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A three-minute escape to Italy.

Tuscany, travel, medieval village, Italy, festivals, celebrations, customs, cooking, recipes, living in Italy, moving to Italy, visiting, visit, restaurants, language

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July 10, 2018 In About, Best Of By Nancy

So I find myself…

…sitting in a house that’s somewhere between 400 and 800 years old in a Tuscan village thinking about what to do if I meet a wild boar again while taking a walk, business development for the company I run, what one more year in an Italian high school will mean for my teenage son, and what to have for dinner—all at the same time.

We are almost six years into the adventure of responding to a deep, unrelenting urge to change our lives, an itch, if you will, that inspired our move to Italy—enrolling the kids in the local school (where they started off not speaking any Italian), working with clients all over the world from our homebase in this Italian village, and finding our way in a new life.

Friends, understandably, ask questions. “Do the kids feel more Italian or American, and which parts of their attitudes come from which culture?” “What do the locals think of you?” “What do you actually do all day—don’t you get bored? ” “Where can we go in Venice to escape the crowds and see real neighborhoods?” “Where should we get dinner in Florence?”

So lately I’ve discovered a different kind of itch—a desire to answer these questions and more. Hence the birth of Itch, my notes about food discoveries, language insights, surprising cultural moments, and ideas for adventures in Italy, shared as we live them, weekly.

I invite you to come along for the journey and share with like-minded friends.

July 9, 2018 In Live By Nancy

The race to be—exactly—on time

I don’t know a lot about races, but I do know that in most, being fastest is key. So I was surprised—and delighted—to discover that the path to victory in our local vintage Vespa race is being very, very punctual. The winning strategy requires finishing the race to the correct hundredth of a second of a specified time. How do you do it? By adhering to the speed limit the whole way.

(As you could well imagine the Italians adore going the speed limit and do so on every opportunity. On a nearby, well-used road the speed limit just dropped from 70 to 50 kph prompting a local firestorm of opinion. A TV station described local drivers as being beset by “panic and rage” at the reduced limit—really? “Panic”?)

For this vintage Vespa race the art of winning is in the precision and preparation. Routes can be tricky, and are often on windy, steep, and even unpaved roads. To add to the challenge, all the Vespas are old—only certain storied racing models from the 1950s and 60s—and likely to break down. Inspired by their rides, some participants pride themselves on using only time-keeping and navigation technology from the period of their Vespa.

This all leads to some very interesting finish-line maneuvers to burn through those all-important seconds if one is slightly too early.

Watching it for the first time, I thought that surely, this was a race like no other. But digging a bit deeper into the world of vintage “racing” I realized that this style of rally is actually pretty common. But the story of this particular rally stands out as one of determination and resurrection.

Our local Vespa repair shop, which sits just down the road from the finish line, has been in business since the 1950s. It’s run by the son of the original owner, who has been racing—and fixing—Vespas since he was three (check out the pic below).

He remembers seeing the race go by when he was a kid in the 1970s but then it stopped. Two years ago he decided to revive the race and got over 50 riders to participate from all over Italy. I can’t wait for next year’s race to see how much it grows.

The lure of the Vespa is a deep one for Italians, and for reasons I wouldn’t have expected. More on that later.

July 8, 2018 In About By Nancy

Love Italy?

“Italy,” she said in italics, every syllable elongated.

I’ve never been the person who said that. Despite earnest vacation attempts, I’d never fallen in love with Italy as an aspiration, or a lifestyle. I’ve always had more of a crush on France “France” or rural England. But having moved here six years ago Italy has deeply seduced me into being a quivering pile of, well, that may be revealed in a future issue.

Here, every day is unexpected in a way that feels like driving off-road from my old life, whether I’m buying a live “replacement” chicken for a neighboring grandmother after our dog killed one of hers, accidentally calling the carpenters working on our house “witches” instead of by their last name, or being the only woman in a meeting of all men when they all simultaneously grab their balls for good luck when an inauspicious comment is made.

I want to share what I am responding to, every day, living here. Why life feels different, and a bit more technicolor.

My goal is to surprise and delight you every week, whether you’re looking for a three-minute Italian escape while at work, or are an Italophile planning your next vacation. Or even, maybe, wondering “if this is it” and are curious about what it’s like to dive head-first into a new life.

In the weekly newsletter, and on the site, you’ll find articles broken down by topic:

Live: Here I’ll share what it’s like to live here. The moments that appeal, challenge, amaze, and puzzle me every day, and those amazing words and phrases in Italian that you need to know because they are so damn wonderful.

Chow: If you’re drawn to Italy for the food, you’re not alone. I’ll be sharing my favorite local foods and ingredients, plus exceptional restaurants and farms. There will also be recipes and even a few videos of grandmothers cooking their favorites.

Roam: Ideas for day trips to little-known villages, spas, adventures, beaches, hikes, hidden corners of cities, and more.

There’s more to come…

Not every inspiring moment fits into a category, especially here. I’ll share other bits and pieces that I think you might like as we live them.

Glad you are here, and I’d would love to hear what you think. If you have friends who would enjoy Itch, please invite them to share the adventure.