Let Me Vent

How (NOT) To Implement a Recycling Policy in Your Town

1 year ago

by Michael in Lazio, Let Me Vent, Things that make me scratch my head

TweetI’m a big fan of recycling, and I was really happy to hear that our town, Soriano nel Cimino, was planning on implementing a recycling program. Better yet, it would include garbage pick-up. Cool! The fact is, that much of Italy is full of litter, many towns have garbage bins that [...]

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Welcome To Italy… There’s a Tax For That

1 year ago

by Michael in Culture, Let Me Vent, Things that make me scratch my head

TweetI haven’t gone on an Italy rant for a while, but with healthcare and taxes filling the US airwaves, it has really made me think about taxes in Italy. I’ll not get into my opinion of these subjects in the US, since this is not the place for it. I also don’t want anyone to see this [...]

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Man Dies: Caught The Cold in Stomach

1 year ago

by Michael in Culture, Food, Let Me Vent, Things that make me scratch my head

TweetTraveling to Italy, some visitors notice various oddities about Italian culture that seem to defy explanation. Some are rooted in the socio-political history of the country, some are rooted in religious tradition, and others… the ones that are often the most seemingly nonsensical, [...]

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Olive Garden cooking school in Tuscany?

1 year ago

by Michael in Cooking, Culinary, Food, Let Me Vent, Things that make me scratch my head, Tuscany

TweetUpdated 02/2010 Olive Garden is one of those places that really sets my blood to boil. Every time I hear the word ‘Hospitaliano’ I begin to cringe and twitch. When I hear them say ‘When you’re here, you’re family’, I can’t help but visualize the corporate offices of a chain with [...]

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Italian… So lost in translation

3 years ago

by Michael in Let Me Vent, Personal

Tweet“My daughter speaks perfect English. After all, she spent a month in England with a native family”. That was the quote that caused me to simply give up, and it speaks volumes about Italian culture and the denial so many of them live in. It happened this past October. I was in a local [...]

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A little more Olive Gardening Laughter…

4 years ago

by Michael in Cooking, Culinary, Food, Let Me Vent, Things that make me scratch my head, Tuscany

TweetFace it, I’m back in the states for a few months, so I just don’t have much material for the blog these days. I mean, when I am in Italy, I could write several posts a day, but I am sitting here in Florida, what to contribute to THIS blog? That said, little things catch my [...]

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Soccer Fanaticism in Italy – Because they cant feed Christians to the lions anymore

4 years ago

by Michael in Culture, Lazio, Let Me Vent, Sports, Things that make me scratch my head

TweetI love Football (Go USC!) & Baseball (Go Dodgers!).. I’m an American after all. But I have never been able to sink my heart into Soccer. So having spent all of these years in Italy, I’ve never been to a serious professional Soccer match. I’ve been to the small ones, but never [...]

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Finding Italy through London Fog this XMas

5 years ago

by Michael in Let Me Vent, Personal, Travel Tips

TweetOn Tuesday, December 19th at around 4:30 PM we sat at the departure gate in Los Angeles waiting to board our flight. It had already been a very long day for us, and we were looking forward to a 10 hour flight to London with a connection that would take us to Rome. It was me, Paola, [...]

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How do they get the flavor out of the food in the states?

5 years ago

by Michael in Cooking, Culinary, Culture, Food, Let Me Vent, Things that make me scratch my head, Travel Tips

TweetI’ve been back in Los Angeles for a week now, and last night we went to an Italian restaurant for dinner for the first time since I got back. This may not seem like a big deal, but for us it is always a tragedy. The restaurant was Pomodoro in Woodland Hills. I don’t want to say it [...]

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Cattle Call in Rome versus an Italian country sunrise

5 years ago

by Michael in Culture, Let Me Vent, Things that make me scratch my head, Tours, Travel Tips

TweetI’ve been here for 5 days now and have had no time to write as I have been so busy working on our apartments. However, yesterday I took my cousin to see Rome. After all, she has never been to Italy and it is less than an hour away from our house. It’s late October… we are pressing [...]

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Having a craving for Grilled Flesh

5 years ago

by Michael in Culinary, Culture, Food, Let Me Vent, Things that make me scratch my head

TweetGrilled Flesh… YUM! When I lived here in Soriano, I was, quite simply, ‘The American”. In fact, the immigrant population of the area consisted of me, two Brits and a Brazilian. Outside of that, nobody spoke a word of English. My, how things can change over the course of 20+ years. A [...]

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How to avoid getting ripped off as a tourist in Italy

5 years ago

by Michael in Culture, Let Me Vent, Travel Tips

TweetWhen you are traveling, sometimes you can just feel it. You go to pay for something, and you just know that if you were a local, you would have paid a much lower price. You are an ‘unsuspecting tourist’, and they will take you for what you’ve got. Here is a link to a New York Times [...]