STORIES
STORIES taken from the avenues of the Big APPLE to the OLIVE groves of Tuscany.
This travel log of our adventures, transitioning from life in New York City to life in Italy, is a collection of personal tales, general observations, & historical/cultural trivia. My impressions & opinions are subjective, & I may take creative liberties in the retelling. Writing these chronicles allows my 'culture shock' to lessen & my environment to be better appreciated. In the sharing of these stories I have found another way to celebrate our decision to leave the Great City for a more provincial lifestyle here in Tuscany. Some things may be provocative to some people (my foul mouth for example), but my sincere hope is to entertain you, express me, explore us, encourage visits, & perhaps even educate*, nothing more. (*Check out the Learning Italian box on the top right of each story)
Happy reading & many happy transitions.
2008-03-07IL PRETE
The doorbell rings and panic runs through my husband’s veins. He’s not a religio...
2008-03-03FLESSIBILTA'
Three years ago today we left the New World and began our journey back in time b...
CONOSCENTI
I thought, “This year will be different; I will outsmart sickness by planning ah...
2007-08-12NOTTE DI SAN LORENZO
When Mario and I first met, and a few times during our first four years together...
2007-04-20LIMONI
Some days in Roma we finish our calls or meetings early and find ourselves with ...
2006-12-04CELESTE
Finally! No more taking the bus (old unreliable) for me- we finally hooked me up...
Nostalgia
The other night I met a woman born in Canada but raised from the age of three in...
2006-09-11CENA
You’re somewhere in the hills of Tuscany… staying in a rustic old villa, that us...
2006-09-10LA RIFICOLONA
Ona, Ona, Ona, o che bella Rificolona La mia l’è coi fiocchi La tua l’è coi ...
2006-08-13UN VASCELLO SACRO
As we pulled up to the house, we noticed our landlord/downstairs neighbor Giorgi...
2006-07-26CALDISSIMO
It is so bloody HOT. If you’re directly under the sun you feel yourself melting ...
2006-07-09ZINGARI
New York is, if nothing else, a gathering place for every kind of freak (and the...
2006-06-28PINOLI
On our way from Roma to Elba, one hot summer day, on the back of our trusted mot...
GIOIELLI
The ways in which Mario has enriched my life are countless; his love has given v...
2006-04-04METROPOLITANA
In the subway stations in Roma there is a digital clock on the platforms telling...
CAFFE'
According to Tommaso if you walk up to a bar in Italy you better know what you’r...
IO AMO I NEW YORKESI
After working several years in a mid-town restaurant, Mario has collected a gagg...
2005-11-15MORDI E FUGGI
While I finished my last day at Leonardo Da Vinci Scuola per Stranieri (school f...
CURIOSITA
There is a general lack of curiosity in the people I have met here in Italy. I c...
2005-09-30DRAMMA
It’s time to take matters into my own hands. Although several people in my Itali...
2005-09-28LEAVING NYC part two
I want to come home. It was a horrible idea to move here. What the hell were...
2005-09-18ARANCIA
Seems that everywhere we go there is someone giving us something. This time we w...
SAN GIMIGNANO
San Gimingnano has got to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It is mo...
2005-08-20OMBELICO
At all of this summer’s weddings Mario ran into bunches friends from high school...
2005-08-16FERRAGOSTO
August is vacation month here in Italy. No matter who you are, you have plans at...
2005-08-10INCIDENTE
We weren’t going too fast, but the roads are curved in such a way, hugging the h...
2005-07-15FICHI
We opted to take Elisabetta’s car for this outing, seeing as we’d been warned ab...
2005-07-08FIESOLE
The Ancient town of Fiesole was a thriving village long before Florence was even...
2005-06-24SAN GIOVANNI
Apparently every Saint has its day. Antonis, the Greek, once told me that he c...
2005-06-20MOTORINO
When we first arrived we were lucky enough to score an old scooter of Luca’s (co...
2005-06-15ISOLA D'ELBA
There are benefits to living on a Mediterranean island. It’s not an option I wou...
2005-06-15NOTIZIE GHIOTTE DELL’ELLBA
The Island of Elba has been explored by many great cultures. The Medici Family ...
2005-06-10GLI SPOSI
Some friends of ours got married yesterday and we had a really enjoyable time at...
2005-06-05PARIGI
It’s not my favorite thing to be alone with my mother in law. Combinations of fa...
2005-06-02LEAVING NYC part one
It keeps catching me by surprise; I can’t fully believe/accept that we’ve actual...
2005-06-01VERDURE
Vegetarians aren’t common in these parts. I have eaten so much cheese it’s a won...
2005-05-22PIAZZALE MICHELANGIOLO
Very close to Elisabetta’s place, our current home in Firenze, is one of the cit...
2005-05-20PERMESSO
Big news!! I got my Permit to Live here, my Permit to Work here, my Permit to ha...
2005-05-16VIA CASSIA
Finally I have seen the Tuscan countryside with my own eyes. And you better beli...
2005-05-09INDIPENDENTE
I have lived for 33 years on this planet and never have I been so… "looked after...
2005-05-07BRAVA
We've been here such a short time and yet I scored my first gig in Italy a few w...
2005-05-06GIARDINO DI BOBOLI
The Boboli Gardens are the formal Italian style gardens, dating back to the 16th...
2005-05-05PIANO
The best and the worst thing about Firenze (and perhaps all of Italy) can be sum...
2005-05-03SHOCK
I miss my family and I miss my friends. Soon after arriving in Italy I realized ...
2005-05-01CIABATTA
I started Italian lessons recently at Leonardo Da Vinci School for foreigners. I...
2005-04-24IL CINGHIALE
Cousin Marco showed up to hang out for a few days. He was coming up from the s...
2005-04-23SCOPPIO DEL CARRO
At least since Amerigo Vespucci’s childhood in Firenze, Florentines have celeb...
2005-04-22La DIVINA COMMEDIA
It’s the Saturday before Easter Sunday (a big holiday in these parts) and we a...
2005-04-06S.P.Q.R.
ROMA is crowded and chaotic and dirty and hilly and crazy. The Pope (Giovanni ...
2005-04-01BICICLETTA
“Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle! I want to ride my bicycle. I want to ride my bike. I...
2005-03-20IL DOTTORE
I was feeling a bit sick a few days after we arrived and was worried that my bro...
2005-03-15BENVENUTI
Ciao Ragazzi! (Hello guys!) Well here we are in Firenze. Finally starting to re...