Why do Italians Eat Lentils on New Year’s Eve?
It’s an Italian tradition to eat lentils just after the stroke of midnight on Dec 31st. Go to any supermarket in Italy on Dec 31st and the shelf of lentils will be empty. They are sold out and not even the biggest of supermarkets can keep them in stock. Eating lentils is a tradition that […]Read More
Italian Holidays
Moving to a new country has all sorts of novelties including a few new holidays to get used to. So before being the odd one racing to work on a day in which you could have stayed in bed, jot down these national holidays: January 1st– New Year’s Day or Capodanno January 6th– Epiphany or […]Read More
Day trips from Milan for families with kids!
Ten destinations only one hour away by car from Milan. The best choices when you run out of ideas in town. Castello di Gropparello 80 km from Milan Travel back in time for a fantastic family adventure in an authentic medieval fortress. Castello di Gropparello is located over a ravine above the Vezzeno stream. This […]Read More
Managing Holiday Stress by Managing Your Daily Habits
Here we go again…the holidays! For some, it really is the most wonderful time of the year, but for many of us, it’s more of a mixed bag: stress, added expenses, family (with all the good and all the challenges), travel, illness, and of course, food, fun and festivities. There’s nothing new in being more […]Read More
Expats: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
Expats come in every color and stripe, and each one has a unique story to tell, an individual set of circumstances and a reason that brought them here. It may be a job, a spouse’s job, a relationship, an opportunity, or something else, and, depending on the reason, the length of an ex-pat’s stay can […]Read More
Holiday Blues
The holiday season has begun, dear ones. Thanksgiving was just a few days ago, and for those of us living in Milan, we’re going to have holidays again in a few days (S. Ambrogio) and then… Christmas time. When December kicks in we all feel like Christmas is here and the whole month is all […]Read More
Easy Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe
Time:30 minutes to prepare and 4 hours to cook Servings: Difficulty:easy Ingredients 1 turkey (any size) 2 cups (475ml) of broth or water melted unsalted butter for basting (optional) Method About an hour before roasting, take the turkey out of the fridge. Remove any packaging and giblets. Set the turkey breast-side up on the roasting […]Read More