Why I write about Italy
Heyyyy! Ciao! Angelo weaves towards our table with outstretched hands and a grin on his face. He’s a little bit the worse for wear, but then I think I probably would be, too, if I owned a bar. Where you … Continue reading
Tag Archives: sicily
Gifts
It’s the final day of lessons before the Easter holidays. Unsurprisingly, I had very few students in yesterday, and have even fewer today. My boss has dictated that I have to give my teenagers a test, which is disappointing. I’d … Continue reading
Off the beaten track
“So it’s becoming obvious why your grandparents left here, Maryann,” I muse out loud. We’ve been to Borgetto twice in the past two days, and both days we’ve climbed our way to the top of the mountain, into the heart … Continue reading
The Pasquetta barbecue
Pasquetta – or Easter Monday – is the day when young Italians shake off the shackles of their family duties. Having spent Sunday with their parents, aunts, uncles, little sisters and brothers, and all the other people that make up … Continue reading
On food and friendships
Hey. You want to help me research my family near Palermo? It’s a casual request from my American friend Maryann via Facebook, and I say yes without thinking twice. It sounds like it should be fun, but it’s not going … Continue reading
A day with the mosaics
“Is that dog dead?” asks Maryann in a curious kind of a tone, pointing ahead of us. I follow her finger and see a large tan and white heap in the road. It doesn’t appear to be moving at all, … Continue reading
Posted in Living Like a Maniac, Reviewing Like a Maniac, Travelling Like a Maniac
Tagged sicily
3 Comments
Driving through lemons
At pie-ah-zah dust-mote, turn right. My travelling companion and I look at each other and fall about laughing. Where?! The Italian pronunciation on the sat-nav is – to put it mildly – appalling. Still, it’s keeping us entertained, and we … Continue reading
Simple pleasures
There’s the usual babble of noise in the classroom. I pull up a chair and settle myself down directly in front of the five teenagers that have come to school today. With my hands clutching the edge of the seat, … Continue reading
Something to believe in
Peggy was a formidable woman. Brought up atheist by Jewish parents, and married to a practising Christian, her faith was, in many ways, cooking – something which she passed on to her daughter, who in turn passed it on to … Continue reading
Posted in Eating Like a Maniac, Living Like a Maniac
Tagged calabria, Italy, puglia, sicily
9 Comments
Life is beautiful
The sun’s burning the top of my feet as I sit at my desk, supposedly lesson-planning, but actually procrastinating as always. I’m holding out for as long as possible before moving, but it gets to the point where I just … Continue reading
