Posts Tagged ‘Orvieto’
That’s a BOY’S Name!
Posted in Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Travel to Italy, tagged expat in Italy, Living in Itay, Oprah, Oprah's Book Club, Orvieto, orvieto italy, Toni Braxton, Toni Morrison, Travel to Italy on March 24, 2013 | 7 Comments »
The Light of a Candle
Posted in Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Travel to Italy, tagged friendship, lighting candles in church, Orvieto, orvieto italy on February 4, 2013 | 14 Comments »
I am very lucky to be included in your circle of friends. Because of the distance between us we don’t see each other as often as I’d like, but when we meet it’s as if no time passes – we just pick up right where we left off. I know what a rare and special gift this is.
I lit a candle for you today. It burns brightly for happy memories, solidarity, friendship, peace and, most of all, love.
by Toni DeBella
Finding Rome on the Map of Love: Book Review #2
Posted in Expat in Italy, Italian Culture, Italians, Italy, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Orvieto Italy, Rome, writing, tagged Amazon, Duomo di Orvieto, Eat Pray Love, Ebook, Estelle Jobson, Finding Rome on the Map of Love, Orvieto, orvieto italy, Rome, The Beehive Hotel, Three Coins in a Fountain, Toni DeBella, Under the Tuscan Sun on January 2, 2013 | 17 Comments »
Shortly after arriving in Italy, I accepted an invitation to a book signing and reading event in Rome. When I learned of the book’s subject matter (a thirty-something woman who finds love with an Italian and moves to Rome) I thought, “Oh, no, not another fairy tale about coming to Italy, having an affair with Marcello Mastroianni and living happily ever after!” Needless to say I was skeptical. Seriously, is there anyone out there who could bring freshness to this tired and overly-saturated genre of storybook fantasies alla Three Coins in a Fountain, Under the Tuscan Sun and Eat, Pray, Love? I know I sound jaded – my expectations were low.
After a brief introduction, author Estelle Jobson sat down on a cushion in the courtyard of The Beehive Hotel, opened her book, Finding Rome on the Map of Love, and began to read. As I listened to her recount the stories, I noticed the corners of my mouth began to spontaneously turn upward. Her elegant and proper South African accent was in sharp contrast to the wry, sardonic, and sassy repartee. Hey, this girl gets it! When she finished I was a bit sad, but fortunately I’d purchased my very own autographed copy of the book and immediately cracked it open on the train back to Orvieto.
During the first couple of chapters, I was gulping down Estelle’s pages the way a typical American might eat their dinner – swallowing without taking time to taste. Perhaps I’ve been in Italy long enough that a voice in my head warned, “Don’t be in a hurry – savor each flavor and texture”. This book was just like a good Italian meal – I never wanted the literary feast to end, but when it did I felt warm and utterly satisfied.
Estelle Jobson is a talented writer who has a true gift for observation; describing things as an expatriate I’d experienced but was never able to fully articulate. I think what I appreciated the most about Estelle’s storytelling is that she doesn’t laugh at Italians, she laughs with them. Her book is filled with intelligent humor, compassion, and edgy insight. She is sarcastic without being mean; clever without being pretentious; and emotional without being too sentimental. Estelle sees Italians the way they really are and reconfirms, at least for me, why I love living among them.
I’ll stay with the food analogy for just a little bit longer to say that I really enjoyed chewing slowly on every single delicious “bite” of Finding Rome on the Map of Love – her words were proprio buonissime!
Enjoying my copy…
…in front of the…
…Duomo di Orvieto.
by Toni DeBella
You can contact the author at findingrome@gmail.com
Find her and her book on Facebook
ebook on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Rome-Map-Love-ebook/dp/B009HBLYYO/
Online extract here: http://italianintrigues.blogspot.ch/2012/10/the-socialization-of-italian-man.html
Jazz on a Hilltop: Umbria Jazz Winter 2012
Posted in Festivals in Italy, Festivals in Umbria, Italy, Orvieto, Travel, Umbria, tagged arts, Capodanno, Dr. Bobby Jones & The Nashville Gospel Superchoir, Funk Off, Jazz in Orvieto, Orvieto, roman catholic mass, Umbria Jazz Winter on December 27, 2012 | 7 Comments »
Watch YouTube Video Below!
Yes, I know you’ve seen this post before….but it’s Umbria Jazz Winter #20, so I’m updating the line-up and reminding everyone that there’s a 5-day party going on in Orvieto!
Like scrappy, bebopping Pied Pipers, Perugia’s popular street band Funk Off gets this party started with a nightly parade that snakes through Orvieto’s narrow and ancient cobblestone alleyways. Music lovers, young and old, scamper and skip behind these energetic hipsters as their infectious beat draws more and more followers along the route. The bluesy procession ends with an impromptu jam session in the Piazza della Repubblica, where you’ll find you can’t help but tap your feet, move your body and smile: It’s Umbria Jazz Winter #20 and “baby, it’s cold outside”.
The international flavor and welcoming spirit amidst the holiday lights and chilly, frigid temperatures creates a unique atmosphere that makes this festival something special. For five nights, starting from December 28 to January 1, Jazz fans flock from all over Italy and beyond to partake in the music and brotherhood for which this festival has become world renowned. Performing on stage this year: Gregory Porter Septet, Dee Alexander & Evolution Ensemble, Tomeka Reid, Nicole Mitchell, Gary Brown & Feelings, Giovanni Tommaso Reunion Quintet, John Batiste, and many more.
2012 goes out with a bang! Capodanno is celebrated in the Piazza del Popolo at midnight, ringing in the New Year with a fireworks display and free outdoor concert. On New Year’s Day arrive at the famous Duomo early to secure your spot for the first Mass of 2013. Inside this majestic Cathedral you’ll witness something you don’t see every day; hymns sung at a Roman Catholic “Mass for Peace and Gospel” by Dr. Bobby Jones and the Nashville Gospel Superchoir. Hold onto your seats because this joint will be jumpin’!
For more information about the festival go to: http://www.umbriajazz.com/Home.aspx
SEE YOUTUBE VIDEO OF FUNK OFF HERE:
A Day in the Life
Posted in Americans Abroad, Expat in Italy, Italy, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Travel, Umbria, tagged Bangkok, expat in Italy, italian news, italian teacher, JFK, living in Italy, Orvietini, Orvieto on December 6, 2012 | 9 Comments »
This is an actual email I received this morning from a friend:
Soooo….how is everything?
Lots of rain here.
My roof is leaking.
Just got in from my second trip to JFK in a week.
I spent a week in Bangkok last month.
Tell me all about your new life.
xo. D
6 December, 2012
Dear D,
We had a flood here four weeks ago. Bad.
I sit in my office a lot in front of my computer.
I drink too many cappuccinos.
I ran into my ex the other day. Awkward.
Haven’t eaten any pasta yet.
Only ate one gelato.
Eva is a great Italian teacher.
Had to substitute her for the Italian news online.
I changed my cellular provider without help.
It took two attempts.
It rained yesterday.
Supermarket is closed on Wednesdays.
I ate cereal for dinner.
The Mayor says I belong in a category called “Orvietini”
I like it.
xo. T
by Toni DeBella
A Book Review: “The Etruscan Chef”
Posted in Americans Abroad, Expat in Italy, Food in Italy, Italy, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Travel, Umbria, tagged Food in Italy, Italian food, Lorenzo Polegri, Orvieto, The Etruscan Chef, Umbria, Umbrian Cuisine on November 17, 2012 | 4 Comments »
I’ve been in Orvieto just a little over a week. Already a lot has occurred – some good, some not so good. Such is life.
Strange things are happening…
…like writing my very first book review…
The Etruscan Chef by Lorenzo Polegri & Kim Brookmire is not just another book about food or cooking, although it tells of both.
It’s a window into the past and present lives of Umbrians and their cuisine – a memoir of food and its genesis from their ancestors, the Etruscans. Lorenzo writes, “We used to be Etruscans. I don’t know if we still are, but we love to think so.”
Chef Polegri presents us with a book that is written by a boy who is now a man. After reading it from cover to cover, I feel as though I know him, and the people he introduced me to, just a little bit better. The smiling faces of the vendors I see at the outdoor market every week now have names. Absorbing Lorenzo’s words, I will try to remember that a farmer toiled in a nearby field to bring these delicious and real foods to my table. Grandparents, parents, children and friends: Through Lorenzo’s stories from his childhood, his teenage years, and now his adulthood, I see more clearly the strong and beautiful people of my adopted home, and for this I am grateful.
The Etruscan Chef is a pleasurable and emotional glimpse into the soul of a life in Umbria, Italy.
Lorenzo & Kim
To learn more about Chef Polegri and his work go to www.ristorantezeppelin.it or find him on Facebook
by Toni DeBella
deYoung Museum: Thing #1 I Will Miss About San Francisco – International Art and Exhibitions
Posted in Italy, Orvieto, San Francisco, tagged beauty, DeYoung Museum, fashion, Golden Gate Park, Jean Paul Gaultier, Madonna, Orvieto, orvieto italy, San Francisco, style, travel on August 5, 2012 | 11 Comments »
Leaving San Francisco isn’t going to be easy. I love this city and will miss everything about it. I remember the first day I moved here. I stepped out onto the stoop of my apartment building, looked around and decided there was nowhere in the world I would rather be…then I found Orvieto. Italy. In the next three months I am going to enjoy every single minute of my life here, appreciate all the things San Francisco and Marin County have to offer, and say good-bye with no regrets…
….Goodbye deYoung Museum.
August 4, 2012: Jean Paul Gaultier at the deYoung Museum, Golden Gate Park
I exited the Jean Paul Gaultier Exhibition at the DeYoung Museum today flabbergasted. I am shattered by Gaultier’s genius. I’ve never seen clothes so beautiful, expressions so unfiltered, gowns so outrageously sublime, outfits so over-the-top delightful. Each one was lovely and funny and smart and more incredible than the next. His masterpieces are astonishing. I wonder if Jean Paul Gaultier knows how brilliant he is? I think so.
Tartan Man
Madonna and his iconic bustier
by Toni DeBella
Italy Envy
Posted in Americans Abroad, Expat in Italy, Italy, Orvieto, Piazza Navona, Rome, Travel, Umbria, tagged Envy, Italy, jealousy, Orvieto, Piazza Navona, Rome, travel, Travel to Italy on June 6, 2012 | 12 Comments »
“Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck.”― F. Scott Fitzgerald
Envy is a malicious emotion in which a miserable and narcissistic person craves the misfortune of others and begrudges their success. From the Latin word Invidia, envy is considered so nefarious it’s ranked number six among the Seven Deadly Sins. Some days I admit it – I’m a sinner…I envy the entire population of Italy.
“Envy is for people who don’t have the self-esteem to be jealous.”― Benson Bruno
Jealousy, similar to envy, is often defined as “resentment against a rival, suspicion or fear of losing someone or something you love.” Hummm…
You know, I am not going to allow myself to linger any longer in these emotional black holes. When I find myself in this unhealthy state of mind, I’ll just remember that the merry-go-round of life spins and spins and there are more than enough brass rings to go around. I’ll wait and be patient for I am about to come around again for another grab at the prize. Negative moods are neither good for your soul nor your skin.
Envious or jealous is just no way to be.
by Toni DeBella
Why I Write About Italy
Posted in Expat in Italy, Italy, Living in Italy, Orvieto, Travel, tagged Italy Roundtable, Orvieto, Travel Writer, Umbria, write about Italy on May 8, 2012 | 15 Comments »
I write about Italy because…
…the country of Italy is jam-packed with hundreds upon hundreds of small, intimate and profound stories. Material and subjects fall into my lap – I don’t even have to look for them, they just appear at my doorstep. What can I do? They are screaming to be written about…and I am a “wannabe” travel writer.
…”old” is interesting to me and so is “different”.
…I am uncontrollably compelled to chronicle my experiences and spew forth my points of view about what I love (and sometimes hate) about this country. It’s a complicated relationship we have, Italy and me, and I need to talk about it.
…I am just arrogant and self-absorbed enough to believe that everyone within earshot or sitting at a computer wants to hear or read what I have to say. I am the self-appointed, unofficial Ambassador of Orvieto, Umbria, and all parts in between and beyond. I’ll write about Italy if I think you’ll read it.
I write about Italy because I can.
by Toni DeBella
Italy Roundtable’s One-Year Anniversary Invitation to Bloggers:
“As we’re preparing for our one-year anniversary of the formation of the Italy Roundtable, we’d like you to pull up a chair (so to speak)! We invite you to choose one of the topics we’ve blogged about in the past year and write a post about it. We’ll highlight some of our favorites in our own Roundtable posts next month.”
ArtTrav, At Home in Tuscany, Brigolante, Italofile, & WhyGo Italy
La Signora: Il Capo d’Italia
Posted in Expat in Italy, Italian Culture, Italians, Italy, Orvieto, Travel, tagged evil eye, Fort Knox, italian society, La Signora, Orvieto on April 1, 2012 | 14 Comments »
People often speak about the traditional “Signora” as if she were a charming part of Italian society long since past. Don’t you believe it! La Signora is quite alive and well and combing the streets of Orvieto in search of a naïve and insecure American like me to use for target practice to sharpen her skills of intimidation. Frankly, I live in terror of getting on the bad side of one of these ladies.
I had my first real run in with La Signora at our town’s Saturday outdoor market. I’d made the amateurish blunder of hesitating for a split second and a woman with her produce-filled cart literally ran over me, scraping the back of my heel which broke the strap of my favorite pair of sandals. She didn’t even slow down – blowing right past me without a word. She was surprisingly unaffected by the ranting and cursing of a bloodied lunatic who doesn’t know her way around a vegetable stand. I learned at that moment that La Signora, like other people of great power and influence, is a force to be reckoned with.
La Signora demands respect and she most assuredly gets it. She is a sensible shoe-wearing, evil eye-casting, mama’s boy-promoting woman on a mission. She is serious-minded, takes no prisoners and doesn’t trust you as far as she can throw you. Her outside shell is tough to penetrate – Fort Knox would be easier to crack than her personal inner sanctum.
I both admire and revere La Signora. She is able to out cook, out shop and out walk me up a hill…and if she needed to, I believe she could even out run me. In Italy, La Signora reigns supreme.
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On my mind.
- That’s a BOY’S Name!
- The Pursuit of Happiness
- The Light of a Candle
- Pizza in Casa
- Finding Rome on the Map of Love: Book Review #2
- Jazz on a Hilltop: Umbria Jazz Winter 2012
- Christmas in Rome: Bright Lights, Big City
- Italy, The Universe and Me
- A Day in the Life
- Marino Moretti: Ceramic Artist in a Castle
- Do Italians Celebrate Thanksgiving?
- A Book Review: “The Etruscan Chef”
- If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Frankfurt
- Fortune Cookie Future
- Fleet Week: Thing #2 I Will Miss About San Francisco!
- Mortadella Bella!
- On Italian Time
- A Lame Duck American
- deYoung Museum: Thing #1 I Will Miss About San Francisco – International Art and Exhibitions
- An Italian Chef, Grazie!
Archives
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Toni DeBella
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