Of all the tools I have used to help me through this challenging lockdown time in Italy apart from friends and family, has been music. Music, with its unique kind of magic and, has been the one thing that has really helped to lift my spirits. After endless restless nights filled with fears, nightmares and…
Continue reading ➞ A little music therapy during lockdown in Sicily
Every once in a while I thought it would be fun to feature a single Italian word of the day and list associated phrases and vocabulary in a sort of themed Italian language post. There are many language blogs which will give you heaps of Italian verbs and words to study but the idea of…
Continue reading ➞ Italian word of the day: Mangiare
October in Sicily is a beautiful time of the year, there is a distinct cold snap which reminds you of the comforting warmth of a sweater and the new season brings with it new sensations and tastes which are as inebriating as newly fermenting wines. While I am always sad to see the end of…
Continue reading ➞ Ottobre in Sicilia
Italians are serious foodies, so there are always plenty of options as to where to seek out food and drink while on holidays in Italy. Today I thought I'd give you a quick Italian vocabulary to use while hunting down food on Italian trip as I've been getting many requests for more Italian language related…
Continue reading ➞ A bunch of ways to eat in Italy
The last time I was back home in Perth, Western Australia for a visit I suddenly became a victim to reverse culture shock. A bizarre affliction for an expat living in Italy as every day you are battling tiny little moments of friction between yourself and your new home, but slowly you begin to adjust…
Continue reading ➞ Italian coffee shop culture
I recently saw this image on Facebook from a supposedly "Italian" restaurant in Australia and was reminded of how different food consumption is in Italy. Yes, the photo does look delicious, but this is in no way an authentic way of serving Italian food. Italians would never put pasta together with meat on the same…
Continue reading ➞ How to eat like an Italian
One of the life lessons Italy has given me is the special taste of eating according to the seasons. There is something wonderfully simple and logical about living with the natural worlds shifting seasons, as if you are following a natural internal rhythm. Today we are all spoilt by supermarkets who have everything we want…
Continue reading ➞ Eating the Springtime
The Italian language is so visual, it has an ability to take an image or object and use it as a metaphor for a something much greater than itself. In English it would be akin to the literary term metonymy (from the Greek change of name) which is the term for one thing as applied…
Continue reading ➞ The imagery of Italian language
Tormentóne [tor-men-tó-ne] This word sounds like torment and is quite similar in meaning. Often this expression is used to describe a new song which gets way too much air time. You know, the one pop song you hear literally everywhere and really can’t get away from even if you try. In Italian it often refers…
Continue reading ➞ Italian word of the day: Tormentone
To panettone or not to panettone... Every year my Sicilian grandmother would proudly pull out and slice some panettone sweet bread after a bountiful Christmas lunch. For Nonna the fluffy mushroom-shaped loaf was a fine treat filled with candied orange, citron, lemon zest and raisins. I hated it, I was too full to enjoy anything…
Continue reading ➞ A Panettone Story
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