Updated by: May 8, 2026
The 8:30am Aperitif
My father was born in Calabria, Southern Italy. Years’ ago, he travelled back there with my Nonna — who is now 97 and still going strong, a fact she partly attributes to a lifelong devotion to Bisleri liqueur!
On this particular visit, the family offered my father an aperitif. A perfectly normal Italian custom of a welcoming drink before a meal.
The only problem? It was 8:30 in the morning!
My father, a practical man, declined. A polite, but firm, “no thank you.”
The offence taken was significant…. So significant, that the family phoned my Nonno back in Australia, who hadn’t made the trip, to report the slight.
It got me thinking about a question every traveler eventually faces: when you’re a guest in someone else’s country, how far do you go in honoring their customs?
There’s a reasonable argument for full participation. Customs exist for reasons — connection, hospitality & trust. Refusing them can close doors that might otherwise open.
There’s an equally reasonable argument for holding your own ground. A drink at 8:30am is a drink at 8:30am, regardless of geography.
My father stood his ground and the family got over it… eventually!
Travel teaches you that there’s rarely a clean answer. Sometimes you drink the aperitif and sometimes, you don’t.
Tread your own path.
Paul Mercuri
Wake Up Here Founder
