Italian Life

February 10, 2026

Cortina during Olympics: Meeting Alberto Tomba and the chic center of Italy

I’m in Cortina d’Ampezzo covering alpine skiing for Colorado Public Radio, The Olympics are always long for reporters. Many 17-hour days. Long bus rides. Major time gaps between food. But Sunday night I hit one of the most chic towns in Italy. I managed to meet three brothers from Bologna who had a pass to a party hosted by Alberto Tomba, Italy’s Olympic medalist skiing hero and eternal playboy. It was the highlight of another memorable Olympic memory.

February 3, 2026

Winter Olympics memories: From U.S.-Canada hockey to freezing my pens off, I’m returning for more

This week I’ll be in Cortina d’Ampezzo to cover my fourth Winter Olympics. This time it’s for Colorado Public Radio and National Public Radio. I hope I collect a memory I can add to my long list of memories. Here I list 10 of them, most of them uplifting, some heartbreaking. But all memorable, from the U.S.-Canada gold medal hockey game in Vancouver to the Russia House in Turin.

January 20, 2026

New York Times 52 Places to Go 2026: My list of five that I suggested

Every January the New York Times posts a timely feature entitled 52 Places to Go. It’s one destination per week for that upcoming year. The Times has its part-time writers scour the Internet and phones for interesting places that have big events, celebrations or anniversaries. I am one of them. I send in five a year and this year they chose my suggestion of Assisi, Italy, which is celebrating the 800-year anniversary of the death of St. Francis. I write about it and my other four suggestions as my own personal Places to Go 2026.

January 13, 2026

12 years in Rome: Anniversary calls for another list of reasons why I love this city

Twelve years ago Sunday I showed up in Rome with three bags which weren’t nearly as heavy as my dreams. My retirement in Rome has surpassed all of them. Every year around Jan. 11, the date of my arrival in Rome in 2014, I list all the reasons why I love this crazy city. This is my latest edition. Stay tuned for more in coming years.

January 6, 2026

“Emily in Paris”: Playing an extra in Netflix’s global chick flick hit a humble way to spend a sunny day

Resuming my side gig as a film extra, I played an obnoxious tourist in Netflix’s hit series “Emily in Paris.” It filmed Season 5 in Rome and I got to spend a sunny day in May in Ostia Antica’s pretty Piazza della Rocca. The series is a chick flick on estrogen but star Lily Collins is nice, the work is easy and the piazza is beautiful. There are worse ways to make wine money.

November 18, 2025

Italy’s cost of living: It’s gone up here, too, folks

All my friends in the United States are complaining about higher costs. I believe them. I know. But here in Italy, the cost of living has gone up, too. It’s not as bad as in the U.S. but bad enough for Italians to take to the streets and protest. Here’s a hard look at what it is costing Italians and me today.

October 16, 2025

Turkmenistan: Hello from “The Weirdest Country in the World”

No individual travel aloud. Dirty cars heavily fined. A monument for dogs. Turkmenistan is one of the most isolated countries in the world and definitely the weirdest. I spent nine days in the desert country recently and came away with this report. It’s the first of a three-part series.

October 7, 2025

Italy travels: My five favorite trips over 11 years

Since retiring to Rome in 2014, I’ve made countless trips across Italy, from Sicily to the Alps. Many Italians don’t leave the country during their vacation. I do but I can see the appeal. Here are my five favorite trips in Italy, in order, with transportation and price info and links to more detailed blogs.

September 16, 2025

Italy tourism seeing a drop in American tourists but their fears of crowds and danger are misplaced

Fewer Americans are visiting Italy this year as they fear the crowds of the Jubilee, the drop in exchange rate and political instability. But the fears are misplaced and some travel agencies have experienced a recent surge. Here’s a quick analysis.

August 26, 2025

AS Roma 2025-26: New manager, new striker and Italy’s best goalkeeper give hope to hungry franchise

Arguably the best coach in Italy joined AS Roma this year and combined with the best goalkeeper in Serie A and a dynamic 20-year-old striker from Ireland, the club has new hope to end major droughts. I covered Saturday’s season opener at Stadio Olimpico and here’s my report.

August 19, 2025

Pasta with grandma: NonnaLive gives tourists a taste of dying art of cooking pasta by hand

The changing role of the Italian woman and the declining Italian economy has led to a dying art in the Italian kitchen: Making pasta by hand. But two enterprising young women in a small town near Rome are teaming with 15 Italian grandmothers to teach tourists the fine art. I took the class and filed this report.

August 12, 2025

Italian healthcare: Hip replacement again reminds me why I live in Italy

I’ve been singing the praises of Italy’s healthcare ever since I retired here in 2014. This month I have another reason to celebrate it. On Aug. 1 I had a hip replacement. One week later I was walking without crutches or pain. I interviewed my surgeon and discussed the massive gap between Italian and U.S. healthcare.

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