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Life in South Italy

My Bella Vita

Travel Tip Tuesday: Calabria’s Airports
Many Calabria-bound travelers are unsure of how to get to Calabria without either driving from their first point in Italy or taking a train from their international arrival point, which is usually Rome. Given the overwhelming number of times I’ve been asked about airport options-and the few times I’ve been told, “I heard there are [...] Related posts:
1. Travel Tip Tuesday: Saving €uros in Italy Series, Transportation We are rounding out our month-long series on...
2. Travel Tip Tuesday: Calabria in the Winter-Five Things to Pack Although most people consider Calabria a warm-weather destination,...
3. Travel Tip Tuesday: Five Reasons to Visit the Bottom of the Boot Rome. Florence. Venice. Tuscany. The Riviera … maybe...
Tips for Adjusting to Life When You are Married to a Foreigner
I get a lot of hits and a good deal of personal emails from people who are either involved in a long-distance relationship with an Italian or are planning to tie the knot with a foreigner and want to talk to someone “who’s been there.” Interestingly enough, I’m actually the “foreigner,” in this relationship, but [...] Related posts:
1. Expat Experiences: Three Tips for Merging Cultures for the Holidays While most American expats I know are happily...
2. Five Tips for Surviving an International Long Distance Relationship Surviving a long distance relationship is not impossible....
3. Five Tips for Surviving an International Long Distance Relationship Surviving a long distance relationship is not impossible....
Italian Coffee Terms Explained
With the recent influx of English-speaking guests visiting our B&B, it has come to my attention everyone might not get Italian coffee. Sure, Starbucks taught us the words “Cappuccino,” “Macchiato,” even “Grande,” … for its worth, but if you want a true Italian coffee experience, there are a few things you should know. I’ve been [...] Related posts:
1. Asked and Answered: Top Five Italian Curse Words and Flirty Terms of the Week One of my new favorite hobbies is going...
2. A Tale of Calabria, Bergamot Oranges and a Tea Lover in Italy, by Laura Thayer Last month I wrote an overview on Calabrian...
3. Ciao Chow! Five Things to Try When You are in Calabria Last week I was invited to join the...
Travel Tip Tuesday: Tips for Reducing Stress When Traveling
Traveling-walking through a new country, adapting to a new culture, learning new words or phrases, dining on new-and sometimes unidentifiable-food … it is all part of the experience travelers crave upon entering a new land. Unfortunately, along with those new sounds, sights and smells, comes a healthy dose of stress, but that doesn’t have to [...] Related posts:
1. Travel Tip Tuesday: Four Tips for Reducing Holiday Travel Stress Even with the Grinch mandating baggage restrictions, Scrooge...
2. Travel Tip Tuesday: Three Tips for Reducing Vacation Stress Vacation stress? Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Not...
3. Travel Tip Tuesday: Five Tips for Pre-Trip Planning You’ve booked your flights. You’ve secured transfers. You’ve...
A Few of my All-Time Favorite Italy-themed Posts
I’ve spent hundreds of hours over the last few years reading blog posts and articles about Italy-many of which were written by my real-life expat friends and blogging buddies. Some of those posts serve their immediate purpose, offering a good laugh, a useful tip or an encouraging word of expat life-related advice. Other times, they [...] Related posts:
1. My Five Favorite Italian Words Last week Jessica of Why Go Italy shared...
2. A Few Things to Love About Southern Italy Last week my friend and expat-in-southern-Italy counterpart, Tina...
3. Speak Up or Shut Up! Four Words I Constantly Mispronounce in Italian You’d think having an Italian husband who speaks...
Continental Airlines: Review of a Customer Service Experience
With my Auntie Adventures a not-so fading memory, I now have time to go through my “draft” folder here at My Bella Vita and pull out some posts that are a long time coming. Reviewing a recent customer service experience I had with Continental Airlines is one of those posts. Continental Airlines has long been [...] Related posts:
1. Roma Axa 27 B&B: Review of a Rome Airport B&B Like many travelers, I agonize over finding the...
2. Luggage Review: What Would You Do? It’s been a busy week here at My...
3. Restaurant Review: Villa Marinella in La Sila National Park There are many places you can go when...
Travel Tip Tuesday: How to Pack a Carry-on Suitcase
Last week’s Travel Tip Tuesday post listed five reasons why you should switch to carry-on only-and Facebook fans and commenters listed many more. After that post, I had a few FB comments and even an email or two asking me how I do it. I’ve listed my general carry-on list before, but here are five [...] Related posts:
1. Travel Tip Tuesday: Five Reasons to Go Carry-on Only I’ve written often about my carry-on only packing...
2. Travel Tip Tuesday: Five Things to Pack for Your Trip to Italy Packing for Italy doesn’t have to be a...
3. Travel Tip Tuesday: Calabria in the Winter-Five Things to Pack Although most people consider Calabria a warm-weather destination,...
Watch Your Mouth! Three Words You Shouldn’t Say in Italian
Some of my favorite-and most popular-posts are about the complex, intriguing, sometimes difficult, but always charming … bella lingua italiana. A couple of months ago, Jessica from Why Go Italy shared her favorite Italian words, a week later, I listed five of mine and Melanie from Italofile started a meme that lists favorite Italian words [...] Related posts:
1. My Five Favorite Italian Words Last week Jessica of Why Go Italy shared...
2. Guest Blogger Jessica: Five Favorite Italian Words For the last four years I’ve had a...
3. Speak Up or Shut Up! Four Words I Constantly Mispronounce in Italian You’d think having an Italian husband who speaks...
If You are What You Eat, What Does That Say About Sicily’s Milza?
Earlier this week I wrote a guest post for Mangia Monday, a weekly column over at Wanderlust Women Travel. The site’s owner, Lisa Fantino was interested in how Sicilians are taking a bite out of crime and it reminded her of some of her favorite culinary memories as a child. Welcome, Lisa. “You are [...] Related posts:
1. Things Southern Italians Know … like how to ward off the malocchio Adjusting to life in southern Italy-without a drop...
2. Five Places to Go in Sicily Sicily is one of the most diverse regions...
3. (Italian) Planes, Trains and Macchine If you are traveling to Italy, you might...
Restaurant Review: Villa Marinella in La Sila National Park
There are many places you can go when you are traveling in Calabria near Catanzaro … you could see Le Castella, visit the ruins in Roccelletta or spend a morning driving through Sila Piccola in La Sila National Park. And that, my friends, is what I want to talk about today. If you’ve spent much [...] Related posts:
1. Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe Potato gnocchi become good old-fashioned Calabrian comfort food...
2. Ciao Chow! Five Things to Try When You are in Calabria Last week I was invited to join the...
3. The (Good Customer Service) Search Has Ended: They’ve Been Found A few weeks ago I asked where all...
Auntie Adventures: “But, Cici … It’s the Real Deal!”
For many kids, spending a month in southern Italy-without their parents-is a summer they’ll never forget. Well, it’s also a summer this auntie won’t forget soon. So far, we’ve talked about falling in love on the lungomare and about meeting a real-life beach bum in Pizzo but today, in our final installment of Auntie Adventures, [...] Related posts:
1. Auntie Adventures: Boardwalk Surprises I’ve been in southern Italy almost two weeks...
2. Auntie Adventures: Italian Beach Bums A couple of weeks ago I started off...
3. MBV Phones Home: How I Stay in Touch from Italy One of the hardest things for me as...
Tips for Learning Italian … in Italy
Many a’ language learner will tell you that the process of becoming one with a language begins after your classroom experience ends. But that doesn’t mean it is easy. Today’s guest blogger, Katie of Olio di Oliva e Sogni di Vino shares five tips for learning Italian, after you’ve put away your books and tapes. [...] Related posts:
1. Learn Italian with ItalianPod 101 Some of you might remember a couple of...
2. Guest Blogger Katie: Four Steps to Finding a Job in Italy I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately...
3. Speak Up or Shut Up! Four Words I Constantly Mispronounce in Italian You’d think having an Italian husband who speaks...
Travel Tip Tuesday: Five Reasons to Go Carry-on Only
I’ve written often about my carry-on only packing process. I’ve shared my lists, talked about luggage and stressed the importance of packing light-several times over. Still, I know old habits die hard and some of you might not be convinced. If your luggage is still weighing in at the 50lb line, listen up. Here are [...] Related posts:
1. Travel Tip Tuesday: Four Tips for Reducing Holiday Travel Stress Even with the Grinch mandating baggage restrictions, Scrooge...
2. Travel Tip Tuesday: Five Things You Can’t Enjoy Italy Without There’s been a trend in the last few...
3. Travel Tip Tuesday: Five Things to Pack for Your Trip to Italy Packing for Italy doesn’t have to be a...
How to Ruin Your Trip to Calabria
More and more people are choosing to travel to Calabria, which is a good thing for those of us in the tourism industry. They read our sites, maybe book a room at our B&B … they might even buy the eguide full of Calabria travel tips … then, they ignore us. Sadly, this summer, my [...] Related posts:
1. Messina: An Easy Day Trip from Central Calabria The other day I was sitting in the...
2. Travel Tip Tuesday: Essential Travel Gear for Your Trip to Southern Italy A few weeks ago I wrote about the...
3. How to Pack a Beach Bag for a Summer in Calabria Summertime is just around the corner and here...
A Few Things to Love About Southern Italy
Last week my friend and expat-in-southern-Italy counterpart, Tina of Tina Tangos wrote about three things to love about living in Italy. And yes, it is all about the food. The thing is, Tina and I are both lucky not only to live in Italy, but to live in southern Italy, where the food is apparently [...] Related posts:
1. Ciao Chow! Five Things to Try When You are in Calabria Last week I was invited to join the...
2. Some Like it Hot: An Overview on Calabrian Cooking Seasonal ingredients, local olive oil and red hot...
3. First of the Month Recipe: Patati e Pipi It is no secret I’m addicted to Calabrian...
Auntie Adventures: Italian Beach Bums
A couple of weeks ago I started off my Auntie Adventure tales with a story about how Cole, my nine year old nephew, stalked met some Calabrese women on the lungomare in Catanzaro. Unfortunately (for me) it didn’t stop there. You see, I’m convinced there really is something to that Aria Calabra that changes a [...] Related posts:
1. Auntie Adventures: Boardwalk Surprises I’ve been in southern Italy almost two weeks...
2. How to Pack a Beach Bag for a Summer in Calabria Summertime is just around the corner and here...
3. MBV Phones Home: How I Stay in Touch from Italy One of the hardest things for me as...
Things Southern Italians Know … like how to ward off the malocchio
Adjusting to life in southern Italy-without a drop of Italian ancestral blood in my veins-took a bit more practice than it did for my Italian-American counterparts. You see, I didn’t grow up eating seven fishes at Christmas or fearing the dreaded malocchio. But as Lisa Fantino of Wanderlust Women Travel explains, most Italian-American kids know [...] Related posts:
1. Travel Tip Tuesday: How Not to Look Like a Tourist in Southern Italy … for Men A few days ago I received an email...
2. Dodging the Draft and other Southern Italian Myths (This post was originally published on this site...
3. (Italian) Planes, Trains and Macchine If you are traveling to Italy, you might...
Travel Tip Tuesday: Sleep Sweetly (without paying a penny)
One of the most expensive portions of a world travel's trip is accommodations, so imagine how far your Euro would go if you didn't have to worry about paying for your resort, a hotel, your B&B, that week-long apartment rental … campgrounds. From now until July 24, Radisson Blu hotels are hosting a contest-aptly named the the Greatest Holiday [...] Related posts:
1. Travel Tip Tuesday: Should You Hire a Travel Consultant? There seems to be a fair bit of...
2. Travel Tip Tuesday: Four Tips to Help if You are Stranded in Southern Italy Unless you’ve been living under a volcanic rock...
3. Travel Tip Tuesday: Italy Expat Travel Writing You might have heard about a little blogging...
Spotlight on Capri
Over the last few months I’ve tried to feature southern Italian travel destinations outside of my beloved Calabria-and few places in the bel paese are more beloved than Capri. If you are considering a visit to this chic and stylish island, here are a few ideas to add to your itinerary by avid Italy traveler, [...]
A Traveler’s First Aid Kit
Remember how I said I just got back from Texas and have been busy chasing two super cute and ooh-too-charming American boys around Calabria? Well, all of that running has caught up with me and I’m smack dab in the middle of a head cold/sinus infection/strep throat-like mystery illness that has me up all night [...] Related posts:
1. Couchsurfing: It’s More than Just a Free Bed If you are like me, you might not...
2. Travel Tip Tuesday: Five Things Every Traveler Should do in Italy Everyone who has ever set foot in the...
3. Travel Tip Tuesday: Five More Italian Experiences for Every Traveler Last week we discussed five general Italian experiences...

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