Grasshopper, thanks so much for the suggestion of the Italian recipe book and CD. It looks fabulous and would make a great gift for the mothers. Ordering several today - one for me, too!

I first went to Italy in the Summer of '95, I was hooked even before that trip. Growing up in an Italian Amercian family, the celebrations are what stick out most - St. Joseph's Day, the Feast - and probably what started my desire to explore this culture even more. I read anything I can get my hands on, I just finished Ferenc Mate's book about living in Tuscany. Enchanted April started my love affair with italian themed flic's, among my favorites are Il Postino, Big Night, Much ado about nothing. We just returned this month fromour honeymoon in Tuscany. Today I took my 9 year old step daughter to the Italian import store, it was something to see her face light up at the sight of the prosciuttto di parma and genoa salami hanging from the ceiling along with the huge case of cheeses and cookies. She's completely taken with Italian culture. Tonight I will crack open the bottle of Lamole di Lamole chianti I bought, put on the big night CD, and reminisce about our near death experience on the "white road" to Lamole. The time between visits is much too great, but for now this is how I will keep italy with me.

Good ideas!

I sustain myself between visits by bathing in tomato sauce.

A little Italy every day? If you want to "live" Italy this summer than select whatever transportation you use to get to work, to shop, to travel. Now, look for an alternative because the method you have chosen will be on strike (trains, planes, buses, gas stations). <BR><BR>Also, don't shop on Sundays, half the day on a weekday and several hours in the middle of the day.<BR><BR>Get all of your dry cleaning, repairs and other services completed by Aug. 1 because those stores will be closed until September. That goes for many restaurants, newstands and other so-called services.

<BR>&gt;Message: Try this site for Italian language learning: &lt;<BR><BR> Thank you, Nigel.<BR><BR>

Sensory reminders work well for me. I lived in Italy for a summer once and I wore the same Victoria's Secret lotion and perfume every day. Now, when I want to feel nostaligic for Italy, I just dab a little perfume on. The sense of smell can be an intense reminder of things past.<BR><BR>Music works the same way, for me, regardless of whether it is Italian or not. For instance, during that same summer, the same American pop song was playing every time I went into one of my favorite gelaterie. Now whenever I hear that song, I can't help but be transported back to the wonderful world of fresh "fici" and "fragole."<BR><BR>I'm a writer, so keeping a travel journal is essential for me. I bought a journal on my first trip to Italy and I take it with me every time I return. When I write, I'm sure to use sensory details. Also, a fun exercise is to make observations--little "snapshots." Here are some examples from my journal:<BR><BR>"The crush of the wave against my back, <BR>The salt taste of a different sea."<BR><BR>"Young woman on knees, hands in lap, looking sorrowful. Small sign on ground in front of her reads simply 'Aiuto.'"<BR><BR>"Three pigeons roofing it."<BR><BR>But the best thing I have done to bring Italy "home" is to get an Italian pen/e-pal through http://www.mylanguageexchange.com. I have met a very lovely lady who has become my friend. She helps me with my Italian, I help her with her English; we talk about our daily lives, and we send each other postcards.<BR><BR>This is a great thread, thanks for reviving it!

In addition to the above great ideas, there is a wonderful course on everything about Venice at La Guardia Community College in New York City, which includes a trip to Venice to see and enjoy everything you have learned. Also, a here is a terrific, easy recipe for Lemoncello--Add the zest of 8 lemons(yellow skin only) to a quart of grain alcohol. Leave for 2 weeks in a covered pot. Don't refrigerate. Mix 12 ounces of sugar with 52 ounces of water. Filter the lemon zest from the grain alcohol. Mix the sugar/water combo with the alcohol. Chill in the freezer. Serve very cold in frozen glasses after a bene Italian meal. Salute.

topping with longing..........

Ah, Italy. I found a CD called "Dinner in Italy" that has traditional Italian music (lots of mandolin - probably no Italians would listen to it). I crank it up real loud, drink red wine and make a general ass of myself dancing around the backyard under the moon (which I just did last night). What a great pick-me-up. Then I started my get-out-of-Dodge and into Italy list (sell/rent out house, get Mom settled, how can I make a living, so on). In the meantime, garlic, pasta, limoncello (martinis), proscuitto, etc etc. Need to sign up for Italian classes if work will allow me to stay home long enough to attend. Keep on dreaming . . . .

I keep Italy alive in my every day life in many ways. <BR><BR>I started the website The Long Trip Home (www.thelongtriphome.com), which is an online literary magazine for travelers) partly as a way to write about Italy as much as possible, and to read what other people write about travel (I think it's not only keeping Italy alive, but keeping the need to travel alive). I've done good with that, and it's kept me writing about Italy quite a bit. <BR><BR>Also, my boyfriend and I have been planning for the last year or so to move to Italy (and it's finally almost here! this fall!), and each step in the planning keeps me always aware of Italy, and keeps it alive in my mind.<BR><BR>And, I have friends in Italy that I stay in contact with, and that means writing in Italian, and speaking Italian too. I stay in contact with friends that I traveled to Italy with, and that helps quite a bit. And I am always looking for Italian things--food, clothing, etc--to keep a little bit of Italy with me at all times. Oh, and I eat Baci, and read the messages. It keeps me dreaming of Italy, too :).<BR>

This thread is almost like therapy; there's comfort in knowing others feel and act the same crazy way! Along with eating, reading, watching, and cooking Italian, my favorite is to look at my pictures all through the day. I took my digital camera with me in April. I have 300 photos on my computer. My computer background images (at home and work) are a different Italy shot weekly. I have burned my favorite 100 or so photos on cds and I take them to work and look at them when I am having those withdrawal feelings. I've also printed out my favorite Italy shot, matted and framed it, and it's the first thing I look at when I get up in the morning.<BR><BR>Last but not least, I play my Andrea Bocelli cds all of the time. Family and friends roll their eyes when it comes on, but they just don't understand...they've never been there!

For those movie fans. Watch your local listings. Cinema Paradiso is being re-released in a few weeks. It will have enhanced film & sound, with addtional footage added never seen before.

Here's another one; sign up with this and you get a vocabulary word a day sent to your email address, complete with sentence and device to hear it spoken.<BR><BR>http://www.transparent.com/subscribe/subscription.cfm

I make my own Limoncello and I look at the photo album from our 2 trips to Italy. I tear up everytime !!!

Buon giorno from yet another aching soul!<BR><BR>Two more wonderful movies are "IL Postino" and "Il Ciclone" And the music from Il Postino will just always remain with you!<BR><BR>My favourite Lisa St Auban de Teran is: "Slow train to Milan" and "A valley in Italy". And then there is wonderful novel, set in Sicily "La Cucina" but I cannot remember who the author is.<BR><BR>And I re-read "In Tuscany" by Frances Mayes at least twice a year, and dream over the wonderful photo's!<BR><BR>O, am I longing for Roma right now!

Bocelli?! 8-/<BR><BR>One thing that makes me wonder is why so many foreigners who love Italy actually like so much music that in Italy is though very badly of. I have seen Andrea Bocelli being invoked several times on the forum, but in italy Bocelli is appreciated only by people who do not actually appreciate music and do not actualliy olisten to music a lot. The same is true for, for instance, Eros Ramazzotti or Laura Pausini whoc get loads of attention abroad white in Italy they basically sell only to teenagers. At the same time, I never see the names of muscians that are largely appreciated both by critics and by the general audicence, such as De Andr&egrave;, Fossati, Afterhours, La Crus, Guccini, 24 grana etc. I do not mean to comment you tastes, just to make it clear, only that I am curious about such a discrepancy between the Italian taste and the italy lovers' tastes.

What about <BR><BR>The Neck<BR>Gianna Nannini<BR>Zucchero<BR>Adriano Celentano? <BR><BR>Love them all!

That should be just "Nek" (Laura non che)<BR><BR>Forgot to mention Umberto Tozzi. :o(

Gianna Nannini made some good stuff when she was really young, songs like "Morta per autoprocurato aborto", "California", "Sognami" (se non ci sono inventami, l'hai sempre solo immaginata la tua donna. Sognami, se vuoi andare vai, cos&igrave; la libert&agrave; sei tu che me la dai...) and "Primadonna" are great, but she hasn't beeing making any decent song in the last 15 years; she is still a huge star in Germany, AFAIK, but in italy she has lost a lot of fame and appreciation. Zucchero too made some good stuff when he was younger, but in the last 10 years he has been basking in success, alcool anbd a far too wide fame; his sales have been steadily decreasing after "Oro, incenso e birra". The others are thought as something in between a boy band and acommercial country and wester singer by the Italian audience: not that they do not have theit own fans, but Nek fans are not what usually you would call music fans: music fans would rather go for Paolo Conte, Max Gazz&egrave; or Casino Royale, depending on their tastes and age.

To Alice-Thanks for the names of the other artists. I don't know anyone, personally, that listens to Italian music so I don't have anyone to share my interest with. Before our trip I went to Borders and asked for some input from the man working there. He told me the most popular and best selling Italian artist, by far, was Bocelli. So home with Bocelli I went. Maybe it's an American/foreigner vs Italian cultural difference in our tastes in music that non-Italians choose different artists than the Italians do. I find his music relaxing and soothing. I don't find American teenagers enjoying his music-in fact I've witnessed them cringing almost in pain when I have it on! ;o)<BR><BR>I will try to find the artists listed in the last couple of posts and hopefully I can expand my horizons! <BR><BR>Another idea(sorry this is getting long), my husband bought me "Mob Hits", it's a compilation of the greatest hits from the Mob-type movies. I even had to laugh. But I think we(foreigners) have a stereotypical sense of Italian music from what we have been exposed to that may be quite different from what is actually listened to in Italy. <BR><BR>Just a few thoughts to your questions, Alice.

Probably there is some kind of different expentancy about culture (geee! I do not knoe whether my statement makes any sense in English!!! ^_^;;), just like when I think about the Us and only imagest of the manhattan skyline (sadly crippled) and of large plains with hordes of wild horses and cowboys come to my mind, having never been to the Usa. Honestly I aven't been a teenager in the last 13 years (andI wasn't much of a teenager even at that time), but thinking of Bocelli makes me cringe too. probably your teenagers would cringe much less when listening to Afterhours or 99 posse (despite the bands' names, they sing in Italian or even in Neapolitan in the case of 99 posse). A country's music has many shades and from abroad we are mainly exposed only to avely little amount of it (except probably for US and Uk pop and rock music).<BR>In any case, should you be interested in listening to some of the artist I have quoted, feel free to write to me at [email protected].

This is a GREAT forum. I'm going to Italy in less then 2 weeks...YEAH!!!! I've only been in San Remo- everyone goes when they are in Monte Carlo. I've read all your responses and I'm getting palapations... I can't wait!!!!!!!<BR>Thanks

I topped this several days ago when I found it during a search. Since then, I have ordered books mentioned by Fodorites, bought CD's, stuffed the pantry with Italian pasta, rented mentioned movies,bought Italian shoes, chocolates, suffered through my Italian lessons, drank Lemonecilli(sp?}from Trader Joes for the first time) while doing my homework from my Italian Class,<BR> and NOW<BR><BR><BR>It's YOUR turn to keep this thread going, so to the top for all of you who are enjoying it. Send it to the top again and again, per favore!

Alas it is all too easy to remember Italy every day as I try to work off the extra pounds I gained eating the fabulous food!<BR><BR>Seriously, I just spent a week in Orvieto and will post a number of short reports sorted by subject. I'm still travelling...in London now.

Tough to really re-live Italy, because, as we all know, only Italy is Italy. When I am there I make it a point to rent houses, read a lot, go grocery shopping in little shops, cook my own meals--from high quality, fresh ingredients, hang laundry out in the sun, walk everywhere. When I'm home in New England I do the same sorts of things . . .so it's not so much about bringing Italy home, it's more about how you learn to live the good life and appreciate anywhere you happen to be.

Have any of you ever tried to start an"I love Italy" group in the town or city where you live. I think it would be great to be able to make new friends with people who share my love for Italy. Has anyone tried that???

Hi Pam, I just returned from 19 days in Europe, 10 of which were in Italy. I am half Italian, and it was my 3rd or 4th time. It is difficult to resist.<BR><BR>I wanted to add a book I learned of on this site, and I don't think it has been mentioned--An Italian Affair. I believe the author is Laura Fraser. It is a true story of a woman whose husband wants out becuase of another woman. She meets an Italian and has an ongoing affair with him in various Italian locations. It is an easy read. I read it during my trip, and it certainly got me in an Italian frame of mind.<BR><BR>By the way, my Berlitz Italian CD has left me wanting more. Do any of you have suggestions for some good Italian lessons? Anything other than the university? Thanks. The Traveler.

well i read the whole tread and was wondering <BR><BR>how come if you all love italy so much you dont move to live over there? <BR><BR>i mean you say you love the food, the people, the architecture, the people, pretty much even how the cows smell so why not move there to live ?<BR><BR>i just know that if i liked that much anywhere else that wasnt home i would move there and make it my home <BR><BR>is it maybe that you dont like it that much ??<BR><BR>or is it maybe that you are too much in-love with your americanized life style that you wouldnt give it up ??<BR><BR>is it maybe that you are just simply afraid or dont see at as nothing more than a vacational destination...but i cant believe that you would after procalming your undying love for this country that cant be called less than enchanting...<BR><BR>i dont mean to be rude by asking such questions just to understand

I'm planning to take my 16 year old son to Italy over the Thanksgiving holidays. Arrive Sunday, leave Saturday. Where is the best places to go, stay and see? It will be a first trip to Italy for both of us.

Hi wonderer that is actually a very good question!<BR>I too am completely enamoured with Italian food, music, wine, architecture, language etc I don't think there is a simple answer to your question of why not just go & live there but I will give it a try...I have actually in many daydreams entertained thoughts of retiring to a little tuscan village eventually (given I'm only 27 thats still long way off!) or at least throwing in my job to go live there for a year say which I'd love to do (finances dont really allow that for me as yet especially given the state of the sharemarket!). I guess also some of the aspects of Italian life such a food, music & language can easily be indulged from my home here in Australia which would also mean not having to deal with some of the less pleasant aspects of life in Italy - ie, the beuaracracy there plus being away from my family.<BR>I guess I am able to travel regularaly which at the moment gives me the best of both worlds but I still dream of one day fully immersing myself in the Italian way of life & living la dolce vita...:-)

Lucy:<BR><BR>One thing you must really do before moving to Italy is forget everything you think you know about "dolce vita" an such crap. Italy has just as much shit as every other country, it is just placed in different areas.

Good question wonderer, got me thinking…<BR><BR>First of all, I think that people indulge in the things discussed above because we like to be reminded of good times. It is fun to immerse oneself in remembering special moments or places. Personally, I’ve always had a great time in Italy and I enjoy listening to music, reading a book, looking at photographs, etc. to bring back beautiful memories. <BR><BR>Second, there may be many people whose dream it is to make Italy their home, but the reality is that their lives are settled in the country they already live in. Perhaps they have families and children and careers and it would be selfish or impractical to uproot their lives. So often the demands of one’s real life keep a dream just a dream. But there’s nothing wrong with dreaming. If listening to some music or cooking a special meal or reminiscing with friends helps a person transcend the mundane, who can fault them?<BR><BR>As far as myself packing up and moving... Well, I have responsibilities here that are far more important to me than my geographic location. Besides, each country has its beauties and its flaws. Live anywhere long enough and you’re going to see its pimples and smell its morning breath; disenchantment, I think, is inevitable. And I don’t want to be disenchanted--not just yet anyway. Instead, I prefer to incorporate the best of everything I’ve learned, not just from Italy, but from other cultures as well--from philosophy and values to music and food. <BR><BR>After all, a little enchantment is a good thing, don’t you think?<BR><BR>Keep the dream alive. :o)<BR>

Topping, please.

TO LUCY AND JEN<BR><BR><BR>well, thank you guys <BR><BR><BR>i agree with you both understanding your reasons and knowing a bit of where you are coming from <BR><BR>i would definately think leaving family behind is a difficult thing to do <BR>and i agree with you ...dreaming is wonderful ... i do quite a bit of it myself <BR><BR>it is wonderful, and good too for the soul to remember good times <BR><BR>my dad always says that "to remember is to live again" <BR><BR>thanks <BR><BR>-the wonderer

What fun this board is! I too do many of the suggested activities to keep Italy in my life when I am not there. I do speak reasonably good Italian, but always keep tapes in my car for 3 or 4 months before we go. Also, keep limoncello in the freezer--love that stuff, see the movies, read books, although you all have offered some new ones for me here.<BR>The Italy Fever book is available on half.com for about $5 + postage--just ordered a brand new copy for that and throught some of you might be interested.<BR><BR>It's interesting, I am a real Francophile too--used to be a French teacher and we try to spend 2 weeks in France each year--but the France board is nowhere near as complete as this one. Thanks for all the info.<BR><BR>Buona notte,<BR>Robyn France

Robyn,<BR><BR>Have you tried to make your own limocello? I went on Goggle and there must be 50 recipes---all of them quite different. Many have very interesting stories to go along with them. <BR><BR>Give a look!

Hi everyone! I just read all of your comments and suggestions about italy. My husband and I relocating to Milan in September. We will be staying there for 2 years. Any suggestions in renting and apartment, teaching jobs,inexpensive activities etc will be very much appreciated. I am a bit scare but I think it will be an exciting experience. I speak Spanish and have been studying italian. Please advice

this deserves to be topped...with pleasure