If you’re traveling to Europe this summer, don’t look like a tourist. Dress like a European. In this guest blog, you’ll get some handy tips on how not to stand out.
It’s July, the worst time to travel anywhere in the world. But if time restraints limit you to visiting Italy in July, I’m here to help. After living here 10 years, I’ve been to a lot of Italian islands. Here are some of my favorite. They will be crowded. But they will be hot, and they will be clean. They will also be beautiful if you can ignore all the bodies. This is a repost of a blog I wrote in 2017 as I’m trying in the United States.
For the last five years I told people the only things that could get me back to the fractured U.S. would be a high school reunion or a family wedding. My nephew decided to get married in California on the same July 20 date as my 50th reunion. I will attend the reunion’s meet ‘n greet on the 19th, then fly to California at 6 the next morning. I don’t dread the itinerary nearly as much as entering the political cauldron that is the U.S. Watching from a far, it makes me appreciate Italy that much more. It confirms Italy is now and will be forever more my home.
I’ve taken food tours all over the world and I highly recommend them. In Rome I recommend the 10 Tastes of Rome. It sprinkles in history with the food. It starts in Campo de’ Fiori and finishes in Trastevere. Along the way I learned why they burned a philosopher at the stake and how a spout of oil the day Jesus was born inspired the construction of Chiesa di Santa Maria in Trastevere. Along the way I tasted some good pizza, gelato and Sicilian cassatina.
If you ever wanted to know what it’s like to live in Rome as a retired expat, read my new book that is now out on Amazon. “The Cappuccino Chronicles: An American Journalist’s Decade in Rome” takes people inside the life of one of the world’s most glamorous cities. But it’s not the dream many burned-out people imagine when they look at retirement. The streets are filthy. The public services are lousy. Relationshios are difficult. But the food, wine and beauty meet the hype and I hope I found a balance that peels the veneer off the city to show what’s really inside while still showing what has kept me around for 10 years. I will soon announce a Zoom call for anyone interested in hearing about the book and to answer any questions about life in this crazy city.
I waited 10 years to tour Palazzo Farnese, the beautiful Renaissance Palace that’s home to the French Embassy here in Rome. Tours were always booked. I finally got in recently and it was worth the wait. The entrance alone with giant marble columns taken from Egypt were worth it alone. Inside is art that can rival some in the Vatican Museums and Michelangelo’s fingerprints are all over the palace. Too bad there’s a major cleanup on the facade. The entire building is covered with scaffolding.
Despite not writing about it much during my career, I remain a closet track nut. The European Championships are in Rome through Wednesday and attendance hasn’t been great. Combined with bad attendance for major meets in my hometown of Eugene, Oregon, the “Track Capital of the World,” I wonder if this sport is beginning to wither in popularity.
What’s your favorite pizza style in Italy? Neapolitan, with its thick, chewy crust, is the most famous. I prefer Roman style’s thin, crispy crust. After 10 years in Rome, I have updated my Five Favorite Pizzerias in Rome but this time limited it to Roman style.
My Rome neighborhood of Monteverde had a food fair featuring more than two dozen food stands filling my local piazza over the weekend. Hare wraps (meaning WILD hare), pizza in fried bread, tiramisu. It was all there. So good I went twice. Here’s my juicy report.
I started noticing my right pinkie involuntarily bend about two years ago. Soon it was at a 90-degree angle, making typing difficult. What I have is Dupuytren disease, a condition that shortens and thickens the connective tissue in the palm. I had surgery two weeks ago. It was tremendous insight into the world of private healthcare in the second-ranked healthcare country in the world.
Ever since Marina and I started our TraveLazio blog in January 2023, we have discovered fantastic restaurants in little towns outside. Rome. After traveling to 34 towns in the Lazio region, I came up with my 10 favorite restaurants. They’re in rough order and include contact info, photos and links to the towns we featured in TraveLazio. If you love Italy, this is a must read.
My beloved AS Roma soccer club was going nowhere fast until they fired The Special One, Jose Mourinho, and hired local legend Daniele De Rossi. Despite hardly any managerial experience, he has led Roma to a 9-2-2 record, the quarterfinals of the Europa League and fifth place in Serie A. I attended Sunday’s 1-0 win and here’s a full update on the team that made me a fan again.
