As I get ready to blow out yet another candle this week (yes it’s my birthday and all presents are gratefully received) I thought I’d write about some of the differences (or similarities perhaps) that you will encounter when celebrating Italian birthdays. Like virtually everything […]
I have fond memories of spending my childhood scoffing slush puppies in London, which for those of you not familiar, are cups full of vibrant, chemically-coloured ice and E-numbers, which tasted nowhere near the fruits they were supposed to represent. Fast forward twenty years and […]
A while back I was sat in a bar at 9am destroying a chocolate croissant (In case you’re worried about why I was in a bar at that time of the morning don’t worry that’s the Italian word for café). While contemplating my addiction to sweet, Italian pastries I became aware of an American tourist who had come in and was standing at the bar. In her best guide book Italian she requested “un latte” and smiled smugly at how well she was doing with this whole language barrier thing. The smile turned to dismay a few moments later when in front of her was placed a big glass of milk. You see despite the world taking on Italianisms we all seem to get it wrong. To avoid such disappointment here is my guide to Italian coffee and the caffè culture that comes with it.
The first few months of my beautiful bambina’s life was quite tough on everyone, as I imagine most first time parents would admit. She suffered from colic and spent a large part of most days screaming her little lungs out as me and my husband […]
Summer has finally arrived here in Calabria and what an entrance it has made! It’s strutted its stuff, reached for the sunglasses and firmly planted itself here ready to get temperatures sweltering and making doing anything virtually impossible. There are two tell-tale signs that we […]
As a Londoner arriving in provincial Italy it is fair to say I was a fish out of water. Fresh faced and bursting with enthusiasm for my new home, with a wealth of world travel behind me, I wasn’t going to let inhibition stand in my way. Little did I know how many social faux pas (or passi falsi, when in Rome eh…) lay ahead. (more…)
