In Italy, Dyed Hair More Common than Natural

(for women) I read somewhere that an astonishing proportion of Italian women dye their hair – was it 60% ? Wouldn’t surprise me. Look around you on the Milan metro any crowded morning, and it’s hard to find a woman who doesn’t dye her hair. There are plenty of blondes, few of them natural. A woman’s hair… Continue reading In Italy, Dyed Hair More Common than Natural

Holiday Hell – Italian Vacation Traffic

Almost every Christmas, we drive halfway down Italy to Abruzzo, where my in-laws are retired by the seaside. This puts us on the road with millions of other Italians going home for the holidays. Much of the flow is north to south: the many southern Italians who migrated to northern Italy decades ago to find… Continue reading Holiday Hell – Italian Vacation Traffic

Conversation in a Bar

While having my morning coffee, I overheard a man talking to the waiter: “I married two sisters. No, really. My first wife caught me with her sister. [Meditatively.] Who do you think is worse: the husband who sleeps with his sister-in-law, or the sister who sleeps with her sister’s husband?” …there’s a novel in there… Continue reading Conversation in a Bar