Episode 4: Talking Tuscany with Leif Pettersen

Hosts Sara, Jessica and Michelle talk about Italy’s first “divorce fair,” Berlusconi’s divorce settlement with his wife Veronica, and striking theatre workers shutting down Italy’s opera houses. Then we talk Tuscany with special guest Leif Pettersen, travel writer & Lonely Planet guidebook author for Tuscany.

Eye on Italy News Stories:

Italy hosts its first divorce fair [Yahoo] [Telegraph] [BBC] [NYT] in Milan May 8-9
Priest Starts Mother-in-Law Training to Curb Divorce
Berlusconi close to closing divorce support agreement
What’s in a (Last) Name? (from Ms. Adventures in Italy)
At Italy operas, the Fat ladies are silent also in [La Repubblica] [AP]

Special Guest:

Leif Pettersen, @LeifPettersen on Twitter, travel writer & Lonely Planet guidebook author for Romania, Moldova, & part of Tuscany. Leif talked about some of his favorite parts of the area of Tuscany he writes about, including a few towns where he was the only tourist, some fun summer festivals you might want to include in your trip, and even the Tuscan location of the sword in the stone.

Mentioned in the conversation:

Leif’s video montage of great meals in Tuscany, from his 2009 trip
The uphill barrel-rolling race in Montepulciano, the “Bravio delle Botti” – from 2006, and from 2008

Eye on Italy Angolo d’Italiano:

Accordo: “accordo,” meaning “agreement;” as in the divorce “accordo” between Berlusconi and Veronica. The phrase “sono d’accordo” is useful – it means “I agree.”

C’è l’accordo tra Berlusconi e la Lario

Eye on Italy Picks of the Week

Sara: Radio player Italy (iPhone app – $0.99), Tuscany augmented reality iPhone app (free)
Jessica: La Notte dei Musei 2010 is Saturday, 15 May: Free entry & (almost) all-night hours for museums all over Italy (link in Italian, but list of museums categorized by region & easy to figure out) Thanks to @MadelineJ on Twitter for pointing this out!
Michelle: Breaking Bread in L’Aquila by Maria Filice; Filice will be appearing this weekend in Santo Stefano in Abruzzo and there will be a book giveaway on Bleeding Espresso starting Wednesday, May 12, 2010.
Leif: The Frecciarossa train connects Bologna & Florence in 37 minutes, making Bologna a legitimate gateway to Tuscany; Tuscany doesn’t have to be expensive: best cheap eats in Tuscany, best cheap sleeps in Tuscany