A Pig Named Sumo
Paolo and Marisa are, by all accounts, your typical everyday Italian farmers. That is, with one big exception: Their farm happens to be across the road from us… those crazy people that bring all of the Americans...
Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Tales of Linguistic Missteps Learning Italian
Anyone that has learned a second language knows all about those embarrassing moments when they were trying to say one thing, but unknowingly said something completely different. In most cases, the thing they actually wound up...
Italian Food You Won’t Find in Italy
As we learned with Alfredo Sauce in the “Who is Alfredo Sauce, and Why do Americans Keep Asking About Him? ”, that which you believe to be Italian, very often is not. Since we do culinary vacations in Italy, you can imagine how...
The Mummies of Ferentillo
24 years ago on the Monday that followed Easter, we were boating on a beautiful lake in southern Umbria with a friend. He asked us if we had ever heard of “The Mummies”. Mummies? Naturally Egypt and...
My 5 Favorite Words in Italian
Today I received a tweet from Melanie (Twitter: @italofileblog) at Italofile Blog asking me if I would be part of a mass-effort of Italy-focused bloggers to each provide a list of their five favorite Italian words, along with a...
You Want to Feed the Meal I Prepared… TO YOUR DOG?
On day one of every cooking vacation we offer, there is a little talk with all of the newly arriving guests. We go over the things that they can expect, and should not expect. We discus the plans for the days ahead,...
“Boh!?”… And Other Perfect Italian Words & Phrases That Don’t Translate Well
When you split your life between two cultures with two languages, it is quite easy to get trapped in the wrong language from time to time. I sometimes find myself speaking one language, then suddenly a word or phrase pops out...
Welcome To Italy… There’s a Tax For That
I haven’t gone on an Italy rant for a while, but with healthcare and taxes filling the US airwaves, it has really made me think about taxes in Italy. I’ll not get into my opinion of these subjects in the US, since...
Anglitaliano: English Words in Everyday Italian
We use a ton of Italian words in English. More than many might think. Just walk into a Starbucks, and you will probably walk out with something called a ‘LATTE‘ (Be careful asking for it in Italy, since...
Man Dies: Caught Cold in Stomach
Traveling to Italy, some visitors notice various oddities about Italian culture that seem to defy explanation. Some are rooted in the socio-political history of the country, some are rooted in religious tradition, and...