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Andiamo in Vacanza–part 2 Posted by Geoff on Jul 11, 2012
One of the reasons that we like to drive, rather than fly to England, is that it makes the whole nasty business of packing a lot more relaxing, because if you really can’t make up your mind just put it in the car and decide when you get there. Well, I don’t know about you…
Andiamo in Vacanza–part 1 Posted by Geoff on Jul 9, 2012
As we were driving back to Italy from England last week it seemed that just about everyone else on the road was heading in the same direction … south, towards the sun. German, Dutch, Belgian, French cars, bulging with holiday luggage, with bikes and surf boards strapped to the roof. Frazzled parents adorned in optimistic…
Eccoci in Inghilterra–part 2 Posted by Geoff on Jul 3, 2012
When I wrote part one of this blog whilst sitting in my mother’s living room in England I didn’t really consider the fact that I’d have to write part 2 when I returned to Italy. So now I’m faced with the challenge of casting my mind back through the fog of a three day drive…
Eccoci in Inghilterra–part 1 Posted by Geoff on Jun 29, 2012
My mother is nearing 80 and, unlike her progeny, has never strayed from the shores of ‘Good Old Blighty’, unless you count a day trip which she once made to the Isle of Wight many years ago. And so every year I make the long journey by car from our village in Lunigiana to my…
Alcune Battute Posted by Geoff on Jun 27, 2012
Personally, I’ve always found humour a really useful means of helping me to improve my Italian. Our zio (uncle) Luciano who is in his 80’s is an inexhaustible font of battute (jokes), many of which have stuck in my mind and helped me out later on, not only in making an attempt at getting a…
Non è Marzo, ma amo questa canzone! Posted by Geoff on Jun 11, 2012
It isn’t March, but I love this song by Giorgia, la mia cantante italiana preferita (my favourite female Italian singer), so much that I want to share it with you. Who is Giorgia? well, it seems to come more naturally to say it in Italian: è una bellissima ragazza Romana dalla voce stupefacente che mi…
La Crisi in Italia Posted by Geoff on Jun 4, 2012
Family and friends in England often ask me what impact the financial crisis is having on people here in Italy. Not an easy question to answer! Certainly the work situation is pretty bad, as described in this article from the Italian newspaper La Stampa: In Italia ci sono 630 mila posti da coprire Le offerte?…