I really didn’t want to post too often, but the holidays are just back to back right now. Some are just for fun, but some actually affect you daily life. If a town has a patron saint or two, like my village, things shut down. Today is Valentine’s day, which needs to introduction, although now…

I know, a lot of holy days. Living in a Catholic country, everyday has it’s patron saint, some even more than one. Today is Sant’ Antonio Abate. Not the Saint Anthony who you pray to if you lose something, but the one that is the Patron Saint of animals. How do you tell? Look down,…

When the Befana arrives it is a sign that the holiday season is coming to the end. The marathon of Christmas, New Year’s and finally the Befana. It is the time when Italians may take one of their vacation weeks and hit the slopes or just visit family. The calze, large stockings, are on sale…

One of the biggest problems being an expat is missing some comfort food. For me it is mostly baked goods. Bagels, Pancakes and other sweets from my childhood. I also miss some of the international foods I grew up on like Chinese, Mexican and Japanese. I want to share some of my pantry basics. I thought…

Living in Italy or planning trips, it is always a good idea to look at a calendar and see if there are any holidays. Being a Catholic country, we seem to always have some festa or religious holiday as well as the national holidays. If these happen near or on a weekend, it is called a…