The Bittersweet Life

Latest Episodes:

Episode 313: Virtual Tour of Rome Apr 26, 2020

Show notes

Longing to wander the streets of Rome, visit its most beautiful squares, and marvel at its monuments? Since, for now, that isn't possible for any of us (even those of us who live in Rome) we've put together a virtual auditory tour of the Eternal City.

The magic of radio brings Katy's expert editing skills and Tiffany's knowledge of Rome together for a light-hearted, informative virtual walk through Rome... until the time we can do it for real.

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NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Bittersweet Moment #55: Memorizing Poetry Apr 23, 2020

Show notes

Today Tiffany talks about one of her favorite hobbies: memorizing poetry! She lays out the plethora of surprising benefits she reaps from this personal practice, as well as a list of tips on how to start out memorizing your own favorite poems.

Be sure to listen all the way to the end to hear a cameo poetry reading by Aurelio!

Click here to find the gorgeous recitation of John Keats' Ode to a Nightingale, played at the end of this episode. Did you recognize his voice?

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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 receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Episode 312: PHASE TWO Apr 19, 2020

Show notes

When will Italy reopen—and what will that reopening entail?

These are the questions that Italy's residents have been asking themselves constantly lately. Rumor has it, Italy's country-wide lockdown will come to an end on May 4th, although this is not official yet. Hypotheses abound and no one really knows what to expect. Although one thing is for certain: this is only Phase Two. This crisis is far from over and social distancing and some restrictions of movement will likely go on for the foreseeable future.

But we all want to know: once we start phase two, will life return (somewhat) to normal? Will coffee bars and restaurants reopen? Will we be able to go to parks again? What about the beach once summer hits in just a few months?

We discuss this and more on this week's episode.

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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 receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Bittersweet Moment #54: Learning to Read in Two Languages at Once Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

With Aurelio home from school, Tiffany is taking the opportunity to teach him how to read and write in English—before Italian school gets its hooks into him.

She explains why she's taking this so seriously, as well as some of the exercises she (with no pedagogy training) has come up with, and the biggest surprises she's had in the quest to teach a bilingual child to read.

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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 receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Episode 311: LONG DISTANCE Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

We all have those close friendships that survive over time, despite the fact that we live half a world apart. And now—with most of us living under lockdown for the foreseeable future—all of our friendships are long-distance now. Is there a secret ingredient to making those relationships last and deepen over time?

What are the best strategies for keeping friendships close in spite of the distance? We get some insight from two friends of the show, Stefania and Katharine over at This Life Explains it All podcast. Then we weigh in with our own thoughts on the subject—especially keeping in mind that Tiffany and Katy have kept their friendship alive and strong despite living thousands of miles apart for nearly 25 years.

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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 receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Bittersweet Moment #53: Roman Easter in the Time of Coronavirus Apr 09, 2020

Show notes

Rome is the center of the Catholic world, the home the pope, the city of St. Peter. Easter time draws enormous crowds of faithful to participate in the high holiday services and be blessed by the pope himself.

But this year, Easter is cancelled. Or almost. Easter services will still be performed in the Vatican and churches around the city, but unless you're a priest, an organist, or a deacon, you're not allowed to go.

What will Easter in Rome (and around most of the world) be like this year, since we are all stuck at home. Tiffany in Rome and Katy in Seattle ruminate on just that in this week's mini-episode.

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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 receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Episode 310: A Day in the Life under Quarantine, Part 2 Apr 06, 2020

Show notes

In the second part of this Day in the Life episode, Katy offers a rare glimpse into what it's like to edit and a long piece of tape, extracting its gems to transform it into something engaging.

Karen, a US expat in the Dolomites, cycles home from work, hoping not to be stopped by the Carabinieri, to Jill in Oregon spots a hummingbird and looks for the silver lining in the midst of chaos.

From Steve and Linda in Orvieto making homemade pizza to Simon from Melbourne as he walks his dog to Valentina in Trentino counting her blessings via social media. Lastly, take a peek into Katy and her husband Derek's craft night in Seattle.

We end this show with the song Six Feet Apart, sent in by Seattle artists Miles and Katrina, and inspired by the social isolation of the coronavirus pandemic.

Find Part 1 here.

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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 receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Episode 309: A Day in the Life under Quarantine, Part 1 Apr 05, 2020

Show notes

What does a day in the life of someone under lockdown look like? That's what we asked our listeners for today's episode, offering a peek into their lives throughout the course of a day as well as our own.

From Lynn in San Francisco as she studies Italian to Scott trying to find some space for himself in his basement, from Madeline in Menlo Park remembering to be thankful to best-selling author Jess Walter who is very used to working from home.

From Nancy in Wisconsin dealing with spring snowfall to Theresa in Port Townsend in a hailstorm to Jill in Manhattan, where the only sound on the city streets is the chirping of birds, and many, many others.

We got so many glimpses into the lives of our diverse listeners that we had to divide this episode into two parts. But don't fret—the second part of the episode will be released right after this one.

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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 receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Bittersweet Moment #52: Shopping and Consumerism in the Time of Coronavirus Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

What happens when you CAN'T shop? When all the stores in your town are closed and your supermarket stops selling anything beyond the basic necessities? Even major online shops are running out of merchandise or have month-long waiting periods for delivery. What's an eager consumer to do?

And a perhaps more interesting question: is this a good thing? Of course no one wants the economy to collapse or people to lose their businesses or jobs, but could we all get used to not constantly buying stuff, and might that be a good thing? We discuss this and more on this week's mini-episode.

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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 receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Episode 308: Tips and Tricks for Surviving Quarantine Mar 29, 2020

Show notes

An astounding half of the world's population is now on some form of legal lockdown, quarantine, shelter-in-place, or self-isolation.

With many of our listeners new to Quarantine Life, Tiffany, who as of today has been on lockdown for 21 days, offers some practical advice on today's episode. Tune in for tricks and tips for listeners who are have isolation looming for the unforeseeable future: how to stay sane, stay healthy, and not murder your mate.

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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 receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

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