I've been enjoying contributing to Florence's wonderful English-language monthly magazine The Florentine with some stories about family life in Italy. My latest - in the July issue - gives a taste of the outdoor city pools around Florence, which many visitors and even residents are not so familiar … [Read More...]
The (Wet) Stones of Florence
Florence made world news this week when it was announced that the city is to start hosing down church steps with water to clear away the tourists who have a pesky habit of sitting down to eat a quick lunch. This was big news around here, and most everyone thinks that the whole idea is ridiculous … [Read More...]
Learning on the Land
I published a story about my daughter's Montessori school in the woods in this month's edition of the Florentine, the English-language newspaper of Florence. It's always nice to hold in your hands a printed copy and the story is now also online. You can read the story on the Florentine here. The … [Read More...]
Manhattan in Florence
I was excited silly to pass this movie poster yesterday morning at the Stensen in Florence - for shows this weekend of a revamped version of Woody Allen's Manhattan, in English - and as my kind co-parent was with me, he agreed to mind the kids that evening so I could go to and see it. And I … [Read More...]
Nothing Phoney about Bologna
On my first visit to Bologna, as a poor student visiting from Florence ca. 1993, I visited some Irish friends and we stayed up all night, walking the long, meandering streets eating and drinking. Before we knew it, morning had arrived and I left soon after, not having visited a single museum, … [Read More...]
My Morning Cuppa
It was lovely to see the Irish Times publish my story last weekend about daily habit of drinking Irish tea. The exact same brand of tea, for over 20 years. The story started as a way to work out why I still drink the same tea, carrying it back … [Read More...]
That wasn’t so boring (Part 1)
"Let's go to a museum or something today!" I say to my kids one Sunday morning. With trepidation. We might live in Florence but that doesn't mean we spend a lot of time visiting its cultural treasures. Our weekends are about birthday parties, … [Read More...]
Wisteria Hysteria
Purple against green in the Tuscan countryside. I wasn't prepared for this! I am in no way a flower or garden person, and unlikely to ever become one. But living in this paradise I've been constantly amazed. Since Christmas we've been surprised by … [Read More...]