Susan & Vince's Travel Blog 2025

  Buongiorno! Come’ sta?  We’ve had a relaxing week. Spring is in full swing. We wake up to the sounds of lovely songbirds, then saunter down the street for a cornetto and caffe and just watch the people go by.  The weather is beautiful - temperatures are now consistently in the high ‘teens, it’s sunny most days and, unlike RiverBend, there is very little wind.  When we get rain, it’s generally at night - and boy, can it rain! On our walks, we try to notice something new about Salerno and its people.  This week, it was an easy choice.   Do you remember the old Dr. Seuss book, “Go, Dog, Go”? Well, we’re here to tell you that Italians absolutely LOVE their dogs.  Just like the book, there are: BIG dogs… … and little dogs… There are happy dogs… …And sad dogs There are dogs that go everywhere… …lining up outside the Pasticeria, anxious to get inside for “dolce della dominica” (Sunday sweets)     Or helping to do the shopping at the Supermercato… ...

  Buongiorno! Welcome back to Salerno!  Since we last posted, the world has celebrated International Women’s Day.  In Italy, this day is called “festa Della donna” and has a long history.   Over the years, legends and unfounded stories have spread about the birth of International Women's Day. One of the most common is that it was established to commemorate a fire that killed hundreds of female workers in a shirt factory in New York on March 8, 1908. This celebration recalls the struggles, violence and discrimination experienced by women in history.  The mimosa was chosen as a symbol of this day and is linked to the sense of freedom, autonomy, and sensitivity. This is a picture of the students and instructors from L’Acadamia celebrating the day.  Each woman was given a mimosa.  Nice touch!!  Can you find me in the picture?  I’m the one with the crazy hair! Our session of Italian lessons finished last week and, as in the past 2 years, we were ...

 Buongiorno! Here we are in Salerno.  A walk along the Lungomare in our first few days here was all we needed to reassure ourselves that our favourite things to see and do are still here!  This should come as no surprise since many of them are probably just the same as they have been for the last 1000 years!  In this post, we want to cover a bit of what’s been going on at l’Academia Italiana (language school/scuola) and to introduce you to the Italian festival known as « Carnevale ». Prior to coming to the Academia this year, we asked to have our lessons designed for practical situations, such as grocery shopping, dining in restaurants and choosing fresh fruits and vegetables in farmers’ markets.  So we are learning the words and phrases for ordering in a restaurant or bar, and doing the grocery shopping in a supermarket or haggling in an open fresh market.  Our homework is to use these phrases in conversation with waiters, baristas, cashiers, butchers, bak...