Where the English are all for understatement – our favourite adjective being ‘nice’ – it’s fair to say the Italians love to overstate the case wherever possible. In place of ‘nice’ there is ‘bello’ (masculine form) ‘bella’ (feminine) which, in my opinion, is quite a leap… Read More
We all have expectations. They’re normal, positive, necessary. Close to motivation, they drive us forward, give us purpose and a sense of direction. They also feed into our hopes, our dreams for the future, even. Expectations are the stuff of good days. But they’re pretty… Read More
So I go to the gym last week for a bit of a session (new year’s resolutions and all) and on the door of the impossibly named spogliatoio (changing room) is a new notice. It contained these two words, a lot: allenamento and armadietti both… Read More
It’s so lovely to go home. To drive home for Christmas. If you get Chris Rea to accompany you, you’ve got the whole package; “I can’t wait to see those faces…” and in the case of Cornwall – that slightly bleak landscape, the tiny terraced… Read More
I have been taking part in the Blogging 101 course, which WordPress organises (thank you WP!) and yesterday we were charged with finding a Blogging event to join. A blogging event is a challenge of some kind, with a theme, that unites bloggers of similar… Read More
1. I couldn’t possibly double-park and stroll casually into the bar for a cappuccino. 2. I’ll just grab a sandwich for lunch. 3. Oops I’d better re-park, I’m miles from the white line! 4. I’m only nipping out for a pint of milk, these old… Read More
Your neighbour fulfils that old cliché of living on top of each other, by expressing her passions between the hours of 12 and 2am as she climbs on top of someone else. In the car park downstairs, you come across several pairs of knickers, and… Read More
I’ve learnt a thing or two on matters frugal since moving to Italy late last year. In the absence of a salary and a confident grasp of the language, the outlook was pretty bleak. Like many an expat my mother-tongue came to the rescue however,… Read More
We had friends visit us from Ireland last week. From the moment we left Rome Ciampino airport the cameras and smart-phones were on high alert taking in every new sight & sound. The ring road around Rome is hardly a beauty spot (though beloved by… Read More
I can often get a sense of disorientation when I fly somewhere on holiday, I think it’s natural enough – you are flying thousands of miles but in just a couple of hours you find yourself in a different ‘world’ with a dramatic change of… Read More
Truly, Madly, Italy 