by Dianne Hales | Sep 21, 2021 | autumn, Books, books on Italy, food, Food and Drink, history, Italian, Italian folklore, Italian language, Italian words and expressions, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Sayings and expressions, Travel, Web/Tech, Weblogs, wine
\ In Italy every season— la primavera (spring), l’estate (summer), l’autunno (autumn), l’inverno (winter) — has a different feel and focus. L’autunno is when farmers reap what they have sown. The harvest (il raccolto or la messe) has already passed for many fruits,...
by Dianne Hales | Aug 10, 2021 | Books, books on Italy, Capri, history, Italian, Italian language, Italian words and expressions, Italy, Language, learning Italian, Roman history, Sayings and expressions, summer in Italy, Travel, Uncategorized, Web/Tech, Weblogs
Years ago I celebrated my first Italian Ferragosto in Capri, a most fitting (though crowded) place to be on August 15. The Roman emperor Augustus, whose name graces summer’s last month, was so enamored with the beguiling island of Capri that he appropriated it from...
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 | 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...
