The Heat is Here!
Summer this year in Milan got off to a very slow start, but after a bout of very changeable spring weather, it does appear to have arrived. Temperatures have shot up. Being from the England where the weather goes from sunny, to cold and rainy, and back again in the space of a few hours, […]
Italians Turn from Horse to Pedal Power
Sales of bicycles in Italy exceeded those of cars in 2011 during which 1,750,000 bikes were sold compared to 1,748,143 cars. Rocketing fuel prices and congestion charge systems may be to blame for what may be the beginning of the end of the Italian love affair with four wheels. Finding car parking spots in Italy’s major […]
Our Family Fortress in Italy – Part 2
In this, the second part of the tale of my family’s castle in Italy, I’m going to tell you about some of the memories my summers in the castle evoke as well as the difference between summers passed in sunny Italy compared to the dull grey of the UK. I have lived in the ‘Castello’ […]
Our Family Fortress in Italy – Part 1
Our summer trips to the family castle – castle is “castello” in Italian – on a hill in the north of Italy were an endurance test for me from the word go. Car sickness and boredom prevailed on the two-and-a-half day marathon trip across France – and it was only when we’d crossed the Alps […]
Is Life in Italy So bad?
At the end of the day, despite bickering politicians and dodgy organisation, life in Italy is not that bad.
Unhappy Families
When people think of Italy, sooner or later, they will come across the closely knit nature of Italy’s families. Italy is, after all, a country dominated by families.
Clouds often do have silver linings.
A big thanks to all of you who left messages of support regarding my mother in law. I’m pleased to be able to say that, although she is still in hospital, she is making progress, and is feeling a lot less poorly than she was a couple of weeks ago when she was rushed into […]
It never rains but it pours.
Unfortunately my mother in law is in hospital again. The poor lady’s health has never been great, and years of chain smoking have finally caught up with her. Collapsing lungs, thyroid, heart and breathing problems, excessive weight loss, and loss of appetite. All in all, not good. My other half is distraught and has been […]
Prodi’s pretty picture
In what could possibly be considered as one Italian equivalent to the UK Queen’s Christmas Day speech, Romano Prodi, Italy’s current hanging on by a thread prime minister, appeared to demonstrate that he is possibly a wee bit out of touch with life here in the Living Museum. He painted a rosy picture of an […]
