Dear Blog Readers – After nine thrilling days of dragging my computer bag and camera tripod all over Cuba and the United States chasing after Pope Francis, I am back in Rome and ready to do my behind-the-scenes post on traveling on the Papal Plane. There were a total of 79 journalists traveling on the …
Hacks in Black: On the Papal Plane with Pope Francis Read More »
Dear Blog Readers, this is the second part of my two-part series on the Pope’s trip to Cuba and the United States. (see also Part I – Pope Francis- Revving up for Cuba). As with the first post, it is a bit of a long plod through the schedule and themes of the trip that …
Part II – Pope Francis: Heading for the United States Read More »
Dear Blog Readers, On September 19th, I will be departing on the Papal Plane with Pope Francis and his entourage to Cuba and the United States. The entourage will include Cardinals, Bishops, Vatican Gendarmes, Swiss Guards in plainclothes, a doctor, the Papal spokesman, Vatican press office officials, a Popemobile driver, liturgical specialists (Mass helpers) and …
I could make a series of movies titled “Titanic Vacations with my Family” staring my husband, of course, the frustrated, middle-aged man secretly in love with that rather mechanical woman inside his car navigator who occasionally re-routes but never talks back and he can always turn off during moments of tension. That navigatrice is in …
Rose petals launched from a low-flying helicopter fluttered down from the sky over hundreds of teary-eyed friends of an alleged criminal clan boss on Thursday at a funeral in Rome. The casket arrived in an elaborate black carriage with gold trimmings fit for Cinderella. Six black horses with black plumed headdresses pulled the carriage, as …
As American businessman Donald Trump steals the US election campaign show, dominating the press coverage and moving to the top of the polls among Republicans in the primary, many American intellectuals are asking how this buffoon can be so successful. Frank Bruni, New York Times op-ed writer and former correspondent in Rome, recently wrote a …
Dear Blog Readers — my blog buddy Adri Barr Crocetti of www.adribarrcrocetti.com asked me to ask my husband, Gustavo Piga, an economist who teaches at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, to give his opinion on my blog about the Greek referendum. Gustavo’s response is below. Some American readers asked me to shed some light …
It is summer time!! Time to send our teenagers to camp!! Why would we want to do that? To get rid of them, of course. Preferably a camp without any electronic devices permitted to limit all possible contact. If any of my blog readers are thinking I am a “mamma snaturata” – a bad mom—you …