When I teach Italian to university students, I use sports as a metaphor for language learning. I explain that if you decide to run a marathon (or achieve any other sports related goal of your choice) and you start as a beginner – which for me is level couch potato – you can just expect…

It may sound like a rhetorical question to many since Italy is one of the most common destinations for tourism but I think it’s worth having a conversation for those who may not be aware of what the country has to offer or for those who are only familiar with the most popular destinations or…

Better late than never… here’s a new post on expressions with colors! ‘Essere al verde’, being in the green, means being poor, without money. I was asked by one of my students why is that so, since money in the US is green and she found the expression counterintuitive. I admit I didn’t know, so…

Another snow storm in March and I’m prompted to think of the expressions with the color white! “Settimana bianca” (white week) is an expression used to indicate a getaway on the snow. Although the time frame is explicitly a week, it doesn’t necessarily refer to a 7 day trip. Bianca here obviously is a reference…

Just like the English saying points out, “Rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera!” (Red sky at night, wish for good weather); and “Rosso di mattina, la pioggia si avvicina” (Red sky in the morning, rain is approaching). It looks like English and Italian agree on this!! Another useful sentence with the color red is…

I admit I have been having trouble coming up with interesting topics for my learning blog! I guess I hit the proverbial writer’s block and everything sounded dull… But with the last couple of days of sunny weather I realized colors are an interesting topic to tackle so I will start this week by talking…

Today’s blog is not about a specific word or a festive food (but you can go back and check my previous post on Christmas traditional food!) but rather about things you can say during the holiday season if you are visiting Italy or have Italian family and friends and want to send your wishes. “Tanti…

Sometimes, inspiration finds us in the most unexpected ways. In this case, this post is inspired by one of my students, who recently asked me why fruit salad is called ‘macedonia’ in Italian. After admitting that I had no clue and that I had never questioned its origins, despite being quite the curious term, I…

Any good Canadian will tell you to go to Tim Horton’s for a coffee but we all have our personal preferences and we may decide that Starbucks is more our thing. One main thing to learn about this chain, aside form the long names of their beverages, is that their sizes are different: you don’t…

Despite all etiquette and good manners at the table, sometimes Italians cannot stop themselves from breaking the rules in the name of good food. After a scrumptious dish of pasta, chances are there will be some sauce left in your plate, or some delicious tomato juice after eating a salad. If you are anything like…

Spring is here (I hope I’m not jinxing it!!) and we are all going for that walk/run/yoga class on the grass we have been postponing for too long. If, just like me, you are a couch potato for most of the Winter, you probably experience sore limbs, shortness of breath and lack of stamina at…

Moving to Canada is always tough for anyone who grew up accustomed to a milder climate! It used to be my go-to-joke that I decided to stay because I loved the weather..! The most difficult part of the Winter is not the long gloomy days in November, nor is the post holiday gray January and…

In the past 10-15 years I’ve been hearing an increasing number of people worrying that the Italian language is being invaded by English terms. I can partially agree that some words have been forcefully introduced to replace some perfectly good Italian ones that we used for decades just because of the foreign appeal that English…

When you think of spending time in Italy during the Summer, two food delights come to mind: coffee and gelato! They both represent the excellence of the Italian culinary effort and are a sweet treat while you are exploring the city and want to take a break. If you like both and cannot decide, you’re…

As the saying points out: ‘A Natale con i tuoi, a Pasqua con chi vuoi’ > With yours [=family] for Christmas, with whomever you want for Easter! But in reality with spend a lot of our time with family, enjoying good food (lamb or other traditionally festive food) and chocolate galore! If you want to…

A bit of a longer post than usual and probably a more controversial one this week. The world has been talking about inclusivity and the need to come up with ways to be gender neutral in different languages to meet the demands of a changing society. But how can a language where everything has a…

Growing up, I didn’t really watch Sanremo much. Once I moved to Canada, I became aware that a lot of people of Italian descent still see it as a piece of Italian culture they can hold on to and watch it with a lot of interest every year! This year (2023), I had the chance…

As the saying goes, ‘A Carnevale, ogni scherzo vale’ (All pranks are allowed during Carnevale). This period, that stretches from January 6 until Mardi gras, is filled with joy and food (see what you can eat in this blog!). Celebrations happen all over Italy but some cities take it to a whole another level and…