For Americans in Italy, that is the question that’s bigger than a few euro; it’s a clash of cultures. My father once told me, in reminiscing about his days abroad in the 50’s, that a British expat approached him one day somewhere in Spain to say, “You Americans are ruining this place for the rest of us.” The man was referring to the tips Americans gave liberally. Apparently, the locals were coming to expect them when they’d been perfectly happy without them before the Yanks

My generous and thoughtful brother-in-law, Johnny G, treated me to a one-on-one class in Venetian Vegan Cooking with Venetian native Gioia Tiozzo ( accademiadicucinaitaliana.com ). Gioia is a food psychologist – that is, she specializes in food-related behavior and how the mind can mess with your appetite and appetites. The cooking classes are a side hustle and a curious one given her thoughts on tourists. She told me Venetians have always hated (her word) tourists -- partl

The answer was si. To review, I'd booked an apartment for the entire month of January and invited friends and family to join me there. Allow me to introduce the cast of characters who said yes. They came in three waves. First wave: my sister Rosie and brother-in-law Jon, niece Victoria and her pal Kendra Second wave: sister Sheila and her sisters-in-law Cara and Chrissy (my sisters-in-law once removed or something along those lines) Third and last wave: Hammam, one of the dea

On New Year’s Day, I moved into the apartment in Campo San Maurizio, a somewhat quiet square nicely situated between Piazza San Marco and the Accademia bridge. Pictures of the flat will follow in a subsequent post, but here's the view of the quiet Campo from my window. My first night in the apartment, I was a little spooked. I’m accustomed to a doorman downstairs in New York and to a reception desk downstairs in Venice. This building has a security system that’s digitized.

I’ve rented an apartment in Venice for the month of January. My sister Rosie had turned to me last January as we walked into our hotel here and said, “You should rent an apartment in Venice for a month next year.” My first thought was, “ You rent an apartment in Venice for a month next year." But silently I was warming to the idea within minutes, and by the next morning I’d resolved to rent an apartment in Venice for a month the following winter. So now it's the following wi

Indulgence and Indulgences in Rome You may already know that 2025 is a Jubilee year in the Catholic Church -- a holy year focused on...

I knew in advance that my most recent sojourn at the house wasn’t going to be much fun and I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it. I...

And for some sistas, that means Venice. I asserted in a post last year that winter is a great time to go to Venice, not only for lack of...

Ohoh, I'm an alien! I'm a resident alien! I'm a resident in this borg(o). Well, almost. I am moving to phase 3 of my 4-phase residenza...

Our latest adventure on Italian soil took my sisters Sheila and Rosie and me to Puglia, the beautiful and rocky region in the heel of the...

While I was hanging with the family in Tuscany, a kitchen renovation was underway back at the house in Fossacesia. That's where I headed...

This May, nine of us descended upon, or should I say ascended to, or should I say stampeded into a lovely villa in the hilly Tuscan...

I've put on my thinking mask because I'm having second thoughts about Venice. Is it that the views have lost their magic? That I'm angry...

Okay, I'll admit it. That title is trying hard to be clever across two languages: In the Italian, "the beasts of Trieste" is a reference...

There’s a lot to say about nine days with five family members in such a stunning and storied spot as the Amalfi Coast. In the interest of...

Well, while many of you anglophools* were watching a florid Charles shuffle to the throne, I was watching the start of the race that...

This is a short post I’ve been meaning to write since I started this blog. For those on a budget, and even for those who are not, it’s...

From Pescara, Rosie and I dashed to the famous mosaic city of Ravenna in Emilia-Romagna, which I'd long wanted to visit. Ravenna once was...

(Wish you were here?) I’d planned this brief January trip to meet with Sergio, the property manager, to go over work to be done this...

Venice doesn’t just make me happy; it makes me aware that I’m happy. I guess that's at least partly because Venice wakes up my senses....