If you read my post from February 26th, you know that I was sitting in the bar drinking an espresso and eating a brioche when I got the news that my citizenship had been granted. It was, I said at the time, the most Italian possible moment to receive that notification. I stand by that. What I didn’t mention was that the journey from “citizenship granted” to “actually Italian” still had a few steps left.
Continue reading →It struck me that I was in the middle of a very Italian activity (drinking an espresso and eating a brioche – cornetto for those further south) when I received the news. I jumped up and ran up to the two barista and said “guardate – sono un’italiana” 🙂 – it could not have been a more perfect place and time to get this great news.
Continue reading →As I sit here on January 8, 2026, I’m waiting patiently (hmmm) for word on my Italian citizenship by marriage application. Some lucky people in Italy receive their citizenship in less than a year after application, but the law says “within 24 months, unless of course we need more time and we can then extend it another 12 months” (highly paraphrased of course). The waiting game has me contemplating just how we got here in the first place, so let’s reminisce!
Continue reading →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.
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