(This post was originally published on this website in April, 2007) *** No woman should ever be party to the following conversation with her true love … Her: “Happy Six Month anniversary, sweetie…What did you do this morning?” Him: “I am so tired. I spent all morning with my hoe!” Her: “WHAT?!!?” Him: “Yea, I...Read More
Having a Calabrian father-in-law takes some adjustments. – No matter how much you eat, it is never enough. – You have to learn a new language to communicate, and I’m not talking about Italian. – And no matter how hard you try you might never-ever!-decipher his hand gestures and grunts. But all that aside, having...Read More
It is that time of year-just after the first good post-summer rain, when the air is fresher, the trees are brighter and the faithful edible snails, or lumache, as we say in Italian, are coming out to play. And this is serious business for people in my neck of my woods. You see, the French...Read More
Don’t you just love it when people come up with the excuse to mix good food with a good cause? I know I do. And once again, Michelle of Bleeding Espresso and Sara of Ms. Adventures in Italy have joined forces for the O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness. And I’d like to do...Read More
Oh, really? If so, then tell me … how many continents are there? If you said seven, you are wrong! By Italian fifth grade standards, that is. photo credit: JMazzolaa This debate recently arose when I asked my husband why he-and his fellow paesani-insist on referring to people from Argentina, Canada, Brazil, etc., etc. as...Read More
On an average, I’d say my husband and I get 10-12 emails a month from English-speaking guests asking about our bed and breakfast in Catanzaro. And nine times out of 10, I’m the one who responds. Most of these would-be guests are interested in visiting Catanzaro because their family tree has branches here in Calabria...Read More
Every now and then my molto romantico marito surprises me with a gift that is tailor-made … well, for him. As was the case with my latest surprise-two passes to the Masters Tennis Tournament. The up side? The tournament was in Rome. We compromised on the trip details and decided to close Il Cedro for...Read More
As an American expat in Italy who married a descendant of the Roman gods a guy from Calabria, I had the luxury of a ready-made wedding theme when we tied the nodo in 2007. Although we got married in Texas, we looked for ways to infuse his southern Italian culture into our Big Day and...Read More
Back in the old days, Italians spent hours kneading flour, slicing dough and laying strips of homemade pasta out to dry. They would wake up early, combine flour and water and work it into manageable-sized balls of dough. Those balls would sit unattended for up to an hour, then the homemade pasta machine, aka –...Read More
Today marks one year since my husband and I tied the knot and in celebration of 12 months of marital bliss I want to share an article I read this weekend. According to Mark Goulston, M.D., happy couples know the real relationship begins when the honeymoon ends. They have to maintain their love, he says...Read More
