Italians are not concerned with such folly. The vegetable is next, if it is not served with the pasta dish. The salad arrives at the end of the meal. Beer and water are the most popular choices for beverages, with a large bottle of water being entirely consumed. Wine or soda is almost never served until dinner, which is after 8 p.m. in Italy.
Several minutes pass between each course before the next one arrives.
Dessert is usually saved, if consumed at all, for the evening meal. After lunch, they walk. Since workers have a three hour break, the walk back to work can be leisurely and long. Rome is built on seven hills, so walking those hills keeps the inhabitants fit around the clock. Women will walk arm in arm, as will men sometimes.