by Dianne Hales | Jul 20, 2021 | boats, Books, books on Italy, Italian, Italian language, Italian words and expressions, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Sayings and expressions, summer in Italy, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
For years we sailed San Francisco Bay in a boat called Canto del Mare (Song of the Sea). When we started sailing in Italy, we had to master a new maritime vocabulary, starting with the names for various Italian boats (imbarcazioni italiane): *Rowboat — barca a remi...
by Dianne Hales | Jul 13, 2021 | Books, books on Italy, Italian, Italian language, Italian words and expressions, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Sayings and expressions, summer in Italy, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
The beaches on the northern California coast where I live are beautiful, dramatic — and usually windy, foggy and cold in the summer months. As much as I love walking and jogging on them, none can compare with una spiaggia italiana. If I could, I’d spend...
by Dianne Hales | Jun 29, 2021 | Books, books on Italy, history, Italian, Italian language, Italian words and expressions, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Sayings and expressions, summer in Italy, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
I swam my way through the pandemic. As soon as Covid restrictions eased, our community pool reopened—with social distancing, which meant no more than two swimmers at a time. By coming late in the day I almost always have had the pool to myself. Lovely as it is to be...
by Dianne Hales | Jun 15, 2021 | Books, books on Italy, culture, Fathers Day, history, Italian, Italian folklore, Italian language, Italian words and expressions, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Religion, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Uncategorized, Web/Tech, Weblogs
On Father’s Day I cherish a special memory: the last time I danced with my Dad, at an Italian-American banquet in Northeastern Pennsylvania. My mother had died a few months before, and I decided to bring my broken-hearted Dad along with me on a book tour that would...
by Dianne Hales | May 25, 2021 | Books, books on Italy, Dante, Florence, history, Italian, Italian language, Italy, Language, literature, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Although 756 years have passed since Dante Alighieri’s birth in Florence in May of 1265, his words live, not just in literature, but also on the tongues of contemporary Italians. On a swerving, heart-stopping ride through Rome, a taxi driver assured me that the...
by Dianne Hales | May 11, 2021 | Books, books on Italy, culture, history, Italian, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Weblogs
“What do you miss most about Italy?” I asked one of my first Italian teachers, who had recently moved to the United States. She didn’t hesitate. “La piazza,” she replied. Over the years, I’ve come to understand why. The piazza is...
