It is a rather sore subject for those of us living in the toe of the Bel Paese and something we briefly hit on during a post and comments a few weeks ago, but just for kicks-here are FOUR more crazy things I’ve overheard or been told lately here in Bella Calabria. You know how...Read More
Over the last few months I’ve shared some interesting things Italians do that seem, well … funny to me. From offering us fruit from our own tree to cutting tree limbs from beneath their children, the Italians I live among seem to keep me on my toes. And it is a good thing. I like...Read More
Stop the Presses! Call your loved ones … A new, all-natural replacement for Pfizer’s power-pill has been discovered. Where? Well, in Calabria, of course. Remember that McFunky place I told you about in Villaggio Mancuso in La Sila? Not only do they sell great wine, homemade jelly and assorted Silan meat and cheese, but they...Read More
I know, I know … Christmas is over but sometimes when you live in a foreign country (read: Italy) you see funny things you just have to share with the rest of the world. Like, for example the Christmas present I saw last month when I was wrapping up my to-buy list. I was with...Read More
Last month I wrote a post about some of the funny things Italians do in everyday life. Lucky for us they keep doing them. Here are Three More Funny Things Italians Do in Everyday Life. 1. If you have ever been to Italy you know the leap of faith required to get behind the wheel...Read More
Two weeks ago I set out on a one-day road trip to the Amalfi Coast to join my Mediterranean cruisin’ cousin and her friends. The day started out slowly, with a flood in the southern Calabrian city of Reggio Calabria delaying trains by at least two hours. Determined … I waited. And waited. And waited....Read More
What comes to mind when you think of Italians? Tall, dark, muscular men drinking coffee calling you “bella?” Maybe you think of beautiful women, with long lean figures, thin legs and a big booty? How did they get that way? Grrr! Or maybe you think of jovial personalities, smiling, generously offering you a morning espresso...Read More
I am continually amazed at the random and rather unflattering things you can learn just by listening to the locals talk to one another. For example this week I learned that GOBBU is Calabrese dialect for “hunchback” and CAPONA means “big head.” Nice, huh? Wanna know the context in which I heard these words? Peppinu...Read More
Superstitions are a topic close to my heart having grown up with an Italian-American grandmother and now living in southern Italy, where Roman Catholicism and mysticism live in surprising perfect harmony. That phenomenon is worth a whole post, and indeed books have been written on the subject. Perhaps someday I’ll wax theoretical, but for today,...Read More
It is just no one told my husband. Last week marked my SIX MONTH wedding anniversary, and while both my mom and Pep’s dad made fun of us for celebrating, we did anyway. We had a nice romantic dinner. He bought me roses. We reminisced about our wedding day. He gave me fat pants. I...Read More
