Language basics saved my solo trip through Southern Italy A quick story for solo travelers planning a trip to Italy. I didn't plan to learn Italian. Downloaded a few apps a few weeks before leaving, mostly because I was going solo to smaller towns in Italy and got nervous about communication. Started in Rome where English was fine, at least in the touristy spots I was in it was no problem. But then I went down south, traveled all the way down to Catania and I can tell you, everything changed. My broken Italian changed my trp and helped me more than expected. The way people treated me was genuinely so warm. Even with my few phrases locals probably couldn't fully understand, everyone I stopped and asked something tried to help so much. There was this one older man who tried giving me directions for a solid few minutes but I only knew "avanti" so I just nodded and smiled the whole time lol.…