Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Think safe, be smart: Saftey tips while studying abroad

September hails the start of a new school year, and in this city it is not just the Italians who go back to school, but all the foreign students as well. As a matter of fact, Florence is the biggest American study abroad centre in the world and that’

Lifestyle

Makeover: Italian style!

First off, I have to confess that I’ve always been fascinated with Extreme Makeover, What Not to Wear, and other physical transformation shows.  Of course, I know that beauty is not only skin deep and Gabrio Staff was the first to tell me so when I visited

Lifestyle

Fall into the Fall with style

The fall fashions this year look good on Florence:  the soft, natural colour palate of the season against the cool, grey stone.  A stroll down Via Roma is sure to get you in the mood for Autumn.  The brocade coats showing off in the windows at Miucca

Lifestyle

American Pie the Italian Way

Catering to those tourists, students, and expatriates craving an American fix, a ‘culinary’ comfort from home, purveyors of distinctly American food have found a niche in Florence. Although New York style Chinese takeout has yet to hit the scene, imported peanut butter, fresh blueberry muffins, Campbell’s

Lifestyle

An Interview with Rosanna Serravalli

Rosanna Serravalli was born in Florence, Italy where she started ballet classes at the school of Darie Collin.  As a young girl she moved to New York to join the Joffrey Ballet.  She then moved to the American Ballet Theatre, where she attained the rank of Soloist. 

Lifestyle

Batman Begins

A guy who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues. Adam West, Micheal Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney have all had the privilege, but Christian Bale has more issues than most- he's less camp, more convincing- in this earnest Batman prequel, as possibily the best Bruce Wayne

Lifestyle

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

“A useless, talentless, empty man…” Peter Sellers (an excellent Geoffrey Rush) says of himself in this hatchet-job biopic that is at pains to step out of the standard representational biographic ...

Lifestyle

War of the Worlds

Lightning never strikes in teh same place twice. Or does it? H.G. Wells' visionary 1898 sci-fi novel has had many incarnations- famously on radio by Orson Welles, on film in 1953, on TV and in comics- and now in Steven Speilberg's contemporary American version with man of

Lifestyle

The joys of practical home maintenance

If you rent an apartment here, one of the things you will quickly discover is the Italian mode of home electricity.  You’ll probably want to plug in your computer right away or charge up your cell phone.  You’ll find that you need to buy

Lifestyle

The pros and cons of riding a scooter

My relationship with Trenitalia is one of mutual suspicion and distrust.  They suspect me of not having the correct ticket and I don’t trust them to get me anywhere on time.  Anyone like myself who travels a short distance in or out of Florence everyday for

Lifestyle

‘The foreign stallion’

So you’re having a girl’s night out.  You’re fairly new in town and you and a few girls from your Italian class have arranged to meet at the Duomo, where you might hang out for a bit, maybe pop into JJ Cathedral for

Lifestyle

‘Demon Days’ by Gorillaz

The Gorrilaz first pounced on the world with the single “Clint Eastwood” in 2001. Some critics have labelled them unoriginal, but one thing is for certain, their dynamic is original, for the Gorrilaz are a cartoon band. Any picture you will see of the band, weather it be

Lifestyle

The 15th of August: sacred or profane?

This month, as temperatures peak and air quality plummets, visitors to Florence may find themselves wandering a city nearly void of Italians. Owing to its particular geographical position — lying in a low-level basin between hills — in late summer Florence becomes an intolerably hot and hazy place. Thus,

Lifestyle

Bulgari shines bright

The stress is on the “u” not on the “a” - búl-gah-ry - explains Cristina Maccianti, whose sweet modesty remains in tact despite being in charge of one of Via de’ Tornabuoni’s top luxury jewelry stores, Bulgari.   Although Bulgari’

Lifestyle

August

La notte di San Lorenzo (St. Lawrence?s Night), August 10, is the anniversary of the martyrdom in 258 CE of Lawrence, one of the early Christian martyrs.  In actual fact, the poor fellow was probably beheaded, and the emperor Constantine built a church on the spot.  But

Lifestyle

‘Controlling the Cheating’

When worldly grandmothers discourage their granddaughters from marrying the men they’ve met while abroad in Italy, the offensive employed is usually a two-tiered one.  The first, addressed a couple weeks ago, is that Italian men are not the loyal type.  The second contention is that

Lifestyle

‘X and Y’ by Coldplay

From the birth of lead singer and composer Chris Martin’s daughter to headlining Live8 in London, it’s hard to escape the shine of Coldplay. In their third album, X and Y, the band savours its talent for capturing emotions so simply, easily relating to most listeners

Lifestyle

A Nation of Cheaters?

People keep warning me not to get seriously involved with Italian men; they’re apparently cheaters, as well as jealous and possessive lovers, the lot of them.  In his book The Italic British journalist Tobias Jones observes that extramarital affairs are far more frequent and acceptable in Italy

Lifestyle

Stealing Beauty

More than a century ago, the glory of the Florentine artistic sights and the breath-taking views of the city and its surroundings were being caught on canvas, in sketchbooks, and in the diaries of foreign travellers during their grand tours of Italy. Their descriptions still remain, attesting to the

Lifestyle

Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of The Sith

How and why did Anakin Skywalker desert the Jedi and go over to the dark side to become Darth Vader? This is the issue central to the third prequel in the Star Wars saga, the one that links to George Lucas’ original mid-sequence space opera from 1977. And

Lifestyle

Under The Tuscan Sun

Mid-July. Under the Tuscan sun. Probably a very good reason not to see Audrey Wells’ postcard pretty, clichéd adaptation of Frances Mayes’ bestselling novel about personal reinvention post-divorce. Therapy through scenery for rich American divorcées is ideal chick-flick material, and if

Lifestyle

The Merchant of Venice

Shakespeare on film always presents difficulties, and it may come as no surprise to learn that this is the first appearance on film of one of Shakespeare’s most ‘difficult’ plays. Officially classed as a comedy, The Merchant of Venice has so many dark undercurrents, not least,

Lifestyle

War of the Worlds

Lightning never strikes in the same place twice. Or does it? H.G. Wells’ visionary 1898 sci-fi novel has had many incarnations – famously on radio by Orson Welles, on film in 1953, on TV and in comics - and now in Steven Spielberg’s contemporary American version

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