My Life in Italy, Part 12: “Bury The Mice In The Ground… Slowly.”
12th part in a series of the story of an American moving to small town Italy in the 1980's, learning the culture and finding a lifetime love.
My Life in Italy, Part 11: “Winter is Coming”
If you are just jumping in here, please start with Part 1. It is January 1985 now, and the weather has been in the mid 70’s in L.A. Now I know many people reading this think OMG! Mid 70’s in January, but I am an L.A....
My Favorite Culture Discovery Vacation- Sam
Hello everyone, my name is Sam, I do the accounting for Culture Discovery Vacations. I’m not very active in our online community, but I like to poke my head out every now and then to share with you all some things that are...
The Medieval Chestnut Festival of Soriano nel Cimino
Each year, the town of Soriano nel Cimino holds a huge festival called “Sagra Delle Castagne” or the Chestnut Festival. The town is well known for its top of the line Chestnuts and there is no shortage of them....
Italy: Where Even The Graffiti Is Romantic
If you’ve been to Italy, you may or may not have realized the very real graffiti problem. Such a beautiful country, with historic and significant buildings, covered in graffiti. It drives me insane, you can find some form...
Helpful Italian Words and Phrases
I know that when you are learning a new language, it can be harder than just having the words in front of you, its also about how in heavens name you’re supposed to be able to pronounce them! There are a lot of guides, but...
How to: Speak Italian like a Local
Before traveling any place that speaks a different language, you should definitely take the time to learn some key words and phrases to help fit in and know what is going on. Although finding some english speakers isn’t too...
Send Up The White Smoke : The Vatican You Didn’t Know About
Just ten miles from our home base of Soriano bel Cimino is the city of Viterbo, which is practically unknown internationally. However, this city of roughly 65,000 residents holds a place in history that is especially relevant as...
Would you have a second home in Italy?
It used to be that when I would come to Italy, for the first few days, people would see me and give me a huge ‘welcome back’. That was then. I would come here once a year in the summer and spend a month to six weeks...
Having a craving for Grilled Flesh
Grilled Flesh… YUM! When I lived here in Soriano, I was, quite simply, ‘The American”. In fact, the immigrant population of the area consisted of me, two Brits and a Brazilian. Outside of that, nobody spoke a...