Category: Italy

  • I Puffi

    I Puffi

    Or, How I Fell in Love with the Kilogram Scale I burst out laughing when I saw that the Italians call “Smurfs” “Puffi”. Or, to take the grammar to its proper usage. A “smurf” would be a “puffo.”  Or, “puffa” (feminine). It became the leitmotif of my culinary – how you say – overindulgences.  You…

  • Everywhere You Look

    Everywhere You Look

    I cannot believe it has taken me this long to visit Lake Como. I guess I thought it was only for the elites. Certainly, it has a rich history of being the relaxing playground of the rich. But, Varenna – where I am staying — has its own history. Once a fishing town, its only…

  • Still Moving

    Still Moving

    I am on vacation and I have yet to stop moving.  24 hours door to door with a 7-hour layover in Bruxelles – turns out there is a cost to a $500 round trip to and from Roma. Oh, did I mention, I had a center seat to BRU and no seat – in fact…

  • An Afternoon with Signora Maria

    An Afternoon with Signora Maria

    Visiting the cugini in Bologna, I had two missions: to enjoy the company of family, and to get my very own Signora Maria! Anyone who calls Signora Maria a terra cotta figure has clearly not met this delightful, whimsical character. Her creator is Anna Tazzari, an exquisitely talented artist in Bagnacavallo (outside Bologna).   My first…

  • Little Tiles of Ravenna

    Little Tiles of Ravenna

    What a lovely little Italian town is Ravenna. My Italian friends say “oh, che belli mosaici!!” (pronounced moh-ZAI-ih-chee). And yes, the mosaics here are unbelievably beautiful.  The little tiles of Ravenna are abundant and extant. Colorful and glimmering – golden little chips festooning the ceilings, the walls. Beautiful, indeed. Ravenna has it – and it knows it.…

  • On the Street

    On the Street

    Hear Ye! Hear Ye!  The latest in street performers in Rome. What are these people looking at?         This is a street performer unlike any I have ever seen on the street. Perhaps this pediatric attraction has been around for awhile, but not in my experience.  I happened upon little big blue…

  • Hurry Up and Wait

    Hurry Up and Wait

    I have often said, the Italy of my dreams is the Centro Storico.  Not necessarily the real Italy. Here I am smack dab in the middle of the train station in Milan. Just one of the Great Unwashed. Oh yeah: fair Italy — where is the goddam romance now.  The plan seemed pretty solid. To…

  • Ah, Rome.  A Roma.

    Ah, Rome. A Roma.

    Ah, Rome. In Rome. One would not expect Rome, being centuries old, to change that much.  But, this visitor can certainly look at the Eternal City with fresh eyes. I see two styles of travellers. Those who explore new cities every time they set out, and those who return to the place(s) they love. That…

  • City of Water

    City of Water

      How did the chicken cross the road in Venice? By riding on a little commuter boat called a vaporetto. A commuter’s gondola: a traghetto, like this one. A water taxi. Or, a gondola. After awhile I stopped taking pictures of the things they transport on boats in Venice: commuters, tourists, garbage, police and firemen, furniture, water and…

  • Musings on Getting Lost

    Musings on Getting Lost

    Getting lost is a sore subject with me. I do it easily and often. It causes me anxiety.  So, what do you do when you find yourself someplace unfamiliar? What else — you get lost. There is this chocolate shop in Rome that I adore. It’s called Moriondo & Gariglio. I try to visit it every…