When I was bellyaching about retiring this fall, my daughter Lizy proposed that we do an Earthwatch program that had always interested her: an archeological dig in Tuscany, in the hopes that it would distract me from the academic year starting up without me. So even though I delayed my retirement until January, we find … Continue reading 238. Digging
I like to think of myself as more of a traveler than a tourist, especially when it comes to Italy. After all, I seem to find myself here at least once a year. I know the little ins and outs: the first floor is marked “zero” not “one;” you go to the cashier and pay … Continue reading 237. Tourist Stuff
I’m starting this post on the plane back to the U.S., after nearly three terrific weeks in Italy. Apparently, I am getting out in the nick of time, as temperatures in the 100s are predicted. Here are some random thoughts: Using AI for good, not evil Everyone is nervous about the implications of the AI … Continue reading 236. This and That
Get over it! That’s how I feel when I’m in the Dolomites. In 1919, more than a century ago, the Austrians lost the Tyrol and Trentino regions to the Italians, at the end of World War I. As a casual visitor, you would never know that. The safety instructions in German come first. Even the … Continue reading 236. The Hills Are Alive
I fell in love with Genoa. And I even forgot to try the salami. Homeland of Christopher Columbus. No shame there. The statue is the first thing you see when you get off the train. On this trip, we’ve been ping-ponging from city to mountains to seashore to city and then to mountains again, with … Continue reading 235. Genoa
Hot, hotter, hottest. It seems every summer, we read about record-breaking heat across Europe, with Italy always on the list of the worst of the worst. I subscribe to a number of Italy travel groups on Facebook, and many of the posts are devoted to complaints about the extreme summertime temperatures, or advice on how … Continue reading 234. Hot Stuff
La via diritta era smarrita “The direct way is lost,” is in the first stanza of Dante’s Divina Commedia, which I was required to memorize in Italian 101 fifty-six years ago. That line came to mind the other day, as we attempted to follow the Via Francigena, an ancient pilgrimage route from Canterbury, England, to … Continue reading 233. Walks
Siamo arrivati! And everything was clicking like clockwork. We breezed through the Milan airport ( the new fingerprinting process that is causing hours-long delays in Rome seems not to arrived here yet) and hopped right onto a train to Milano Centrale station. Our favorite Milanese bakery, Princi, has opened an outpost at the train station, … Continue reading 232. The Agony and the Ecstasy
One of the beauties of working at a place for thirty years is that you feel perfectly at home, and perfectly entitled to raise your hand and say, "Why not me?" Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose, but so what? It's always worth a try. So when a colleague told me she had started a … Continue reading 231. Italian Culture Club
Readers of a certain age will remember the biography shelf in the libraries of their youth. In the Pottersville branch of the Somerset Public Library in my hometown, I remember that the books were hardcover and orange. I'm sure I read them all, especially those that were about ladies -- the term we would have … Continue reading 230. Jane Addams
