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Last cappuccino with Uncle Frankie at Hotel Villa San Pio, “in the heart of the Aventino, an intimate and exclusive area, characterized by wide, green spaces and turn-of-the-century refined architectures, within a context risen about high profile religious and urban centres, such as the basilica of Santa Savina and the adjacent Giardino degli Aranci and the square inspired by Piranesi and named after the Knights of Malta.” The neighborhood of Trajan and Adriano before they became … more

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Charlie’s architectural model of il Pecile at Villa di Adriana (Hadrian’s Villa) for his Roman Topography class.

More on Italian customer service and timeliness.

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

Italian customer service, an oxymoron?

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

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Finished bottle #4 of Moroney’s Brunello 6-pack last night with great friends Kate Davis, David Heilbroner, their daughter Katrina, her boyfriend Andrew, Marcello and Charlie. Met at 7:30 pm at our apartment for full table of prosciutto, pecorino con pepe, a truffle cheese, smoked buffalo mozzarella, regular buffalo mozzarella, fresh pachino tomatoes, red bell pepper slices, ripe apricots. Kate friend baby artichokes with salt – startlingly. Started with Conegliano Valdobbiadene prosecco, followed by Moroney’s 2004 … more

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Epic Sicilian seafood dinner at Lumie di Sicilia with great friends David Heilbroner, Kate Davis, their daughter Katrina, her boyfriend Andrew, Marcello and his 85-year-old mother. Talked films, including their award of a Peabody for Newburgh Sting, politics, raising teenagers, Italian food, Roman ways, 30 year friendships. Finished the night at our apartment in Testaccio with Amaro Sibilia around 2 am.