What special customs do you observe on New Year's Eve?

You have to have a piece of black coal, a wee piece of cake and a

woeilley whiskey.

Coming up on travel with Rick Steves, we'll have fun exploring the different ways our friends from places like

Scotland and Spain, Belgium and Sicily, Hungary and Turkey bring in the New Year.

If you get a knock at your with bread and cheese. To help you plan your party menu, friends living in Italy

explain how each different variety of pasta and sauce has its own purpose.

The texture on your palate is very important, how they blend together.

And we'll find out what's expected of you when you're invited to a house party in Switzerland.

Even more daunting is when you leave a few hours later and a few drinks later, you have to go around and say goodbye and remember everyone's name.

Enjoy and International New Year's with us in the hour ahead. It's Travel with Rick Steeves.

A lot of people travel with walls up. Bringing those walls down is what allows you to have those

moments where you truly connect with new people and cultures.

Rosetta Stone can help take down one of the biggest walls, the language barrier.

Rosetta Stone is fun to use, you learn fast, and you can use it on your smartphone, tablet, or computer.

For a special discount, go to Rosetta Stone.com slash Rick Steves.

One way to temper the anxiety that sometimes accompanies the start of the new year

is with the time-honored traditions and even superstitions that people observe on New Year's Eve.

Coming up, we'll hear about the fun ways many of our friends from other countries bring in the

new year.

So what's on the menu?

Let's open today's travel with Rick Steeves with a look at the countless options you have for preparing Italy's favorite food.

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