music: Manhattan Transfer – “Java Jive” Although Italy has some of the best coffee in the world, Italians don’t drink nearly as much of it as you might think. My own routine, which I suspect to be fairly average, is: one at home at 7:30, before starting my commute one fairly soon after arriving at … Continue reading Caffeination: Italians and Their Coffee
This is often a low time of year for me. The days are getting shorter and colder; I wake up in darkness, leave the house in twilight, and by the time I get home it’s dark again. This is hard on my tropical psyche. And October 25th is the birthday of Nancy, my ex-stepmother. She’ll … Continue reading A Missing Mother
Israel, and Italy’s Jewish community, were angry when the Israeli flag was burned during April 25th Liberation Day festivities in Milan. The burners were Italian extreme leftists, who tend to be very pro-Palestine and anti-Israel. Coincidentally, about the same time I received from a reader a reference to Michelle Malkin (a conservative blogger) about an … Continue reading Symbols
When I first visited Italy in 1987 or ’88, Italians still took their traditional long vacation – practically everyone was on holiday for the entire month of August, all crowded together on the beaches or in the mountains. Many Italian families own “second” (vacation) homes, so summer simply meant a transfer of the wife and … Continue reading Italian Vacation Habits
This page is mostly a collection of previously-published material, bringing together in one place the long, painful story of our experiences with Telecom Italia. And the story keeps growing… May 22, 2003 Setting up simple household utilities in Italy used to be an arduous process. As one friend put it, getting a phone line installed … Continue reading Telecom Italia: The Whole Ugly Saga
