The Village Feast Posted by Serena on Aug 22, 2013
A long row of tables lines the cobbled village street, accommodating four generations of locals (and a few, such as me and Geoff, not so local) who have come together to share each other’s company, and traditional food efficiently served by a small army of kids. The karaoke, managed by an excellent semi professional female…
Let me give you a hand Posted by Geoff on Aug 20, 2013
Mano = hand, like occhio = eye, which we explored in a previous blog, is another word whose roots can be found in a range of vocabulary and expressions which I’ll cover in this blog. But first, let’s have a look at the hand itself. The first thing to note is that la mano is…
Poteva Andare Peggio Posted by Serena on Aug 16, 2013
Un paio di mesi fa nella cassetta delle lettere di una nostra amica inglese che ha una casa di vacanza da queste parti avevo trovato una lettera inviata da Equitalia. Malgrado il bel nome, ricevere una lettera da Equitalia è sempre un cattivo segno, perché è l’agenzia di riscossione delle tasse e multe. Infatti quando…
Occhio! Posted by Geoff on Aug 13, 2013
The Roman philosopher Cicerone (Cicero) once said: "Ut imago est animi voltus sic indices oculi" ("As the face is the image of soul so the eyes are its mirror"). Above: Sharbat Gula by Steve McCurry We have many interesting expressions in Italian that derive from the word occhio (eye), but let’s begin with the…
Fagiolini al Pomodoro Posted by Serena on Aug 9, 2013
This morning I picked a bag full of fagiolini (green beans) from the orto, “helped” by un corvo (a crow)! He kept hopping around my feet, pulling off beans with his powerful beak then flapping off a couple of meters. I tried to shoo him away with a cane, making sure I didn’t hit him…
Dark Lake Posted by Geoff on Aug 5, 2013
Like groups of dancers frozen in a still photograph, the twisted faggi (beech trees) repose upon a golden carpet of last autumns leaves. The rugged sentiero (footpath) mimics their contortions as it snakes its steep way up past monumental blocks, pried from the cliff faces to our left by winters icy claws and cast down…
How Embarrassing! Posted by Serena on Aug 2, 2013
When you speak a foreign language, it doesn’t matter how well you know it, the possibility of embarrassing yourself is always waiting for you round the corner, especially when you are faced with sounds that are not familiar to your own language. For Italian people the worst possible sound to pronounce in English is, probably…