Zen and the Art of Piazza Parties
Italians love a good party. In the summer when the heat of the day gives way to the coolness of the evening, Italians come out and gather. The piazza concept is perfect for this, and I’m pretty sure that’s why they were invented. Piazzas are places to conduct business...
The Venticello is Gone With the Wind
We arrived here two weeks ago to the most amazing weather. It was hot – in the 90s – but very low humidity and and the most delicious breeze, the venticello. That breeze kissed your face and brushed your body with a gentle coolness that made you feel like...
Flea Markets and Bargains Galore
I’m typically not a flea market kind of person. I’m good for about 10, maybe 15 minutes, then I’m ready to hit the road. However, our friend Michelangelo told us about a place near Citta di Castello that is only open on Sunday mornings and is kind of a...
The Miracle of Leroy Merlin
We visited the Leroy Merlin near Perugia to look for some outdoor furniture for our terrace. Leroy Merlin is kind of like a Home Depot. Getting to it required a trip on the E45, the main highway that cuts through Umbria and eastern Tuscany. Now you may think this...
Jesus at the End of My Street
I live on Via della Propositura, which is basically the street of the parish church. As the name implies, the parish church is just down the way from us. There’s really nothing else on this street – a few houses and a couple of entrances to the centro storico...
An Italian Pizza Party
Saturday night we had dinner with Michelangelo and Rossella and their daughter, Anna. Rossella made pizza, pizza, and more pizza. Remember how many times I’ve eaten pizza? Well, I outdid myself on Saturday. She made four pizzas and we ate all of them. Completely. I’ve tried to make pizza...
Italian Complications
I know it seems like my life is perfect (and for the most part it is right now – I’m continually pinching myself), however, we do have our share of complications. And they’re complications in Italian which is whole new sphere of weirdness. We recently ran some errands in...
We Go to a Dedication
I’ve said this before and I’ll probably say it more times, but Anghiari is really a small town. One of our neighbors, an older gentlemen who speaks absolutely no English, lets us know about all the insider events going on around town. He recently told us about something on...
We Look Up
I tell people when they come to Italy that you have to look up. You can’t just look at eye level or you miss so much. Especially in an old village like Anghiari. The buildings in the hill towns are the original high rises. They go up four and...
We Visit Umbria
We took Myra on a tour through Umbria, which is the region just to the east of Tuscany. It’s just as beautiful as Tuscany and not quite as tourist laden, although it’s being discovered more and more. Umbria is called the “Green Heart of Italy” because its landscape it...