On the heels of the big parliamentary elections in Italy last month, and the upcoming 2022 midterm elections in the states, Tiffany talks about what it's like to vote in Italy. You'll probably be surprised to hear how old school the process is, and Tiffany never ceases to be amazed—and delighted—at how little the process of voting has changed in Italy in the last century. And since we're talking about elections, here are a few episodes from our archives that follow our live and evolving reaction...
Oct 13, 2022•18 min•Season 10Ep. 176
On a recent Bittersweet Moment , Tiffany remembered accidently smearing a bit of lipstick on the doorframe of one of the buildings she lived in her first months in Rome, and how that red streak is still there, 18 years later. And how, somehow, every time she sees it, it reminds her of her earliest days in Rome, almost an "I was here" moment. Inspired by this, Katy and Tiffany talk about other moments in their life that they have felt a similar sensation, how common that might be, and why we some...
Oct 10, 2022•28 min•Season 10Ep. 449
On Monday's episode we asked the question, where would you live if you could live anywhere? Today we think about what would you do if you could do anything? What would you want to learn? Katy once met a ballet dancer who was no longer getting hired. She'd aged out of the industry she loved. So what did she decide to do next? She enrolled in stunt school. Katy brings you an audio moment from an actual lesson at The International Stunt School . ------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH ...
Oct 06, 2022•10 min•Season 10Ep. 175
It used to be that we moved to (and stayed in) whatever city we got a job in—whether we liked living there or not. Luckily, thanks to the rise in remote work and freelancing, we have more freedom than ever to take an active choice in where we want to livebut that doesn't necessarily make choosing where to live any easier. In her new book, If You Could Live Anywhere , Melody Warnick breaks down the considerations that should go into choosing where to live. The book offers practical advice for any...
Oct 03, 2022•36 min•Season 10Ep. 448
On the heels of Tiffany's 18th anniversary of moving to Rome, she remenisces about the miserable living situations she found herself in those very first weeks as an expat. Luckily, with the distance of nearly two decades, she can laugh about these memories now instead of cry. ------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The B...
Sep 29, 2022•21 min•Season 10Ep. 174
Tiffany has officially lived in Rome longer than she has lived anywhere else! As she realizes this milestone, she and Katy reflect on what has changed for her since she made the move abroad, what has stayed the same, how she's grown and what she wished she had done differently. Katy also asks a big question: do you have any regrets? If you could do it all over again, would you? ------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world....
Sep 26, 2022•29 min•Season 10Ep. 447
We all know what Rome is supposed to look like: towering ruins, baroque majesty, cobblestones, orange buildings, churches everywhere you look. But Rome has the power to surprise you, even those of us who know her well. On this mini-episode, Tiffany recounts her visit to the tiny and delightful neighborhood of Coppedè in the north of Rome, a magical place that looks like it should be in a fairytale. Here more about the unexpected magic of Italy on this recent full episode . ----------------------...
Sep 22, 2022•12 min•Season 10Ep. 173
As we kick of our tenth season, it got us wondering: why do we do anything for ten years? What keeps us going? How do we keep it fun? Whether it's a marriage, a job, a life in a foreign country, or a podcast you started on a whim, what makes us do things for THAT LONG? And how do we keep going when it gets hard? ------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON:...
Sep 19, 2022•36 min•Season 10Ep. 446
The mountains are calling and I must go! Despite having lived in Seattle the vast majority of her life, Katy is not much of an outdoorsy type. Still, she recently heeded the call of nature (and her partner Derek, whose hiking buddies had canceled on him last minute), to go on a strenuous hiking and camping trip in the Olympic Mountains. On this mini-episode, Katy recounts the adventure, including surprising animal encounters and grueling physical challenges. -------------------------------------...
Sep 15, 2022•16 min•Season 10Ep. 172
We kick of a brand new season today (Season 10, can you believe it?), and as exciting as that is, at the same time, our unforgettable Summer in Rome series is officially a wrap. As always when Tiffany returns from a long stint in the States, she shares her observations about the things that seem strange in her home country, and not just little things. This time a big thing popped out at her, and it made her rethink a common critisism leveled against Italians. ------------------------------------...
Sep 12, 2022•36 min•Season 10Ep. 445
You've all heard at least half a dozen times Tiffany's impressions on the differences (both great and small) between the US and Italy. But on this mini-episode, Aurelio weighs in with his observations after his recent visit to his second home country. ------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and recei...
Sep 08, 2022•12 min•Season 9Ep. 171
Saying goodbye is always bittersweet... especially when you're leaving not just a good friend, but also a beloved city. Today is the final chapter in our "Summer in Rome" series—we hoped you enjoyed listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it—and we muse on time, and how our perception of it is able to speed up and slow down depending on what we are doing. For example, how is it possible that Katy's life-changing time living in Rome took up less than one year, while the time since then—that ...
Sep 05, 2022•25 min•Season 9Ep. 444
What more unexpected magic in your life? Try playing "Left, Right, Surprise," a game invented by author Robert Fulghum which appears in his book Third Wish , a personal favorite of Katy. On this mini-episode, Katy lays out how to play this interesting game, which will help you discover not just a new place or detail, but also a new nugget of insight into the person you are with. *** Want more? *** Listen to Katy's brilliant interview with Robert Fulghum here . Hear more about the unexpected magi...
Sep 01, 2022•7 min•Season 9Ep. 170
Is there anywhere else on earth that offers as much sheer beauty as Italy? (We'd wager there aren't.) But in addition to Italy's undeniable beauty, there is a sense of magic that never quite leaves you. With artistic masterpieces hidden in obscure churches, exquisite villages perched on remote mountaintops, and archetectural wonders tucked away in the middle of a forest, you never know when you'll turn a corner and encounter something that will dazzle and delight you. ---------------------------...
Aug 29, 2022•27 min•Season 9Ep. 443
Tiffany and her family are back in Italy after their summer vacation in the US. On this mini-episode, Tiffany and Aurelio talk about their trip, specifically the flight, and Tiffany reminisces about how different air travel was when she was a kid. She also asks Aurelio where he would rather live—Italy or America—and which language he prefers. ------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the convers...
Aug 25, 2022•14 min•Season 9Ep. 169
Little known fact: Rome is the city in Europe with the most green space per capita! It's true, Rome is not all crumbling ruins and crowded city streets. The city is bursting with parks and gardens, true urban oases that often have centuries-old histories. Katy and Tiffany visit one such garden on this episode, the Roseto Comunale, Rome's municipal rose garden, on a hot May day when the roses are in spectacular bloom. What follows is a chat about some of the most beautiful gardens in the city, an...
Aug 22, 2022•27 min•Season 9Ep. 442
During the long lonely months of Covid lockdown and beyond, Seattlite cartoonist Kate Wheeler dreamed of moving to Rome. This winter, she made that dream a reality. She sits down with Katy to talk about how she made it happen, the challenges she has faced, the biggest rewaards, and how Rome is now inspiring her art. Check out her Washington Post article here . Find Kate's art on Instagram, or follow her adventures in Rome on her personal Instagram page. Visit her website here . -----------------...
Aug 18, 2022•18 min•Season 9Ep. 168
Where did Lord Byron and Percy Shelley come to scribble down their verses? Where did Bizet and Berlioz go to discuss their work? Where could Casanova be found trying to pick up girls? Caffè Greco, where else? Having opened in 1760, Antico Caffè Greco is the oldest café in Rome and the second-oldest in all of Italy! And you can still go there and sit where Hawthorne, Ibsen, Gogol, Goethe, Canova, and many many other literary, art, and musical greats rubbed elbows and drank coffee. On this episode...
Aug 15, 2022•24 min•Season 9Ep. 441
Accordion music... red and white checkered table clothes... spaghetti and meatballs... All wonderful things but... actually, they are NOT Italian! On this mini-episode, Tiffany debunks some myths about what's authentically Italian and what isn't, particularly when it comes to what many tourists think is Italian cuisine. ------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A...
Aug 11, 2022•13 min•Season 9Ep. 167
When you come back after several years to a city where you used to live, what do you notice? What has change? What has stayed the same? What have you forgotten about in your time away? Arriving in Rome after four years away, Katy notices something that—once ubiquitous on the streets of Rome—is now missing: accordionists. This sparks a conversation about what we notice, what we take for granted as being an eternal aspect of the city, and how a city can change before your very eyes. The famous son...
Aug 08, 2022•17 min•Season 9Ep. 440
Following our exclusive interview with Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi, we explore the spectacular and art-filled Rome in a private tour, led by the owner herself! Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi, lovingly referred to as Villa Aurora, boasts an optical illusion by Guercino, four painters trying to outdo each other on the same ceiling for further commissions, a Michelangelo sculpture in the garden (is it??), ancient statuary everywhere you look, and most significantly, a original Caravaggio... and...
Aug 04, 2022•12 min•Season 9Ep. 166
In this EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi, the elusive American princess opens up about her relationship with the late Prince Nicolò, the unpleasant inheritance fight she's currently embroiled in with her stepsons, how she feels about the prospect of being forced from her home, and—perhaps most intriguingly—what it's like to live at Villa Aurora, a five-hundred-year-old home decorated with paintings by Guercino, Pomerancio, and even Caravaggio, with its gardens full of ...
Aug 01, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 9Ep. 439
If you are dreaming of an Italian summer, find it within the pages of a book. Tiffany shares her favorite books that take place (at least partly) in Italy in summer, and exqiusitely and vividly capture that magical setting. **Check out our interview with Liam Callanan about his earlier book, Paris by the Book here .** ------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A P...
Jul 28, 2022•18 min•Season 9Ep. 165
Ah, the freedom of the roadtrip. Go anywhere, anytime, at your own pace. No limits but the open road... *record scratch* ...unless you are roadtripping in Europe, that is. Katy recounts the hazards, hiccups, and dramas of her attempt to roadtrip across several European countries... and catching Covid in the process. ------------------------------------- ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started. BECOME A PAT...
Jul 25, 2022•27 min•Season 9Ep. 438
"I was in Italy at Lake Como when I learned I had Covid." So begins an original piece by our own Katy Sewall, which recounts her health adventure getting Covid after two full years of pandemic isolation and extreme precaution, just as she finally departed on her first international trip since the coronavirus outbreak. She muses on the irony of the timing, the wisdom of traveling right now according to experts (better news than you might expect!), and the historic precedent for convalescing in It...
Jul 21, 2022•11 min•Season 9Ep. 164
As you know if you're a regular listener, our show goes a lot deeper than travel tips an "best of"s. Our weekly conversations explore many aspects of life (both abroad and at home), and we encourage our listeners to live more daring and authentic lives. But we've had so many requests for an episode about our favorite restaurants, wine bars, and gelato shops, that we finally gave in! Whether you're preparing for a trip to Rome, or just traveling via your earphones, join us for a casual chat about...
Jul 18, 2022•34 min•Season 9Ep. 437
Rome's fountains are nothing short of inspiring—as we discovered on Monday's episode that features excerpts from Ottorino Respighi's symphonic tone poem, The Fountains of Rome . But there are so many more fountains in Rome than are depicted auditorily in Respighi's music, and so many more than the average tourist comes across in the course of a typical visit. On this mini-episode, Tiffany shares some of her favorite lesser-known Roman fountains and why she loves them. ---------------------------...
Jul 14, 2022•20 min•Season 9Ep. 163
Rome not only has more fountains than any city on earth, it also has the most beautiful ones, from the delicate Fountain of the Turtles (ispiration for Tiffany's book Midnight in the Piazza ), to the massive Fontanone on the Gianicolo Hill and so many others. In fact, the eary 20th-century Italian composer Ottorino Respighi was so inspired by Rome's fountains (four in particular) that he wrote a symphonic poem about them. On this episode, we talk about the four fountains that inspired this maste...
Jul 11, 2022•25 min•Season 9Ep. 436
Looking back on her eventful gap year, our childhood friend Suzanne (whom me mention often on this show) talks about what prompted her to put off college for two years (in a time and place where it simply wasn't done) to go live her version of a bohemian artist's life in Europe. She talks about what she learned about herself and the world, and how, despite being a travel-lover and a polyglot, she knows she'll never leave the Pacific Northwest for long. You can hear more from Suzanne on episodes ...
Jul 07, 2022•24 min•Season 9Ep. 162
What about if you dream of moving abroad—but love your life and your community in your home town? This was the dilemma of longtime listener Darlene, who wrote to us several times during her years-long path to becoming an expat. She finally took the plunge and moved to Italy. She started out in Bolzano and is seeking what is next. She joins us for a interview taped in person in Rome to share how she took the risk to move abroad despite a happy an successful life in New York City. She also shares ...
Jul 04, 2022•30 min•Season 9Ep. 435
