Buondì. Day 7 of our lockdown, and not getting out of bed until nine on a Monday morning somehow didn’t seem like a luxury. We particularly feel the restrictions on going outside (obviously…) and so take any excuse to do so. Food shopping, for example, or taking the trash to the containers at the end […]
Friday 13th!!! (A good day to stay home and learn Italian…)
Buondì. But man, that really doesn’t look likely. Have you read the news? Mio dio. Worse still, it’s Friday 13th! I think I’ll stay in the house, so as to avoid doing anything unlucky. Wait, though. Because I’m in Italy, actually, I HAVE to stay at home all day! Just like yesterday, the day before, […]
The perpetual weekend
Buondì. Since yesterday, and for goodnesss knows how long, we’re on perpetual weekend here in Bologna. My wife has donned overalls, covered the furniture in plastic sheets, and is right now rollering the walls of our living room with white paint (they were, I admit, in a terrible state…) With two extremely-frustrated adult children at […]
Women’s Day-themed half-price ‘Book of the Week’
Buondì. Hope you had a pleasant weekend! But if not, at least that you, your family and friends, and the community you live in are corona virus-free. Here in Bologna we’re keeping calm and carrying on. There are infections, and there have been deaths, but we’re not amongst the unfortunate zones in northern Italy that […]
Why you should trash your rules
Buondì. I’m writing this with a strict time limit, as I have my fifth thirty-minute Spanish conversation lesson in less than two hours and I haven’t done any preparation for it. Obviously, it’s good practice to read through any notes the teacher makes, and ideally listen again to the audio recording of the lesson, if […]
Coming Soon at OnlineItalianClub.com
Buondì. Well, things are a little gloomy in Italy right now. Unless you’re a teenager, that is. In which case you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to roam the streets until midnight each evening then sleep until lunchtime the next day (school’s out, due the virus worries…) But unfortunately, I’m not having such a great time […]
What is it with people and cats? Your views solicited.
Buondì. Gotta be brief today – the world’s ending and I have to get out and watch. However, there’s just time to meditate a little on the topic of cats, the courtyard where I live being full of them. As well as of cat people (and no, it’s not just ‘ladies’, there are ‘cat guys’, […]
Talkin’ World War III Blues
Things are quieter than normal in Bologna right now. “Too quiet!” as they used to say in the cowboy movies I watched with my dad in the ‘seventies. Which brings to mind my favorite song from 1965, when I was minus two: Bob Dylan’s ‘Talkin’ World War III Blues‘. In particular verse 4, when Bob […]
Guaranteed Virus-Free Ebooks!
Buondì. So far it’s been a rather trying week, and it’s only Wednesday morning! On Sunday afternoon my teenage son gleefully informed me that his school would be closed for the coming week, due to the coronavirus. Which meant we had to make a hurried decision whether to open OUR school the following morning, and […]
What do I think? Plus a new ‘eBook of the Week’ offer
Buondì. Sydney, who is presumably a college student, emailed: “I love your site, especially the news service you provide. I’m spending my first semester in Italy (got here in January!) and have recently learned about the debate (at least in the Florence English speaking community) about using expat versus immigrant. I’m curious to hear your […]