Italian Life

March 21, 2023

Walk Across Rome Part II: From Termini station home I pass 2,000 years of history with good food and wine as fuel

What I love about Rome is you can walk all over town without ever walking down a busy street. Thanks to all the piazzas and the maze of narrow, cobblestone streets, it’s easy to lose yourself in the quiet parts of this chaotic city. And you always stumble onto historic sites, beautiful piazzas and interesting shops. For the second time, I traversed the city while avoiding traffic. I walked from Termini train station to my home in the Monteverde neighborhood. I zigzagged eight miles for 5 1/2 hours. Here’s my report.

March 7, 2023

Andy Luotto: American-Italian chef is Superman in kitchen

Andy Luotto has been a little bit of everything since he left his home in Brooklyn to be with his father in Italy at 14. Actor. Author. Singer. Comedian. Scuba diver. But more than anything he is a chef. He has owned four restaurants and was an executive chef at a five-star restaurant in Venice. He sat down with me for an interview before he did a cooking demonstration at Rome’s Osteria Il Matto.

February 28, 2023

Rome’s ethnic restaurants: As Italians travel more, they are growing in popularity and here are my seven favorites

There once was a time when Italians would rather eat frozen pizza than ethnic food. That is changing. Italians are traveling more. More immigrants are coming to Italy. The combination is a growth of ethnic restaurants. Rome doesn’t have the variety of London or New York but I’m enjoying what we have. Here I pick seven of my favorite ethnic restaurants from Eritrean to Vietnamese.

February 21, 2023

Chiacchiere: Italy’s Carnevale sweet is my annual addiction

Every February when the Catholic celebration of Carnevale arrives, every pastry shop in Italy is filled with a sweet fried dough called Chiacchiere. Called frappe in Rome’s Lazio region and different names everywhere else, it comes out either baked or fried in long, flat strips or bent in different shapes. They’re served plain or with powdered sugar or dark chocolate. I’m not Catholic but this is one tradition I wholeheartedly endorse.

February 14, 2023

My five favorite hotels in Italy as Valentine’s Day arrives

For Valentine’s Day, I’m taking Marina to a four-star palace in Sutri, a little historic town cut into ravines about an hour north of Rome. It made me think of all the great hotels we’ve stayed at in Italy. We’ve been all over the country and stayed in dozens of hotels, resorts, agriturismos and AirBnBs. These are my five favorite.

February 7, 2023

My Five Favorite Restaurants in Rome, Edition Number 4

After living in Rome for nine years, I know my way around the city’s restaurant scene. When visitors ask me where to eat, I’m always stumped. There are too many choices. But occasionally I try. Like now. This is my fourth edition of my Five Favorite Restaurants in Rome list. Four are new from last year and there’s a new No. 1. I’ve been to all five many times, particularly in the last year, and highly recommend all of them.

January 11, 2023

Nine years in Rome: Another anniversary, another list why

Wednesday marks my nine-year anniversary of moving to Rome. And again, as I do every Jan. 11, I list all the reasons I love living here. This year’s is another new list, ranging from Marina’s great Italian dishes to the scenic walk I take to my soccer pub. Of all the blogs I write, this is the easiest.

January 3, 2023

TraveLazio: From islands to walled villages, introducing new blog about day trips from Rome

After nine years living in Rome, I’ve been to every corner of Rome’s Lazio region. It’s time I brought these places closer to you, dear reader. I am starting a new blog this month. It’s called TraveLazio. Every other Friday I will focus on one place in Lazio, easily accessible from Rome. It will be short, with lists of things to do and information on where to eat and how to get there. Lots of Marina’s photos. Hope you enjoy it. We aim to launch it Jan. 13.

December 27, 2022

Underrated Italian Towns 2023: Great places to visit or use as base just outside Italy’s overcrowded famous sites

If you’re planning an Italian vacation next year, consider some lesser-known places I discovered this year. They’re wonderful bases to explore more notable sites but also worthwhile places to spend a couple days off the beaten path. I recommend all of them. They’re good for the soul and good for the budget. They are my top 10 list of Underrated Towns in Italy 2023.

December 20, 2022

Christmas gifts 2022: Lots of coal dropping around world

Have your Christmas shopping done? I do. But my gifts go worldwide, garnered from my list of all that was mostly bad in the world. Yes, it’s time for my annual Christmas gift list. It comes at the end of a tumultuous year that saw war in Europe, women’s rights violated in the U.S. and Italy leaning heavily to the far right. There’s something for everyone, maybe even a few laughs.

December 13, 2022

What I miss about U.S? Christmas and not much else

Christmas is coming and it always brings back great memories of my Christmases in my hometown of Eugene, Ore. This month it has me thinking. What do I miss about the U.S? I struggled to come up with a list. It’s a short one. Christmas definitely tops it. Here’s a brief look at what I miss about the U.S. as an American expat in Rome.

December 6, 2022

How my travel habits have changed after nearly 45 years

Next month marks my 45th anniversary of my epic solo trip around the world. In 1978-79 upon graduation from college I spent nearly a year traveling through Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia and East Asia, visiting 25 countries. It changed my life forever. But some things have changed. I travel differently. True, I do have more money than I did as a starving backpacker. But my attitude and outlook have changed. Here are 10 things I’ve noticed and not all of them are positive.

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