Tag Archives: Italy

My First Interview

24 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by in Bumbling Chats, Travel Musings

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Gooooood morning!

I just wanted to share with you all a fun interview that I was asked to do for Sparkles & Crumbs–a delightful blog run by charming fellow Italophile, Caroline!

As someone who usually writes the interview questions, it was an interesting and pleasant experience being on the other side of the inquiries. One lesson I learned, though, is that it’s really hard, too! Especially doing written interviews, because you have the time to craft a response but then second guess everything you’ve written, leading to a lot of doubt and agonizing over word placement and tone. Such is the writing life, I suppose.

Anyway, a big thank you to Caroline for featuring me on her wonderful Champagne Tea series–my first interview representing Bumblings of Miss Button as an interviewee on the interwebs!

 

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Missing Italy: Good Reads to Get You Through

01 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Destinations, Travel Musings

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Boys running through plowed fields in Umbria, August 2012.

Boys running through plowed fields in Umbria, August 2012.

I’ve been pining for Italy a lot this week. 10 months have passed since my feet last touched terra italiana, and while my friends are preparing for the Notte Bianca at Campo della Fiera tomorrow night, I am nursing my worsening Carpal Tunnel Syndrome with a new wrist brace and wishing I were dusty and hot under the Umbrian sun wielding a trowel or pick. 

I'm hard at work in the saggio at CdF. Photo by Marijn Stolk

I’m hard at work in the saggio at CdF. Photo by Marijn Stolk

To reign in my desire for cold Orvieto Classico and late-night guitar strumming, I decided to share some of my favorite reads based in or about Italy.

A Room With A View: E.M. Forster

 Perhaps my all-time favorite book, full of fantastically wise characters, rich scenery and perfect prose. It’s  certainly one of the best novels about Italy and its life-changing effects on those who it sweeps up into its pasta-laden arms.

Rather than spoil it with plot summaries, I’ll share some of my favorite quotes and hope it piques your interest enough to read it!

“One doesn’t come to Italy for niceness,” was the retort; “one comes for life.”

“Let us rather love one another, and work and rejoice. I don’t believe in this world sorrow.”

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Daylights Savings? Or, How I Had Coffee with a Bishop

09 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by in Destinations, Expat Life in Italy, Travel Musings

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Written October, 2009.*

Apparently, daylight savings went into effect last Saturday at midnight. Nobody told us. As an Arizonan, I have never had to deal with the whole daylight savings ordeal; never had to figure out which way to change my clock, never wondered what would happen if I forgot. Time travel of the most man-made kind, and iit did not even remotely exist in my world. Simply not an issue.
Clock

Source

So, I wake up, put on my Sunday best, and go to church, just as I have been doing for the past month. I arrive, and the door is locked. No sounds of chairs scraping inside, no chatter of the kidlets who go to Sunday school. I check my phone clock. 10:25 a.m. The service starts at 10:30. I am confused. I turn around and see a portly man walking towards me. He has the build of a linebacker, but is wearing a large cross necklace, in the design of the 7th c AD, one of those squarish ones.

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How Living in a Small Town Taught Me About Travel

09 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by in Travel Musings

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Agatha Christie is one of my favorite mystery writers. Most folks love Poirot, but I loved Miss Marple, the old lady from a tiny town who was a genius sleuth. Characters were always very skeptical about her detective skills, because who was she? Just some spinster who  never left her little corner of the world. But Miss Marple knows something that people forget: it doesn’t matter where you come from to garner lessons about humanity and life.

At this point in my life, I’ve spent a bit more than an accumulated year in  Italy. Most of that time was passed living in Orvieto. Now, Orvieto isn’t very large. Wikipedia says it’s 20,000 people, but I”m skeptical. In any case, Orvieto was certainly the smallest place I’ve ever lived. And guess what?

The Orvieto duomo and skyline of Orvieto

Orvieto: where I learned how to travel.

I learned some of the most important lessons about traveling by living there.

Lesson 1: Be flexible. 

In a small town–especially an Italian one–shops close early, they might be open at random times (i.e. the grocery store randomly closed every Wednesday afternoon), they might go on vacation *gasp!* for two weeks and you won’t be able to find your favorite bread or whatever.

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How to Buy Awesome Souvenirs (Without Overloading Your Bag)

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

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As you know, I’m a light packer. And as much as I love shopping (when I’m in the right mood), I have a hard time justifying buying souvenirs unless I’m on a short trip and don’t have to lug stuff around too long.

But traveling for 8 months and seeing things you’ve never seen before sometimes prompts a desire to take home a relic or two. Here are some of my favorite souvenirs that not only fit into my bag, but will also remind me of my fabulous trip and the incredible people I met along the way.

Look for Unique and Practical Garments

If you buy a t-shirt for every destination you travel, you might end up with a lot of extra weight in your pack. Trust me, there were so many clever and cute t-shirts I wanted (Appelman in Berlin, anyone?) but really often at souvenir shops they’re kitschy and overpriced.

The good thing about buying t-shirts as souvenirs is that if you’re traveling long-term, you’ll probably have to toss or donate your old, ruined ones at some point. And what better to replace them with than ones that are both practical–I mean, you can wear them!–and have a story behind them.

The trick? Look for items that you might not be able to get anywhere else. And that you WILL USE AND WEAR.

Example 1: In October, I traveled in Italy with the fantastic Emily & Logan. While they were off being their badass selves cycling 135 km through the picturesque Tuscan hills, I was eating porchetta and watching as people came in at the finish. Oh, and I also perused the L’Eroica market place.

There, I stumbled upon the tent for Borracce di Poesia, a project joining the joy of cycling with love of reading. Literally translated to “Water Bottles of Poetry,” its founder inserted poems he’d written that focused on urban cycling. I LOVED the idea behind this, and they had the coolest design for their t-shirts. The founder and I had a really great chat, and I asked myself: Where else would I get something like this that was paired with this experience?

Overlooking Siena and promoting poetry!

Overlooking Siena and promoting poetry!

I love my Borracce shirt and can’t wait until there’s warmer weather to wear it all the time again–I did in Italy!

And by the way–now you can get their t-shirts online! They are super cool and come in many colors.

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Oh, Tucson: Crazy Small World Travel Experiences (So Far)

17 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in Destinations, Travel Musings

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The world is a small place. And it gets smaller as I meet more and more people across it. Here are some crazy small world experiences I’ve had in my travels…

View of the clouds

4. Prague, Czech Republic

My hometown is one of those places where you can play 3 degrees of separation from practically everyone in it. Even on the road. I found this to be true just this weekend in Prague on a free walking tour. I started chatting to a girl by me and it turned out SHE LIVED IN TUCSON. AND HAD DONE THE SAME STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM AS I HAD.

I could reference Bisonwitches and Orvieto in the same breath. We ended up hanging out for the rest of the weekend in Prague, and plan to grab a drink again when we’re both back in the Old Pueblo.

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How to Make Tiramisu: An Easy Recipe

25 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by in Bumbling Bites

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Lately, I”ve been blessed to be a guest in many homes of dear friends. I am reminded all the time how much I have to be grateful for, and the most important one of those is the love I am surrounded and supported by. Obviously, there aren’t many real gifts I can give to repay them for their love other than to return it; one of the tangible ways I can do that is to prepare some delicious food for them, and put my love into that, with the hopes that they can enjoy it. I totally support Penzey’s Spices motto: Love People. Cook them tasty food. 

So, here’s an easy recipe that I’ve used among family and friends, both old and new, which was taught to me by one of the most incredible women I know, who always does things with love and care. I may have posted this before, but I find that it’s relevant and worthy of a new posting! Plus, I’ve learned a few things in the many times I’ve made it that might be important to share, too.
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My Favorite Five: Things to do in Siena

15 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Destinations, Favorite 5

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So, in writing this post I realize that not once but twice before I have written about this town. Once in 2007, when I visited with my study abroad roomie, and once again in 2009 when I was working in Orvieto. Both of these entries seem like lifetimes away, yet I say practically the same thing about the town in both–and also here! (I read them after I had written this post.) It’s also interesting to note the difference between my 25-year-old self’s writing and my 20-year-old self’s, although the voice is much the same. Food for thought.

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