A Natale puoi fare quello che non puoi fare mai: riprendere a giocare, riprendere a sognare, riprendere quel tempo che rincorrevi tanto. At Christmas you can / do those things which you can never do / resume playing, dream again, take back the time that always runs away (riprendere = resume, recover, take back) È Natale e…
Author: Stacy Pollard
Prayers & Piazzas: part travel guide, part travel journal, celebrating all things Italy.
Is Santa Claus Italian?
Originally posted December 2013 on Prayers and Piazzas This question came up recently from 7-year-old Baby Girl as she was watching the animated movie Rise of the Guardians. Alec Baldwin voices Santa Claus, who does speak with an accent, although I’m not sure it’s intended to be Italian. “Mom, listen to him!” she exclaimed, “Oh…
BookLove: The Dianne Hales Edition
It’s no secret to readers of this blog that Dianne Hales is my favorite author on all things Italian, and these two books are at the top of my BookLove list. And I’m not alone — Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered, has recently been named one of Amazon’s “Best Books of the…
How I Study Italian
My mom tried to get me to sew or craft like her, but it never took. Neither did cooking. I prefered the quieter interests, and could always be found with a book in my hands. I clearly remember the excitement of third grade, the first year that I was assigned real, bring-it-home-in-your-backpack, homework. I have always…
Capturing Italy: Dolcetto o Scherzetto?
Italian Halloween Words Technically, this photo breaks the rules just a bit of my “Capturing Italy” posts, as it wasn’t taken in Italy at all, but in my stateside home. Vi presento il nostro gatto, Boo. I present to you all our cat, Boo, who earns her keep around here by doubling as a Halloween…
My Crazy Journey to Learn Italian: A Guest Post by La Studentessa Matta
Part of the joy of blogging has come through connecting with other wonderful people who share my love of Italy and Italian. Melissa Muldoon, the woman behind the successful Diario di una Studentessa Matta, leads the charge on sharing her enthusiasm for all things Italian! As a follower of her dual-language blog, I am extremely…
A Most Heartfelt Thank You
Dear Friends, Grazie, grazie mille, tanto grazie, grazie di cuore! Thank you, all of you, from the bottom of my heart. My little blog has experienced a surge of new visitors and followers recently, which has been quite a thrill for me. As a faithful follower of Dianne Hales’ blog for several years, never did I imagine that one day I would be…
Always Have Your Passport Ready
It’s not that we travel internationally all that often. This summer, the furthest I journeyed was a weekend in Sedona, Arizona, just one state over, to catch up with good friends and show our kids the Grand Canyon. Fantastic and fun, yes, but no passport required. But having passports at the ready gives me a sense of excitement and possibility. I…
Forza Italia!
With youth soccer ramping up in suburbs across America, I thought the timing was perfect to share this photo. I snapped this in Rome a couple of summers ago, walking by a fairly nondescript bar in Rome on my way to the Pantheon. (Actually, I was really on my way to the Piazza del…
A Visit From Studentessa Matta!
Ciao, ragazzi — hi guys! Okay, imagine my delight when the first person to respond to my invitation to share photos for this new post series was none other than Melissa, blogger extraordinaire also known as Studentessa Matta! I have written about her before (click here and here), and, being a follower of hers for…
Prayers & Piazzas 