You've heard of Elba - the island of Napoleon's exile. Know anything else about it? Well, I've visited a few times now and can happily call it a bit of a paradise. It is actually in Tuscany and very popular with the good citizens of Siena, Florence and Pisa for their summer holidays, it has fewer … [Read More...]
The day the bomb closed the bus stop
I was looking through photos from 6 years ago and one from made me stop to catch my breath. It was taken 6 years ago today, on July 22 2011, on the day of the Oslo attacks. We had been living in Oslo for 3 years and that week happened to be in Dublin visiting my parents. Wherever we've lived I've … [Read More...]
That wasn’t so boring (part 2) – Video Renaissance
For a completely different family art experience in Florence – and a perfect way to cool off – check out the Bill Viola show at Palazzo Strozzi. It's only on for two more weeks, closing on July 23rd. Hang on, you say. Go to see contemporary video art? By an American (albeit with an Italian name)? … [Read More...]
Swimming pools of Florence
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 … [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 … [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 … [Read More...]