The Bittersweet Life

Twenty years ago, on August 29th 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The Category 5 storm and its aftermath devastated the city, and the consequences still last today. Listen in as Katy takes yo…

When Tiffany's husband Claudio takes a photo with the karate instructor of his youth, Tiffany realizes that by being an expat, it can sometimes feel like her life has no continuity. She can't revisit…

Have you ever received a sign to do something? Did you listen to it? Do signs even exist?

What about bad and good omens? Are they real or a product of our imagination?

Katy and Tiffany sh…

On last week’s archive episode, we talked about fantasy, and the benefits and pitfalls of focusing on and working toward your personal fantasies.

But somehow, no matter how hard we try, reality alw…

How much of life is us trying to fulfill the fantasies of our youth? And is there anything inherently wrong with weaving fantasies and attempting to fulfill them? Is reality overrated?

We expl…

It began with a simple question: what's the most impractical thing you have ever traveled with?

Little did we know it would turn into one of our favorite (and perhaps silliest episodes) as Tiffany re…

Why does (seemingly) every single person in Italy go on vacation during the month of August?

If you've ever visited Italy in the month of August, you'll know that big cities and small towns alike emp…

What percentage of Italian men cheat? Is it really 100% like a family friend of Tiffany’s smugly insisted when she first moved to Italy? Or is that number closer to the rest of the world, only it’s…

Katy's father Dale and sister Sara join us on this episode from our archives to look back on their past family travels to Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam. Katy, who was not a travel-lover as a y…

It's a common security question: What is the name of your first pet?

Tiffany and Katy reminisce about the pets that they adopted and loved throughout their childhood and what was special about th…

Can you remember the first time you were truly frightened—by a movie, a ghost story, or even a real event that you witnessed?

On this episode, Katy and Tiffany delve back into their earliest memories…

On this nostalgic episode from our archives, Tiffany regales Katy with the details of a recent trip to the cradle of the Renaissance, including specific stops she made to research her latest book, a …

Where would you go if you only had about six months left before travel would be out of the question for health reasons?

Most people will never be forced to answer this question, but today's guest was…

In a world that is becoming ever more homogenized, what sets places apart? What are the blaring indicators that communicate we are in a place vastly different from anywhere we've ever been before?

In…

School is out in Italy, and the summer is LONG (not to mention, extremely HOT!) and a certain red-headed someone is refusing to go to summer camp.

To fill the time (and keep his brain from atrophying…

What is a growth mindset and why would you want one? And perhaps more importantly, how do you cultivate one?

To answer these questions, we dive back into Dr. Therese Huston's fascinating book, Sharp:…

Since July is a big month for travel, this month we are re-airing episodes from our archives every Friday that revisit trips we've taken in the past.

After her recent two-week trip to Austria, Tiffan…

Rome is extremely hot and extremely crowded right now, and the Vatican Museums have become an almost unbearable place.

Instead of spending a miserable (and potentially hazardous) day inside one of th…

...According to the latest brain science anyway.

Katy discovered this provcative tidbit in Dr. Therese Huston's new book, Sharp: 14 Simple Ways to Improve Your Life with Brain Science. She asks Tiffa…

How do you flirt in a foreign language? What if you barely speak the language in question? Is it easier to flirt with a foreigner than with someone from your own culture? What happens when cultural…