Jan 27, 20205 minThe Accidental MiscreantAs I've mentioned earlier, Italians love to scold. They'll shake their heads, wag their fingers, cluck their tongues at you for all kinds...
Dec 28, 20193 minThe importance of buon giorno I've just been looking through old notes about my experiences years ago in Florence, when I took an 8-week crash course in Italian gramm...
Nov 23, 20196 minHarvest Boon My visit to Fossacesia this fall was full of wonderful surprises. The surprise of having friends here who only months ago were strangers ...
Nov 11, 20191 minDown with the sun, up with the colorWell, I’m just back from 12 days in Fossacesia and recovered from a 24-hour post-flight bug. (Thanks again, bacterial convention that is ...
Oct 11, 20192 minRigatoni & Ceci al CurryThis unusual and simple pasta dish is one of my favorites. There’s a bit of Moorish influence in the Italian kitchen, and the Abruzzo kit...
Oct 6, 20193 minDog Days Redux (This one's more cheerful)On Wednesday morning, I had a tea date at my home with Angela, a Manchester native who now lives in nearby Torino di Sangro. She arrived w...
Sep 28, 20196 minDog DaysWell, life got in the way of posting over these last weeks, so I’m picking up again with my July trip. Sorry that it qualifies now as a k...
Aug 18, 20193 minThe beach is back.Usually, you can count on July in Italy to bring 31 days of sun. Not this year. On July 10th, I took a pullman from Rome to Pescara, wher...
Aug 13, 20194 minA Meet-up, a Memory, and Two EpiphaniesIt's a kick to meet expats and hear about their towns and experiences. I'd found Mark, a transplant from Seattle only two years ago, in o...
Jul 31, 20192 minTrastevere: Sacred & Profane, Anachronistic & Alive, Gorgeous & GrittyFestooned as it is with ivy and bougainvillea (or some other flower I've decided to call bougainvillea) and packed as it is with cool sho...
Jul 3, 20193 minTraditional Soup with a Side of CharmDense, flavorful, and comforting sagnette e fagioli is the Abruzzo region’s take on the better-known pasta e fagioli (or pasta fazul in d...
Jun 21, 20195 minMore New Friends, Assorted Observations, and Noteworthy Advice Near the end of my trip this spring, I had a coffee date with Elida, a young Canadian with roots in Fossacesia whom I’d met in one of the...
Jun 5, 20193 minTornareccio: A Honey of a TownThe following Monday, Victoria and I took a 45-minute road trip to Tornareccio. Victoria wisely suggested we use Google maps, which I con...
May 20, 20191 minA Few of My FavoriteThingsWrought-iron bed that three people can fit in, Sketches of horses where artist has written… Since I left off talking about the artisanal ...
May 12, 20193 minOn the Road in AbruzzoVictoria’s and my first jaunt was to Guardiagrele, one of two villages in Abruzzo that I know of (the other being Pescocostanzo) where cr...
May 7, 20192 minScenes from FossacesiaMeanwhile, my niece Victoria visited for a few days from Dublin, where she’s spending the year. It was lovely to bond with her outside th...
Apr 28, 20195 minFour Friends and a Few NutsMy road to a home in Italy, and then to a habitable one, and then to one in which I feel at home has been and continues to be a tortuous ...
Apr 25, 20192 minHealthful Dishes, More Helpful DrugsAfter my night in Rome, I headed to Fossacesia. As I wrote in my last post, I’d arrived in Italy feeling pretty crummy. By the time I got...
Apr 9, 20195 minLend me your ears.Well, friends, Romans, and others who get the idea... I’ve shamefully neglected this blog for weeks, in part because I’ve been low on mat...
Feb 28, 20192 minMatta per la Cipollata!I love homely contadino food. Always have. Show me a garlicky tomato sauce or thick bean soup or almost any mashup of humble ingredients ...