I met up with sister-in-law Kim Shaw who had a rough first day in Rome – no phone, no cell. She couldn’t connect with me or with her AirBnb host. When we finally got together around 6 pm she was dogeared. A little Rosso di Montalcino, Da Bucatino’s famous carciofa alla piastra and pasta amatriciana, a walk along the Tiber and through the Jewish Ghetto, a cappuccino (and for me amaro averne) at Marenaga’s, and … more →

The Internet in our apartment has been largely dysfunctional for the past week. I email our French landlord every day. She arranged for a technician to evaluate the DSL line at 4:30 pm today. It’s 5:30 pm and no sign of him. On a related note, I had a 5:30 pm Skype appointment with the GM of Mikasa Italy. I also scheduled Sockwa’s CEO and VP of Sales. The three of us Americans are on … more →

I’m trying to buy tickets to Milano Expo 2015. I visit the website, but it’s really unclear where the tickets are sent after a purchase. I call the phone number for customer service. Not exactly easy to find, but whatever. I navigate the menu, choose English as my language, and push 9 to speak with an English-speaking operator. An Italian woman answers. She doesn’t speak English. She asks me to call back and ask for … more →