Today, on the first day of November, a strong wind blows around the house. The autumn leaves, which seemed to have changed colour overnight in this past month, are merciless blown off the trees. It is “Il Giorno Di Tutti I Santi”, All Saints’ Day. It’s a bank holiday, and the whole of Italy has …
Weekblog #104: Halloween, extended weekend and the G20 summit in Rome Read More »
“What’s the weather like in Rome in October?” Without a doubt, this is one of the most googled questions when it comes to deciding when it’s the perfect time for a trip to the Eternal City. And you won’t be disappointed by the answer as Google will tell you that October is probably the very …
One of the most dangerous things of living in the most beautiful city in the world? After a while, you kind of get used to it. I won’t say that you turn blind for its beauty, or that it no longer moves you. The truth is that, time after time, it takes my breath away …
Weekblog #102: Rome through the eyes of a visitor Read More »
Het is zondag zes uur. Nederlanders zouden zeggen dat het avond is, Italianen noemen zes uur nog de middag. Ik zit in het vliegtuig richting Rome dat een kleine tien minuten geleden is opgestegen. Ik hoor je denken, alweer? Alweer inderdaad, want het is nog maar drie weken geleden dat ik het weekend ook in …
Exactly 99 Mondays ago, I published my very first blog post here. And that means that this is the hundredth. A hundred blogs! One hundred weeks! Have you ever done something you managed to keep up with for a hundred weeks? I certainly didn’t before starting this blog, so that makes it my biggest personal …
“So, what are your weekend plans?” It was already after lunch on Friday when I still had no answer to this question. Well, the day before me and my friend made plans to go for aperitivo on Saturday evening, but that was really it. Besides, this is Italy, and such a plan is anything but set in …
Weekblog 99: Welcome to Rome, but did you make a reservation? Read More »
It is Monday again and I am sipping my cappuccino at a Roman bar down the street while I open my laptop to write this blog. I read the bits and pieces I typed on the plane this morning. It takes me a while before I really find the right inspiration. These past three days, I …
And just like that, the first week after the summer holiday is already over. And where the arrival of a new season was palpable in the air at the beginning of the week – a fresh wind literally blew through the city – it ended with a weekend in which the sun was still doing …
Fifteenth of August, the laziest day of the year. Even more than at Christmas, the whole country is at a standstill. Shut down by that one holiday, Ferragosto, which for many Italians means the start of the summer holidays. The whole of Italy shifts down to the lowest gear. The whole of Italy horizontal for …
Ciaone. In other words, a very big ciao. Nowadays, this little word is used more and more often – by mostly young people – to the great displeasure of Italian linguists because of what they consider to be the “degradation” of the language. Nevertheless, I too am guilty of using this word from time to …