A little knowledge goes a long way.  And can gain you instant respect from waiters and locals in Europe.  Take for example a simple item like water.  Here in the USA we drink tap water regularly and now a lot of us are into bottled water (one of my pet peeves for people driving – please stop).  The concept of bottled water actually started in Europe out of necessity since tap water in a lot of places was, frankly, awful and sometimes unhealthy.  Each locality had it’s own brand or favorite.  And now it’s commonly a source of pride and in most upper scale restaurants a measuring stick for diners.  If you want instant respect you gotta know the right water to order!
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