Last Chance Caffè before the Land of Laa – ay Posted by Geoff on Oct 11, 2013
Part 1. The Sad farewell We’re heading north, the vast flat expanse of la Pianura Padana begins to undulate, the first sign that we’ll soon be leaving l’Italia and entering la Svizzera. But before we cross that border we have something very important to do. We pull off the autostrada into a familiar service station…
Chasing Autumn Posted by Serena on Oct 8, 2013
Sabato mattina abbiamo cominciato il nostro annuale viaggio per l’Inghilterra nella nostra povera vecchia FIAT Punto, che invece preferirebbe andare in pensione. La prima sorpresa l’abbiamo trovata pochi chilometri dopo aver lasciato casa: da noi il cielo era azzurro, prometteva di essere una bella giornata di fine estate, ma mentre ci avvicinavamo al il Passo…
A Busy Summer Posted by Serena on Oct 4, 2013
This summer I have been very busy making all sorts of conserve (preserves) with produce both from our orto (vegetable garden) and kind donations from my friends, who rather enjoy the end products. Let’s see what’s in mia dispensa (my pantry): I started the production line in May with la marmellata di fragole (strawberry jam)…
Submarine Surfaces in Centre of Milan Posted by Geoff on Oct 2, 2013
Milan is well known for its network of underground canals, some of which date back to ancient Roman times. Many of Milan’s waterways were covered over after WWII, becoming important roads in the city’s modern infrastructure. Some of the largest canals connect via river networks directly to the sea, and were important trading routes up…
The Fall of my Guardian Angel Posted by Serena on Sep 27, 2013
In this little story from my childhood I’ve mainly used two verb tenses: imperfetto, which I’ve marked in purple, and passato prossimo, which is in red. Quando ero bambina in casa avevamo una statuina in ceramica di un angelo, che mia madre diceva essere il nostro angelo custode: era alta circa 10 cm, aveva la…
Addio allo Sceneggiatore Luciano Vincenzoni Posted by Geoff on Sep 23, 2013
Most of you have probably never heard of Luciano Vincenzoni, but I’m sure you’re all familiar with his work, unless of course you’re one of the few people who has never seen the famous Sergio Leone films such as “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, and “A Fistful of Dynamite”! Luciano Vincenzoni Vincenzoni, who…
Lei or Lei, how to tell you from her … Posted by Serena on Sep 20, 2013
Recently, I wrote several posts about the formal personal pronoun “lei” (you singular). I also explained that the use of the capital letter for the formal pronoun is an artificial distinction created by some grammar books to make it ‘easier’ to recognise. In reality, Lei (you) written with a capital letter is uncommon, and only…