In some bars here the barmen and women – they are mainly male – create images on the frothy surface of cappucinos. These images can be hearts, leaves or anything else the cappucino artist is capable of. I don’t know exactly how they create these fleeting images, but they do and it is a nice touch. They can help to brighten up a cool grey winter morning or even help you get over those wrong-side-of-bed blues.

Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
Not all barmen can do this little trick, but the next time you find yourself in Italy and order a cappucino, before taking a sip look and see if there is an image. You never know, you may feel the better for it.
One can almost imagine that there is a a sort of annual cappucino art competition here, although I don’t know if one exists. Might be a good idea.