Category: Life in Italy

Tim and Julie just finished up their three week tour of Italy and we met up with them for the final few days.  They stayed with us a week, then they visited Florence and the Chianti country.  On their way back to Rome, they stayed several days in one...

We’re meeting Tim and Julie in Orvieto, then on to Rome.  So we’ll be gone for four days.  We’re letting our food supply diminish so we don’t have to throw anything out, so that means it’s slim pickings for meals these days.  After a carved together lunch yesterday, we...

I’ve spent many Saturday nights in small Southern towns.  My formative years were full of them.  But nothing beats Saturday night in a small Italian town.  Steve and I went to our favorite bar, the Bar della Sport (we call it the sports bar) on Friday for our happy...

I used to walk every morning before work in Atlanta.  I took the same route and walked the same pace.  On the weekends, Steve and I would walk Millie together.  Sometimes we would go on parts of my morning walk, but in the opposite direction.  It was always amazing...

Santuario della Verna I really don’t know what my fascination with St. Francis is.  I was raised Southern Baptist and we didn’t do saints and such.  But for some reason, St. Francis strikes a chord with me.  Maybe it’s because he was all over this part of Italy.  Maybe...

When we decided to take this fantastic journey, one of the things we were looking forward to was sharing it with friends and family.  So we took on the apartment upstairs to use for visitors.  After seven weeks of preparing, organizing, and planning, we hosted our first guests.  Tim...

We thought we were moving here to simplify our lives.  No more (real) work, no more schedules, no more responsibilities.  Just carefree days of doing what we want when we want where we want.  While that’s largely true, our dream of simplicity is a little complicated. We have no...

We’ve been a little housebound for the past few weeks due to various issues and situations.  We had expected to take many day trips while we’re here and we’ve really been itching to get out.  We finally got out recently and took two trips.  One to Deruta and one...

I’m on a mission to use every one of the tomatoes Piero the gardener gave me.  I refuse to let even one of them go to waste.  I’ve done all the usual things, like caprese salads and panini, and now am ready to take on some major things.  Our...

Most of you know that Italy got hit pretty hard early in the pandemic.  I think because of that, they are very cautious about how they proceed.  Almost everyone wears a mask and you can’t go into stores, offices, or restaurants without one.  They still limit the number of...