Southern Italy is synonymous with homemade pasta, rich tomato sauce, fiery peppers and fresh, local produce. Oh yea … and wine. And Olive oil. And cheese. Ahem. I’m losing focus here. What I’m trying to say is we all know southern Italy can rock a plate but until now there wasn’t even one professionally-written cookbook...Read More
I started a new series last week that highlights books about or set in various parts of Southern Italy. We kicked it off with Campania and today my friend, and newest addition to the My Bella Vita Travel team, Laura Thayer, is here to give us her take on one of those books. Benvenuta, Laura!...Read More
If there is one thing expats in southern Italy can agree on, it’s that we have the. best. food. in the country. Ok, ok, expats in other parts of Italy … back off! Your food rocks, too. But I have that whole southern pride thing going on and nothing makes me prouder than reviewing a...Read More
There is no denying English-speakers are falling in love with southern Italian cooking. Those seasonal ingredients, creative seafood dishes, spicy peppers, fresh lemons and world-class olive oil leave a lasting impression on travelers who are often anxious to recreate these plates back home. Today, Laura Thayer of Ciao Amalfi! is offering her review of a...Read More
It’s eerily intimate to read about the history, stories and legends of your home, to see in print the cities and towns that are in your backyard and to understand the culture that is unfolding before you in black and white. No, I’m not Calabrese, or even Italian, by heritage, but I couldn’t help but...Read More
All this month we are featuring real Italian recipes and Mamma Mia have we had some goodies. We’ve gone from classic Pasta Aglio Olio Peperoncino to Sicilian modica and today, my sweet-toothed friends, we are in Naples, enjoying sfogliatella, straight from the Amalfi Coast’s own, Laura Thayer of Ciao Amalfi! The first time I traveled...Read More
With my Auntie Adventures a not-so fading memory, I now have time to go through my “draft” folder here at My Bella Vita and pull out some posts that are a long time coming. Reviewing a recent customer service experience I had with Continental Airlines is one of those posts.Read More
There are many places you can go when you are traveling in Calabria near Catanzaro … you could see Le Castella, visit the ruins in Roccelletta or spend a morning driving through Sila Piccola in La Sila National Park.Read More
Some of you might remember last fall when Michelle of Bleeding Espresso and I kicked off a blog tour for Calabrian-American journalist and book author, Justin Catanoso. Justin’s debut book, My Cousin the Saint had just hit the shelves and my newly-found Calabria pride encouraged me to share this book-and the story of Calabria’s newest...Read More
The best thing about living in a foreign country is the number of great people you meet. Expats abroad tend to form an alliance based on a mutual understanding, or in many cases misunderstanding of the new society and having that network is an invaluable source of comfort for many of us. The second best...Read More
