotype, not her. what do you think about Italians?
I think they're amazing, I think the…
the fact that they are so gregarious, so charming,
they love their food and they put it all out,
there… there’s very little in terms of reserved behaviour. I think the northern
Italians consider themselves very sophisticated,
you know? - Oh, okay. - I remember, I was in a place called Ventimiglia,
which is just on the border as you go from er… south of France; Nice,
that way, you just cross over, you go through a tunnel;
you're in Italy, Ventimiglia. And… and er…
I was sitting outside a cafe one evening,
having a brandy and a cigar or something like that,
just thoroughly enjoying being a foreigner abroad,
but no British there, which is great.
One of the reasons tha… one of the reason I went there.
And this guy came to… very elegant sort of guy,
about six-foot-two, grey hair, cashmere overcoat over his shoulders,
you know, just walking along and he came up to me,
with a perfect… Italian, but perfect English accent, wonderful.
And he was the, something like, the professor of antiquities at the…
where was it? The Torino university, right.
And he was just having a stroll around and he said;
''I wonder'' he said, I wanted to try and do the Italian accent;
''I wonder if er… would you like an ice cream?''
Well that’s what they do! They have an ice cream.
Or in Lake Como and they parade around in the evening,
you know, everyone. If you're, you know, it doesn't…
you don’t have to be an academic or an aristocrat, everyone does.
If you drive a bus, you’re going to be doing that in your best clothes.
They seem to work a lot tweed as well, which is really odd.
I think they li… I think they like the English, they like the English.
The geography teacher look. - Exactly, exactly.
But now, if you go right down south south, right.
You go into a village or a town like that;
''Hey! You have some more wine, come in here, have some food,
it’s good, it’s good''. They don't dress up, it's fine.
There's nothing in their homes,
because they don't spend time in their homes. - Right.
Because it's always sunny outside. - Yeah.
My opinion is that they're probably really nice people.
I'm at St. Andrews university and it's quite international, so yeah.
I mean, all sorts of people and everyone’s lovely.
Okay, so you know some Italians? - Er… my best friends aren’t Italian,
but there are Italians at my uni, so.
They’re not in my social circle, but yeah,
everyone's lovely there, so. And have you been to Italy before?
Yes I have, I’ve been to Rome and Venice.
Okay and so… you’ve met Italians, I guess. - Yeah.
What were they like? - Very friendly,
probably more friendly than Brits sometimes. Well, of the Italians that I have met,
I do find them nice, yeah.
Yeah, have you both been to Italy? - I haven’t been to Italy.
I’ve been to Italy, but I was like, six or something.
So I don't remember it very well. - Okay and where did you go?
Venice. - Okay great. And how about you, what's your opinion of Italians?
My opinion of Italians is well, I worked for two families
that are Italian and they live here in Saltdean.
Oh really? - Yeah and they are very, very family orientated,
extremely so. So, more so than us I would say.
I think they have like really good food, it's quite a cool culture.
I don't think they've got the yobbishness that we’ve got here,
I think the children are politer and nicer. - Okay. - Yeah. So it's funny,
when you first off the question
I immediately thought about food. Because I love Italian food
and I've had some really nice meals in Italy.
I think that the way that they eat as well
is a lot more relaxed and kind of laid back than British people;
often are a bit formal and are uptight when it comes to food.
I like the relaxed approach to cooking. - Okay.
I think they also have more respect for their elders.
Yes! - Oh yes, that's another thing, isn’t it, yes.
This seems to be a thing people have mentioned as well;
family is a... - Very important and they cherish older people
don't they? Rather than finding them in irritation.
Before we carry on with our episode,
here's a short snippet about what Matteo thinks about Brits
and what Katie found out on the streets.
What do I think about the Brits?
Well, they're cold, snobs, alcoholics…
Joking; my wife is British.
Erm… someone said that Brits are like coconuts and Italians
are like peaches, that's because It's very easy to like,
be friends with Italians, because Italians are like; whey!
Let's be friends.
Instead, with British people, it's very difficult,
but once you managed to break the hard shell,
It's all friendship and love.
That's kind of it.
And you drink
a bit more than us.
And erm… have you been to Italy before?
I've been to Venice, which I think is in Italy,
so I’m very confident about that, yeah.
I see. And do you have plans to return to Italy
after your experience in Venice? - Absolutely, it's beautiful,
definitely. - Perfect I had the… the pleasure of working with a number of Italians
and spending some visits there; I went to Milan, went to Rome,
went to Lake Como a couple of times and they're just absolutely,
the best hosts, I loved it. But Rome is just amazing I had the…
the archetypal Italian experience; I was sitting by the Coliseum,
having pasta and wine and next to me, there was a padre there,
in his… - No. - Dog collar as a ''Vespa'' and a ''Ferrari'' went past.
So I… I took a picture of it, just to… I mean,
it can’t get more than that, that's your Italian overdose right there.
Wow, that’s like a sketch or something.
Yeah, it was absolutely amazing. - Wow, okay. And would you say,
from you’re… you’ve been to a few places in Italy then? - Yes.
And is… would you say that they… that this like,
archetype that you sort of, said, fits to all the regions
that you’ve been? - Bits of it do and that’s just…
I suppose that’s the caricature. But the…
the fact that you can see some things permeate all the way through.
So, the openness, the… the willingness to engage,
the… the love of food a love of wine. Everyone loves food,
but I think they've got it down to fine art, in Italy;
it's much more accessible than perhaps some fine cuisines,
it’s just lovely. What do you think everyone England kind… or Britain thinks of Italians?
Is there like, a cliché, if you know what I mean,
of what we think of them?
I think right now, some British people might not like the Italians
as much as they may have used to a year ago or so,
as the… they also the Euro final to them, so.
Ah… I was waiting for someone to say that.
Okay, so you think, maybe we’re a little bit sore? - Yeah.
And what’s… what’s your opinion of Italians? - I like them.
Even though they upset you, only a month ago.
I… I thought they deserved it, firstly. Is there like, a resounding…
maybe you've already sort of, said it.
With the kind of, the pride or the kind of, the yeah…
maybe the pride in the culture.
Or what’s a resounding feature throughout the whole if Italy?
I would, it’s their enthusiasm. - Enthusiasm.
Yep, especially when it comes to… did we mention cooking at all?
Yeah, especially when we do that because… and quite frankly,
I am a little bit biased here; there are no greater waiters,
in the world as than Italians. And how does your opinion compare to the kind of,
clichéd general popula… populous opinion of Italians in Britain?
Hey, I think that we've always got a real soft spot for Italians,
because I think, much of… so my first experience of all things Italian
as a Scotsman was going to ''Visocchi's Ice Cream'' in Kirriemuir
and seeing just, this wonderful wealth of flavours that you know,
at your home you wouldn't get. And, so that…
that Italian-ness come through in a… in a lot of people as we grew up.
And then you take the chance to travel and see it in Italy and it's…
it's the same again, but a thousand-fold more. We have the same channel,
but in Italy asking the opposite question,
what do you think Italians will say when they’re asked the question;
what they think of Brits? - I don't really know. - Well I guess…
I'd like to think it’ll be good but… - But like… - I don’t really know.
I guess on the same sort of, the football;
we're not very nice in football.
Yeah, I think the football fans aren’t…
The football fans haven’t been that nice recently.
Right, because of the booing and stuff?
Yeah. So, maybe again, the wrong perception. - Yeah. We have a team,
called ''Easy Italian'' that're making the same,
counter-question… - About British people, ah! - I dread to think!
What’re they saying? I don’t know, I they think they must think…
because they seem to cherish their heritage so much.
And we do have an awf… we’re a very historical nation, aren’t we?
Our attitude to it is very different, I think, to the Italians,
but they may kind of, find that really fascinating.
Thanks for watching this week's episode,
let us know in the comments below;
what you think about Italians and if us Brits
are a bit like coconuts.
And we'll see you next week, bye.