The Bittersweet Life

Latest Episodes:

Bittersweet Moment #37: CHRISTMAS IN ROME Dec 12, 2019

Show notes

Spending Christmas in Rome? On this week's mini-episode, Tiffany shares her tips on the best, coziest, and most festive ways to celebrate Christmas in Rome! Buon Natale e Buone Feste from The Bittersweet Life!

***Don't forget! All of our Patreon supportors at the $10 level or higher will be thrown into a hat to win a SIGNED copy of Mo Rocca's new book Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving mailed right to your door. You have until 15 December so get on it!***

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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.

DONATE: Prefer a one-time donation? Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

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

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.

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 291: LIGHTS OUT Dec 09, 2019

Show notes

Should you visit a country if you can't speak the language? Some say no, that you'll never be able to understand or truly experience a culture if you can't make sense of what its people are saying. (One person who makes this claim is recent guest Paul Theroux in Episodes 286 and 287.)

But then again, that's awfully limiting. Even in the best scenario, in which you speak three or even four languages, that would still cut you off from most of the world.

Tiffany and Katy debate this topic, and they also replay an episode from way back in season one. Katy, newly living in Rome, finds herself in a situation in which her limited Italian skills make life more complicated than it should be.

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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.

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

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.

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 #36: NEARLY FORGOTTEN Dec 05, 2019

Show notes

We won't be remembered for long after we die—that's a conclusion that Mo Rocca, correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, came to on Episode 290 MOBITUARIES.

Today, we continue to explore the transience of fame on this mini-episode by introducing you to Jan Merlin. You probably haven't heard of this once-famous Hollywood actor, but he's about to make you cry.

Listen to this mini-interview he did with Katy, where he tells the story of how he fell in love with acting in the most unlikely of places.

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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.

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

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.

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 290: MOBITUARIES (With Mo Rocca) Dec 02, 2019

Show notes

What makes someone's life worth remembering? Mo Rocca spends a lot of time thinking and talking about this, on his podcast Mobituaries with Mo Rocca. Today he joins The Bittersweet Life to continue that conversation, and to talk about his new book, Mobituaries: Great Lives Worth Reliving.

He discusses what it is about certain people's lives that piques his interest, and how sometimes it's not the thing they are famous for. He's fascinated by people who are not remembered in the way they should be; others who were once household names and then completely disappeared; and forgotten forerunners who did remarkable things too early on and were not remembered for those accomplishments.

Mo Rocca is the correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning, the host and creator of My Grandmother's Ravioli on The Cooking Channel, and the moderator of the National Geographic Society's National Geographic Bee. He also spent four years as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

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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.

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

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.

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 #35: THANKS Nov 28, 2019

Show notes

We are so grateful for all of our wonderful listeners around the world for your love, attention, and support throughout the over five years of this show! On this extra-mini-episode, we have a quick Thanksgiving message for you.

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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.

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

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.

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 289: LOSS Nov 25, 2019

Show notes

In the lead up to Thanksgiving, Katy and Tiffany muse on the inevitable missing out on important holidays and events that comes with being a far-away expat. And the annual November dilemma: do I make the effort to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, or do I just skip it?

In addition, in light of the numerous losses of loved ones they have both been through in recent years, they discuss the difference between being "home" when someone important passes, and having the opportunity to process it as part of a community, as opposed to going through it alone and far away.

To lighten the mood and get ready for the holiday, they reminisce abut funny Thanksgiving memories, and attempt to tell a few Turkey Day jokes (prepare to groan).

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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.

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

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.

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 #34: OPERA Nov 21, 2019

Show notes

Do you love opera? Hate it? Indifferent? Give Tiffany the length of a mini-episode and you might finding yourself warming to it.

Tiffany tells how she fell in love with opera at age 12, and how her passion for the art form goes hand in hand with her passion for Italy and the Italian language. She also explains where to start your exploration of opera (in a word: Puccini).

Music featured on this episode:

O Mio Babbino Caro from Gianni Schicchi by Puccini (with Kiri Te Kanawa)

Dunque è proprio finito...? from La Bohème by Puccini (with Mirella Freni and Luciano Pavarotti)

Va Pensiero from Nabucco by Verdi (with the chorus of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma)

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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.

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

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.

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 288: CHINA VS. BALI Nov 18, 2019

Show notes

Mike Shaw recently moved to Bali after eleven years in Beijing. So far, it has been a hard move. On this week's episode, he chats with Katy about why he decided to leave an adopted city he loves so much, and what he's discovered about himself in the process.

He also talks about getting a clear "call" to move abroad, and how when he first arrived in China, everything seemed to just fall in to place, and it quickly became clear that he was exactly where he was supposed to be—synchronicity, perhaps? Flash forward to Bali, and although he loves it there too, he's not having the same experience this time around.

Lastly, remarks upon the differences between digital nomads and settled expats, as well as what he considers to be the false distinctions made between expats and migrants.

Check out Mike's podcast Migratory Patterns and listen to his recent episode in which he interviews Katy.

You can find Mike on Twitter.

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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.

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

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.

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 #33: THE BORDER (with Paul Theroux) Nov 13, 2019

Show notes

Paul Theroux is back! This time, live onstage.

If you loved Monday's double-header episode featuring an in-depth interview with legendary travel writer Paul Theroux, tune in to this week's mini-episode to hear a snippet of his live stage interview with Katy at Town Hall Seattle.

Paul reveals the one thing you should never do when you are about to take off on adventure. He also shares some of the things that most surprised and fascinated him about his travels in Mexico.

Grab a copy of his new book On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey.

And don't forget to listen to the full interview in Episode {PAUL THEROUX} Part One and Part Two.

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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.

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

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.

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 287: PAUL THEROUX, Part 2 Nov 11, 2019

Show notes

World-famous travel writer Paul Theroux joins us again for the continuation of this fascinating discussion. In Part 2, Theroux weighs in on the cult of social media, and how much of the travel posts we see on Instagram are the antithesis of travel writing. How authentic travel writing tries to get at the truth of a place—even if it's not beautiful. He also shares his views on the expat community—it might not be what you expect.

He comments on his so-called irascibility and why he has often been accused of being a grumpy traveler.

He describes how to write about a place that is seen through your eyes without making it all about yourself.

Lastly, he describes the main differences he notices traveling now as opposed to 50 years ago, and where in the US a privacy- or solitude-seeking person could move without spending a fortune.

Grab a copy of Theroux's latest book, On the Plain of Snakes, A Mexican Journey 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 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.

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

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.

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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