One of the things that drives me mad living in Rome is the dirty streets. As most people live in apartments, they have to bring their rubbish down to the street bins. I'm pretty sure they get emptied regularly but these pictures show what the bins and surrounding area look like on an average day.… Continue reading Inside Italy: The Streets aren’t Paved with Gold
Author: Barbed Words
6 x (- bottle of beer) = 12 x (slice of cake)
As if January wasn't depressing enough, HWW and I are doing a Dryathlon this month. Apparently, by giving up alcohol for a month, we'll 'clear our heads, feel fitter and save money'. Hmmm. I can honestly say that my head feels exactly the same, I don't feel any fitter (replacing alcohol with chocolate didn't really… Continue reading 6 x (- bottle of beer) = 12 x (slice of cake)
(I’m Always Touched by Your) Christmas Presence, Dear
My best, but slightly weirdest, Christmas present this year was...a Lakeland Bobble Buster. Truly, it's awesome and has totally restored my faith in knitwear. A quick survey of friends and family revealed more strange, yet loved, gifts. I'm not talking about the sort of tat that you pretend to like when you open it but… Continue reading (I’m Always Touched by Your) Christmas Presence, Dear
Word Up: A Happy New Year to all our readers…
So, after the compulsory Christmas over-indulgence, it’s time for a New Year change. No more Ferrero Rocher for breakfast, Bucks Fizz at 10am or evenings snacking on crackers and cheese. No more staying with family and friends, being offered cups of tea all day long, meals appearing out of nowhere and dishes miraculously cleaning themselves. … Continue reading Word Up: A Happy New Year to all our readers…
The Night Before the Night Before Christmas: A True Tale
. Twas the night before the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The presents had been hidden by Mum with great care, Knowing the children would search everywhere. . We children should have been snug in our beds, But visions of wrapped treasures danced… Continue reading The Night Before the Night Before Christmas: A True Tale
Top Ten Questions to Ask Yourself Before Moving to Italy
I don't usually go in for competitions, especially not ones where me or my writing are being judged, but this week, I'm entering not one, but two blogging competitions. The first one is at Expats Blog, where you'll find my entry, Top Ten Questions to Ask Yourself Before Moving to Italy, in amongst hundreds of… Continue reading Top Ten Questions to Ask Yourself Before Moving to Italy
Let’s Do The Time Warp Again…
‘What do we want? ‘Time Travel!’ ‘When do we want it?’ ‘It’s irrelevant…’ Time travel. It’s a tricky one to get your head around. In fact, every time I think about the mechanics, ethics and illogicalities of it, I get a migraine and have to lie down with a nice cup of tea and a… Continue reading Let’s Do The Time Warp Again…
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Although I like the speed and convenience of email, text messages, Facebook and tweets (that’s a fib, I don’t understand how Twitter works…), I adore receiving a tangible letter or card through the post. It doesn't have to be much, a postcard or scribbled note will do. There's something heart-warming to think that someone thought… Continue reading Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Doctor, Doctor (is this love I’m feeling?)
There’s great excitement in the barbedwords household as tonight brings the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special episode. Which, unfortunately, we won’t be able to watch until tomorrow as we’re having an infrequent night out (no spoilers, please!) I’m particularly looking forward to tonight’s episode as it brings back my all time favourite Doctor – David… Continue reading Doctor, Doctor (is this love I’m feeling?)
One Way or Another…
I’m not a natural fashionista. Left to my own devices, my sartorial inclination would most likely veer towards a frumpy, easy to wear look: Birkenstocks with socks, elastic waist trousers and roomy kaftans. However, since my teenage years, I’ve tried to follow a fashion mantra that helps me overcome my innate lack of chic and provides me… Continue reading One Way or Another…
Rome Revisited: Fountain of the Four Rivers
When I first came to Rome, I did all the touristy things and spent hours wandering the tiny lanes, visiting piazzas and admiring monuments. Then real life and plain ol' laziness took over. Having guests last week (who seemed to appreciate all my cleaning efforts and brought a hefty supply of goodies so they can… Continue reading Rome Revisited: Fountain of the Four Rivers
Top Ten Tips for a Successful Week with Houseguests
Refuse to let them through the front door until their bags have been searched for Bird’s Custard, Patak’s Curry Paste and trashy magazines Exhaust them by visiting every single tourist sight – insisting that walking between each one is the only way to get to know the real Rome Forbid anyone from ordering coffee at… Continue reading Top Ten Tips for a Successful Week with Houseguests
Good Clean Fun
I’m exhausted. I’ve been cleaning the apartment in honour of visitors from England who are arriving tonight. ‘A little ol’ apartment?’ I hear you say. 'How long can that take?' Two days, that’s how long. TWO DAYS! This apartment is bigger than my entire house and garden in England. The worse thing about cleaning isn’t… Continue reading Good Clean Fun
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head…or Here Comes The Sun?
It’s raining here – again. Despite Rome having a reputation as a city of eternal sunshine, it actually has a greater rainfall each year than London. Rome receives an average of 733mm of rain per year, whereas London only gets 587mm. The difference is that all this Roman rain squeezes into just 74 days but… Continue reading Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head…or Here Comes The Sun?
King of the Road…A Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, not long ago, the people of Rome woke up to find that some kind Being had left an item called a car on their doorsteps. Despite never having seen one before, had a driving lesson or been informed of the purpose of roundabouts, traffic lights or STOP signs, the people happily… Continue reading King of the Road…A Fairy Tale
Beauty School Dropout
The Italian Mammas at my children’s school are all extremely glamorous. They’re thin - none of them look as though they’ve ever consumed a slice of pizza, let alone an entire Hawaiian washed down with several beers. They dress in high heels and their designer label clothes are chic and tailored. Their hair is coiffed,… Continue reading Beauty School Dropout
Fat Bottomed Girls…Should Step Away From The Cookies
After a summer of visiting friends and family in England, where every social gathering involved cakes, wine, barbeques or three-course meals, my jeans are now refusing to zip up. Of course, I could have refused the gateaux, drunk Perrier instead of cider and eaten salad instead of chips. But I didn’t. The final straw was… Continue reading Fat Bottomed Girls…Should Step Away From The Cookies
It’s Not About The Money
I’ve seen a few blogs recently with a donate button. One blog was about a family travelling around the world, home educating their kids and enjoying an idyllic existence. The donate button said ‘help us to continue our dream.’ At first, I felt quite affronted but then I thought, ‘hang on, am I missing a… Continue reading It’s Not About The Money
Reunited and It Feels So Good…??
I’ve been inundated with requests (oh alright, one person mentioned it) for an update on the school reunion. Was it fun? Did it bring back happy memories? Or should the past stay firmly in the past? (Hmm, starting to get a bit too Carrie Bradshaw...) Well, 10 people out of a class of 30 showed… Continue reading Reunited and It Feels So Good…??
Inside Italy: Make Some Noise
So I’m back in Rome after two months away. What’s the first thing I noticed? THE NOISE! My god, I can barely hear myself think (not always a bad thing). I’ve totally got out of the habit of apartment living, being surrounded by hundreds of people. The main culprits are: The Man Upstairs: while I’ve… Continue reading Inside Italy: Make Some Noise
Our Lips Are Sealed
After setting up a blog, the WordPress Website recommends that you: Bug your real-life friends - encourage friends and family to read your blog: send them reminder emails when you update and talk to them about it when you meet in person. Often having a really small audience of people you care about is better… Continue reading Our Lips Are Sealed
Home ARome
I’ve returned to Blighty for a few weeks to escape the insane temperatures of Rome. I was hoping for cool breezes and light drizzle but, so far, it's been pretty hot here too. Fingers crossed for snow on the way... Sadly, HWW has been left in the heat to, well, work. It's far too hot… Continue reading Home ARome
An Award!!!
Thank you to the lovely pfstare at andnowforthesecondhalf.wordpress.com for nominating me for a Liebster Award. As a fairly new blogger, I had to Google the award and discovered: The Liebster Award is given to up and coming bloggers, who have less than 200 followers (phew, that was lucky. Another 198 followers and I wouldn’t have been able to accept...),… Continue reading An Award!!!
Inside Italy: Mamma Mia
There must be some Italian mammas out there rustling up homemade tortellini and tiramisu but I haven’t met any of them. Most of my Italian friends are working mums who stop off on their way home to pick up a pasta pronto (ready meal) of lasagna or stuffed peppers. We were guests at a recent dinner… Continue reading Inside Italy: Mamma Mia
Inside Italy: If I Could Turn Back Time…
As part of my naïve stupid enthusiastic commitment to saying 'yes' to new experiences, last month I spent the longest two hours of my life at a traditional Italian folk music concert. Words cannot truly convey the torment I was put through but it was more painful than childbirth. The performers were a variety of singers, children’s choirs,… Continue reading Inside Italy: If I Could Turn Back Time…
