Friday, November 25, 2005
Well, at least I didn't spend turkey day with the turkeys...
Since Thanksgiving is not a holiday here and the only family I could have spent it with lives about 160 miles away, yesterday was just another business-as-usual day in an unusually cold day, running errands and getting work done before today's general strike. So instead of the ritual pig-out I had a...
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Tuesday, November 15, 2005
If you are hell bent on Italian fashion, why are you wearing Ralph Lauren?
In the twenty years that I have lived in Italy, apart from the odd debate that I’ve had now and then with the Average Joe or Jane trying to one-up me with his/her less than documented opinions on America and the American lifestyle in general, one of my gripes with Italians has been about fashion....
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Sunday, November 6, 2005
Hanging out with the dead – literally.
This year was the first time – sadly – that I ever felt the need to go to the cemetery for All Souls day. My beloved grandmother passed away in August and she was there all by her lonesome, since my grandpa is buried in NY (though at the time of writing we are awaiting the go-ahead to have his...
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Sunday, October 2, 2005
five good reasons why you should live here...
1 - the scent of jasmine in the air that blends so well with the scent of roasting chestnuts. 2 - you don't have to go to the fish store to buy fish. Fish mongers come literally to your doorstep. 3 - fruit and veggies are ALWAYS cheap. 4 - blaring sunshine when it's pissing down rain in the rest of...
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Monday, September 19, 2005
another Sicilian saying I heard from my mom.....
This one made me laugh: "Sta bbonu e ti dola u culu"! Translates into: You're fine but your ass hurts anyway! Meaning: There's nothing on this Earth for which you should complain about......but you complain anyway! Everyone knows at least one person like that.......
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Monday, September 12, 2005
ahhhhhhhhh September..............
The crowds have gone away, the temperature has cooled a bit, the lidos have closed at the beach, and you can just start to feel the autumn chill at night. But during the daytime Mondello beach is pure heaven. No crowds, no heatwaves, just the warmth of the sun or the warmth of the sea - this is the...
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Saturday, September 10, 2005
more Sicilian wisdom...
This is something my grandfather swore by: se ti dissiuru co' u sceccu vula', cia'ta diri,si, arraggiuni cia', u sceccu vula'. Translates into: If someone insits that they saw a jack-ass fly, then just nod your head and say, yes, you are right, you did see a jack ass fly. What it's supposed to mean...
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Friday, September 9, 2005
Good 'ol Sicilian wisdom,
In time, I have learned the hard way, is foolproof. One of my favorite proverbs is: Amici e parendi, un ci vinniti e un ci'accatatti nendi. Which translates into: friends and relatives - don't buy anything from them, don't sell anything to them. This generally renders the idea that, what is supposed...
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Thursday, September 8, 2005
Now everyone takes cheap shots at the US...
Italy is a funny country. Don't get me wrong, I love it here ( for the record, I only consider the real Italy to be anything from Florence on down with the exception of Venice, Portofino, the Lake Region and the Alps/Dolomites) but for some strange reason, unlike other European countries that makes...
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Monday, August 29, 2005
the Sicilian in me finally showed...
albeit in the saddest of cases. Two weeks ago I lost my beloved grandmother - who was also my confidante, accomplice and biggest moral supporter. She died one week shy of her 95th birthday in my mother's arms and lost conciousness only the day before she left us.It's still surreal to me, this loss,...
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