Destination and Fare (part 1 of 2)

The first minute in a taxi settles everything that follows. Say where you are going, get the suitcase into the trunk, and find out what the ride costs before the car pulls away, and the rest of the trip is simply sitting back and watching the city go by.

This part takes you from the open door to the moment you are moving. You practice naming a destination with its street, as in All'Hotel Aurora, in via Roma, per favore, answering a question about luggage, and asking what you will pay with Quanto costa la corsa? A few wordings deserve a note. The driver's opening Dove La porto? is the polite way of asking where you want to go, and it looks oddly third person because that is how courteous Italian addresses a stranger. In salga pure, the little word pure is not doing its usual job of meaning "also"; it just softens the invitation into a friendly "go right ahead". And Quanto tempo ci vuole? is the set expression for asking how long something takes, with a ci that belongs to the phrase rather than translating on its own. All of it transfers to airport transfers, station pickups, and any ride you arrange in person.