Europe

January 26, 2021

Italy’s government collapses so when do I get vaccinated?

It took only one week for my adopted country of Italy to have a more screwed-up government than my old country in the United States. On Tuesday, Italy’s government collapsed. Prime minister Giuseppe Conte, the popular political outsider who steered Italy from the most Covid-bashed country in the world into calm seas, turned in his […]

January 19, 2021

Covid Italy 2021: Tougher restrictions until March 5 means my life is in quasi lockdown as government nears collapse

Anyone got a good recipe? Something simple? Something different? I’m going to be homebound a while. No, I don’t have Covid. I’m not in quarantine. But I’m retired in Italy where our latest Covid numbers pushed the cautious government to up my Lazio region’s restrictions Sunday from yellow to orange. It’s the second highest in […]

January 11, 2021

Seven years in Rome: My anniversary in a pandemic provides another list for reasons why I love living here

I’m very thankful I survived one year of the Covid pandemic. I’m even more thankful I made it seven years in Rome. That anniversary is today. Yes, on Jan. 11, 2014 I landed in Rome on a one-way ticket with three bags and many dreams. The dreams have been fulfilled and the nightmare that is […]

December 29, 2020

Underrated Italian towns for 2021: It’s a shorter list but still worthy as our hope for more travel next year takes flight

So through this long, oppressive year, has that picture of the Amalfi Coast remained on your computer or is it bent beyond recognition from too much fondling? Is the postcard of a Tuscan vineyard at sunset still on your refrigerator, teasing you daily as you mark another “X” on your lockdown calendar? Relax. Rejoice. […]

December 23, 2020

My Christmas gifts 2020: Lousy presents for a lousy year

For all the evil in the world, Santa Clausini in Italy is here Never has the world needed Christmas gifts more than this year. Too bad hardly anyone can afford them. That’s where I come in. This time of year I change my name to Santa Clausini, grow a long white beard and hammer out […]

December 15, 2020

Christmas in pandemic Rome: Quiet nights and strict rules as Covid-19 plays Grinch

The man selling roasted chestnuts on the corner near the Spanish Steps looked as bored as a stuffed reindeer. He glanced at his watch. He looked at me. I looked at his pile of smoking, browned chestnuts and smelled the glorious aroma that always makes Christmas in Rome so sweet. But no one was buying. […]

December 9, 2020

For this American woman, the fantasy of the Italian man doesn’t meet the fantasy of Italy

(Editor’s note: Annamaria Borelli is an American woman with Italian roots who left her New Jersey home for the dream of Italy 10 years ago. She recently moved to Bari, Puglia, where she works as an English teacher when she isn’t blogging or singing opera and jazz. She offers advice to anyone moving to Italy, […]

November 17, 2020

Cornelia a superb historical novel of violence, corruption and inequality

When you live in Rome, you’re surrounded by 3,000 years of history. Benito Mussolini built much of my neighborhood. I live two miles from the Forum and Colosseum. I’m eight miles from ancient aqueducts that were built in the 3rd century B.C. Remnants of the most powerful civilization in history are all around me. The […]

November 3, 2020

Election Day: Save the planet and shut up those bleating Trump supporters

During this pandemic, every little tweak in my health makes me wonder. Is this morning fatigue the first sign of Covid-19? No. People with Covid can barely walk to the bathroom and need a three-hour nap to recover. Is that lightheadedness a Covid fever? Nope. My temperature at the gym never went over 36.6 (97.9). […]

October 13, 2020

COVID second wave hits Italy and the government and I make new plans

The world has turned off the neon lights on Italy. The glow has become a fog that clouds our future. Italy’s model strategy in flattening the Covid-19 curve lasted all of about three months. I no longer chortle about the World Health Organization pointing to my adopted country as Example A of fighting the virus. […]

September 30, 2020

Hadrian’s Villa: a day trip into the decadent opulence of Ancient Rome

TIVOLI, Italy — Sometimes Rome gets to me, kind of like too much fine wine. Yes, the most beautiful city in the world gets old in more than just age. A Roman outside my window leans on his horn for five minutes until the guy who double parked next to him comes out and moves […]

September 24, 2020

American expats terrified as 40-day march to vote begins

We American expats overseas don’t get our voices heard very often beyond family and friends back home. Our opinions get filtered by the roar of separating oceans and the relative anonymity of social media. But with the most important presidential election in, at least, my 64 years only 40 days away, our voices should be […]

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