May 1978: It was my first time in Italy. Walter, a friend of my Swiss host family had suggested that we go to Vernazza for the weekend. Kris, another foreign exchange student and I went along with him. Vernazza was a magical place. After two nights our host had to return to Switzerland, but the two of us were still under Vernazza’s spell, and decided to stay a few more days.
Continue reading →Today is the 12th stage of the Giro d’Italia. The course runs from Parma to Genoa., and passed through our town a few minutes ago.
Emilia Romagna love cycling. We bike everywhere. In the town center, in the mountains, in the hills, at the beach, on the plains. Bikes are found everywhere. It doesn’t matter how old or young we are, we are on bikes!
Continue reading →Six years ago I started this blog. At that time, I didn’t know much Italian. Certainly I couldn’t write well in Italian. You might assert that I still don’t know enough to write in Italian today 🙂 – but I’ve improved a lot in these six years, and I need to try harder! So, today I made some modifications to this site so that I can write in both English and Italian.
Continue reading →I’ve been a Janis Ian fan since I was a teenager. When she recently put out a request for musicians, professional and amateur, to record her song Better Times Will Come, I thought it was a GREAT idea. I had no idea what it would turn into though. My goal was to make it relevant for Italy, so I asked Janis if I could translate the song into Italian. She graciously agreed.
Continue reading →Tonight I had some odds and ends in the fridge that needed using up. If you’ve ever had squacquerone, you might wonder how I had squacquerone that needs using up! But it is what it is. I had squacquerone, pancetta, a shallot and Carnaroli rice and chicken broth hanging around, so this is what we got!
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