After a break up with a boyfriend, I would do my best to focus only on the things that didn’t work between us. Because if I remembered all the good times, all the things that were so perfect about our relationship, I might never recover. And so it is with my relationship with Valencia. When…
Author: renaissancerebecca
How To Recognize an American in Valencia
Usually it’s just the look. As evidenced by the woman who literally walked up to Michael as he was sitting with me drinking coffee, pointed to him, and said “Americano?” He was stunned and asked how she knew. “You just look like an American.” Which I used to think funny as Americans have quite a…
Becoming Italian Part 6: Disqualified (Or: How I did NOT become an Italian citizen)
I walked into the waiting room and could barely hold back my tears. “What happened?” my father asked. “I can’t talk about it. Let’s go,” I said. We walked out of the Italian consulate of New York into a cold February day. My father, like most men, struggled with how to handle my tears. Did…
Becoming Italian Part 5: Approaching the Finish Line. . .
I pulled the pile of papers off the bookshelf then opened my computer to the page that listed the requirements. My heart pounded in my chest as I made a checklist. I had done all the work, and now I just wanted to check once more that I had everything I needed all in one…
Becoming Italian Part 4: The Locals
(Originally posted January 7, 2017) The first time I took Michael to New York to meet my family was on the occasion of Grandma Gallo’s 90th birthday party (March, 2014). “How many people will be at this party?” he asked. “I don’t know. Fifty?” “Fifty?” “Well, her four kids, and their spouses. That’s eight. Then…
Becoming Italian Part 3: The Marathon Round
On April 2, 2015, I got the official letter from US Customs and Immigration stating that my great-grandfather, Luigi Gallo, never became an American citizen. I couldn’t believe I held, in my hands, the document that could be my ticket to getting my very own Italian passport! “Why might one want an Italian passport?” you…
Becoming Italian Part 2: The Qualification Round
Not everybody can become an Italian citizen. Lots of Americans have parents, grandparents, great-grandparents who were born in Italy. But it is not by birth alone that one qualifies. You are only eligible if the relative from Italy was not an American citizen at the time of the birth (in America) of the next descendent….
In Memoriam: Barbara Winter
My original blog post, Sept. 4, 2011: It was a full page ad. The woman wore funky glasses and an angled, blunt haircut. Her posture, her smile, the sparkle in her eyes emanated a happiness, a confidence, and a freedom I wanted. But none of that is what drew me in. As I flipped through…
A Day Trip
Not to brag. . . but yes, I’m going to brag: Michael and I and a friend are considering taking a road trip to Barcelona on Sunday. How amazing is it that I can even say that? A day trip! To a major European destination! It would be a long day trip. It’s a three…
A Slice of Tuscany
Michael and I sat at a corner table overlooking the hills of Tuscany. We were in a town I’d never heard of until that very morning when a Facebook posting directed us to not just the town but “the restaurant on the curve as you’re driving up there.” No name was mentioned. But in an…
RenaissanceRebecca 