Is It True That There Is No Root Beer In Italy???

correct. It is strickly forbidden by a Papal decree made in the early 1650s. Butterscotch pudding is also forbidden.

Papal decree? I heard the European Parliament banned Italian consumption after they won the 2006 World Cup. Jealousy is an ugly emotion!

My world just came to an end. No root beer in Italy. What about Estonia? Is there root beer in Estonia?

ds although we never saw rootbeer it does not mean it does not exist, likely a dusty bottle lurks in some back aisle of an "exotic or import" food store somewhere.
Will you find one on a menu,, no .

My 12 yr found the basic soft drinks available on menus were Orangina( orange, but not as sweet as orange crush, more like orange juice and soda water mixed), 7 up coke and coke light, and occaisonally gingerale.

She drank alot of water, pop is really over priced in restaurants and cafes in Europe, cheaper in stores.

They do have alot of interesting juices in stores, pear nectors , apricot juice etc.. and they also have these syrups that are flavored that they mix with water, I am sorry I forget the name of them., mmm, those were in France now that I think of it, I am not so sure about those in Italy.

Thank you all, I love people responding to my questions.

DS:)

In the 27 years I lived in Germany and France and travelled extensively throughout Europe I had never ever seen root beer. Nor did I know that it existed till I came to Northamerica for the first time.

Here is wikipedia's explanation:

Root beer is not a popular drink in Europe. It can rarely be found at the import section of supermarkets. One of the reasons for its lack of popularity in Europe has to do with the fact that the US had an alcohol ban during the 1920s whereas Europe did not

Beatrix, your input helps me a lot thank you.b

How about Sasparilla?

Unfortunately, you may find a lot of of US things not available in Europe. Part of the joys of travel. Don't expect it to be the same. We always comment about how salad always comes with corn. Remembered an ugly scene in a very nice restaurant when an American tourist demanded, and I mean DEMANDED, lemon pepper for her salad. The Italian waiters tried so hard to please her. Even brought fresh lemon and ground pepper but that was not good enough for her.

Ha, we laugh cause the Germans put corn on everything and think it is either American or Mexican. Think corn on Pizza or nachos or in chili. They also sell frozen pizzas with BBQ pork on them and call them American pizzas. I love going to grocery stores in other countries and can happily spend time just looking at all the products.

My favorite root beer story is from a German friend who though he did not speak English well at all went to Florida with a friend. At the motel, he went out to the drink machine, saw "root beer" and bought a couple of them. Came back to the room and told his girlfriend. "Look, the Americans have beer in the drink automat". So, they popped the tabs and oooh, what a surprise! He said, I had heard American beer was bad, but thought, this is truly awful. Later of course he found out what root beer was, but I still think it is funny.

My kids tried it once and thought it was revolting. What EXACTLY is in Root Beer?

While I was in college, my parents hosted a Belgian exchange student for a year. The first time I met him, he was still talking about his first night in America, at a hotel in Chicago.

Belgians are world-class beer lovers, and Gino (his dad was Italian) grew up drinking beer. So when he went to a hotel vending machine and saw that it sold something called "Root Beer" he got really excited. What a great country America must be to provide beer in vending machines!

He poured it into a glass, noted its rich dark beer color and foamy head, and took a big gulp.

He's never trusted Americans since...

I never thought about the lack of rootbeer. There is a soda called Chico. I think it is cherry. There is also Gingerino. It is sweet ginger ale. One version os soda and the other is soda with a bit of a 'kick'. No Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew either.

Love the vending maching/rootbeer stories.

In Japan you can get real beer from vending machines. These are in public places like railway stations so anyone can buy beer without having to show they are over 18 or 21 (depending on where you are from).

Soda of any kind, whether bought at a cafe bar, restaurant, or a grocery store, is quite expensive in Italy. A tiny bottle of San Pellegrino arancino orange soda was 3 Euros in Florence. Drink wine!

We do not go to Italy for the soft drink selection!

Of course there is root beer in Italy. They call it wine.

Apparently it's true. The same is true for the reverse - you'll find many things in Italy that you can't find here. Isn't this one of the reasons we travel?

Oh, I'm going to have a hard time convincing my son to go to Europe now....

But I DO love having beer in vending machines. I remember a particularly long and rough drive back to Frankfurt and being eternally grateful to find beer in the hotel vending machines.

My 2 cents for all that it's worth - lay off the soda pop. It is terrible for your health anyway and very expensive in Europe. Plus you are going to drive everyone around you crazy carping about it. My bro in law did that to me with Dr Pepper in London 2007. I finally had enough after 3 days, dragged him through the Borough Market to a stall that I KNEW had it & shoved it his hand telling him that's the last I wanted to hear of it. I'm not saying that beer or wine option folks are talking about is any better for your health, but it is cheaper and everywhere. If you absolutely need something carbonated, then buy some mineral water. That's what I literally do every time I land in Czech Republic - right at the airport buy myself a Matoni for the road - since I'm allergic to beer. A good alternative for the kids is juice. That's what they should be drinking instead of pop anyway. I stopped into a Bila grocery store in Venice last Oct and picked up a sixpack of great boxed pear juice - each with their own little straw - like what you see in the USA. It tasted fantastic, was pretty reasonably priced, and the little light weight boxes easily fit in my day bag.

I'm with Jo from Frankfurt -
While other people shop for clothes or shoes - I am excitedly combing the supermarkets for unknown (to me) products!

While traveling - I would never think of ordering or having something to eat or drink - that I could easily get in the States!
Experiencing new foods etc. is such and exciting part of travel!
I hope you will teach your son about this and hopefully he will find something new and exciting.
(Don't give him Chinotto though !
It's an Italian pop flavored with bitter orange - I love it - but it is an aquired taste! Imagine a soda that has the taste of Campari!