About Me

Piacere ... I'm Maria and I presently live in Lecco (having moved from Reggio nell'Emilia ... where I moved from Rome, where I'd been living for the fourth time in my life).  Yep, I move often! Why for the love of melanzane?  Ahh it's one of my favorite vegetables!  Or fruits, rather, as it's technically a fruit ... but also a vegetable ... it's a frugetable! 

 I've broken this site down into sections, so please click on one of the above tabs (or the ones on the side -- I'm still playing with the format, so please be patient!) for the content (yep, I know the list says December of 2013 -- maybe I was subconsciously thinking about this post having a date after the end of the world? Ha!).

I've always believed that to travel is the greatest education we can have, and the most precious gift we can give ourselves. To meet new people, experience new cultures, taste new foods and learn from others -- what greater joy?

I have lived in four countries (I count Sicily as a separate country -- if you've ever lived there, you'd understand why!) and a multitude of states in the US. I've traveled nearly all of my life and yet still have a long bucket list. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have "a little red passport", with dual US and Italian citizenship, that enables me to consider 27 countries as my own personal playground!

No, I'm not independently wealthy nor have some sort of wonderful pension to live on -- I work as an independent contractor, freelancing as an ESL teacher focusing on business English mostly, translator (It-->Eng), proofreader extraordinaire (well, at least that's what they tell me), editor and creative writer. With about 35 years' experience in the legal, business, and hotel and hospitality fields, feel free to contact me privately if you'd like to know more!

About My Site

There are a million and one sites out there about life in Italy, being an expat here, and "la dolce vita" -- I give a shout-out to all of them, but I've decided to stay away from that, for the most part. Here you'll find some of that (I am, after all, an expat in Italy once again!), but I also plan to include other genre -- international recipes, Italian recipes contributed from many people, wines, interviews and guest posts from a wide range of people from all walks of life (expats, Italians, those who have come and gone, and those who have come, gone and want to come back) and in many different fields and subjects. Yes, of course there will even be travel advice!

So ... come along with me on this little adventure, feel free to comment or send email (civility and respect encouraged, as the posts will be "moderated"!).  Something you'd like to see here? Let me know!

I hope you enjoy my site and blog!