Armchair travelling to Italy
I really enjoyed reading
An Australian journalist meets Daniela in a pub in Dublin and falls his love with her.
A few months later, he moves to a village in Puglia, the 'heel of Italy' .
It's a move that takes some getting used to. As the author points out, it's always summer when one falls in love with Italy but reality is quite a different matter.
The book is full of humour but doesn't shy away for tackling painful subjects from the author's struggles with bureaucracy and the necessity of knowing the 'right people' to do anything in southern Italy, to the unpleasant and racist north-south divide.
I was quite shocked to read how difficult (in this day and age) it was to find a Milanese landlord willing to let an apartment to southerner Daniela, but not in the least surprised by the author's dislike of grey and ugly Milan.
It is a riveting read, and I'd thoroughly recommend it.
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A few weeks ago, we watched on the BBC a 4 episode series
Monty Don travels up and down the country to visit some of the most enchanting and remarkable gardens, revealing a history of garden design as rich and multi-faceted as the one of Italy itself, and its art.
Just beautiful to watch!
An Australian journalist meets Daniela in a pub in Dublin and falls his love with her.
A few months later, he moves to a village in Puglia, the 'heel of Italy' .
It's a move that takes some getting used to. As the author points out, it's always summer when one falls in love with Italy but reality is quite a different matter.
The book is full of humour but doesn't shy away for tackling painful subjects from the author's struggles with bureaucracy and the necessity of knowing the 'right people' to do anything in southern Italy, to the unpleasant and racist north-south divide.
I was quite shocked to read how difficult (in this day and age) it was to find a Milanese landlord willing to let an apartment to southerner Daniela, but not in the least surprised by the author's dislike of grey and ugly Milan.
It is a riveting read, and I'd thoroughly recommend it.
-----
A few weeks ago, we watched on the BBC a 4 episode series
Monty Don travels up and down the country to visit some of the most enchanting and remarkable gardens, revealing a history of garden design as rich and multi-faceted as the one of Italy itself, and its art.
Just beautiful to watch!