Europe

July 12, 2021

Euro champion Italy finally gives Italians a reason to sing

Champion
Euro champion Italy hadn’t won the European Championship since 1968 and England had never won it. Something had to give at London’s Wembley Stadium and England certainly did with a pitiful performance in the shootout. Italians in Rome hadn’t celebrated like this since winning the World Cup in 2006.

July 9, 2021

Drinking in Bulgaria: Rakia, Zagorka and a Sofia pub crawl

Drinking in Bulgaria is a huge part of the Bulgarian culture and I got a first-hand look at it during a week crossing the country. It included a Friday night pub crawl in the capital of Sofia. Bring a thirst, folks.

July 8, 2021

Jose Mourinho arrives in Rome: We want to leave a legacy

Jose Mourinho has won national titles in four countries and Champions League trophies with two clubs. Thursday he was introduced as the manager to lead A.S. Roma, which hasn’t won a title in 20 years and is coming off its worst season since 2004-05. I was there.

July 6, 2021

Plovdiv: Bulgaria’s Europe Culture Capital

Plovdiv’s appeal is lasting long after its 2019 reign as one of Europe’s two Culture Capitals ended. It is one of the top art cities in Eastern Europe with numerous pedestrian streets, history that covers 8,000 years and a relaxed vibe that makes it a must for any visit to Bulgaria.

June 22, 2021

Rome tour guides: Dying a slow Covid economic death

Rome tour guides have suffered some of the biggest pitfalls during this pandemic. The number of tourists visiting Italy went from 65 million in 2019 to 25.5 last year. Through two lockdowns and constantly changing restrictions, tour guides have to adjust on the fly, all with financial ramifications.

June 13, 2021

Italy’s national team streaking at Euros: Covid-beaten Italians cheer

Italy’s national soccer team humiliated its nation by not even qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. It changed managers, changed philosophies and after Friday’s 3-0 win over Turkey in the European Championships, it’s on a 28-game unbeaten streak, two off its national record. The country, beaten down by a year and a half of Covid, finally has a reason to cheer.

June 1, 2021

Risotto: “The most important dish in Italy”

Is pizza the most important dish in Italy? People in Italy’s rice country say it’s risotto. You can get good pizza lots of places in the world. The only place to get good risotto is in Italy. And the best in Italy is Vercelli where I went on assignment for a shooter and came away with the best risotto of my life.

May 25, 2021