Ciao a tutti — hello everyone! Yesterday marked my three-year blog-iversary and what would have been my beloved father’s 73rd birthday. I feel fortunate to have spent the day in southern Italy, in the heel of the boot, with his (our) cousins, carissimi cugini! It’s been an incredible three weeks in Italy. I can’t believe I’ve been…
Tag: Italy
Morning in Firenze
One thing I love best to do when visiting a busy city is to wake up with the sun and take to the streets while they are free of travelers and traffic. Here’s a few snapshots from Florence this morning, while the others slept and the sun’s rays were still gentle. Taken from the Ponte…
Beautiful, Breathtaking Bellagio
Sopra: un vicolo bello a Bellagio. Sotto: i luci a crepuscolo. Above: a beautiful alley in Bellagio. Below: the lights at twilight. Bellagio, Italy, spilling down onto the shores of Lake Como. Grateful to be posting from Italy this month! Keep up with me here or on Facebook.
Alla Stazione: Helpful Italian words for train travelers
Roma Termini “Roma Termini (in Italian, Stazione Termini) is the main railway station of Rome, Italy. It is named after the district of the same name, which in turn took its name from the ancient Baths of Diocletian (in Latin, thermae) which lie across the street from the main entrance.” —Wikipedia Train stations in Italy can…
Say Your Prayers
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” -St. Francis of Assisi — I invite you to sign my guestbook, and to join me on Facebook. This post first appeared on Prayers and Piazzas.
Palazzo Life
This Italian proverb translates literally to “in his house, each is king”, and is similar to the English saying “king of the castle.” I stumbled upon this little gatto at Florence’s Boboli Gardens a few years back, and immediately thought that he might be the luckiest cat in the world, living under the Florentine sunshine in the…
Strolling Mona Lisa’s Florence
This time last year I found myself waking up in Florence — strange for a Southern California resident — the chimes of the Duomo’s bells drifting through my open window. For me, every morning in Italy feels full of opportunity and ripe with undiscovered memories. But this particular morning promised a once-in-a-lifetime gift. On a whim,…
If Doors Could Talk
Florence, Italy, on shadowed, smelly and eerily silent Via Squazza: Not a spot frequented by tourists, and, in fact, my tiny tour group makes up the only people on this narrow street. But if this door could talk, it would tell you that it was the first home to Lisa Gherardini, born June 15, 1479….
Bottling the Renaissance
“You cannot miss the Farmacia!” urged my friend Rachel a couple of years ago in Florence. We finished our caffès and then she expertly guided me through Florence’s cobbled streets to Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella. The “pharmacy”, which today is really more of a fragrance museum, still sells formulations which were popular among…
My Crazy Journey to Learn Italian: A Guest Post by La Studentessa Matta
If you are an Italian language learner, surely you know the work of my friend Melissa, otherwise known as Studentessa Matta. She shares her love of learning Italian with passion and enthusiasm, and right now, several of her sites are up for awards at Top 100 Language Lovers. In honor of her, and to encourage…
Prayers & Piazzas 