The Bittersweet Life

One of the things we pride ourselves on at The Bittersweet Podcast is our relationship with our listeners. We always welcome listener emails (and even voice memos) and we read and answer every single…

Think you know what "bimbo" means? What about "latte"? Turns out these Italian words are used all wrong by the majority of English speakers. 

On Monday's episode, we talked, among other things, about…

A proposed law in Italy would ban the use English (or other foreign) words by public officials and in all government communications and documents, with fines of up to 100,000 euros for offenders.

But…

One of the trickiest parts of moving abroad (especially if it’s for the long haul), is of course: how do I get all my stuff over there? Today we’re joined by Josh Sims, the Chief Operating Officer fo…

Jess Walter is the author of ten books, including New York Times #1 bestseller Beautiful Ruins, which takes place on the Italian Riviera. The latest is a collection of short stories titled The Angel …

To say Rome is busy this season (and will only get busier as we move into summer) is an understatement. The city is on course to have its busiest tourist season IN HISTORY this year. Yikes!

If you lo…

Last week we mused about those times when life changes in and the blink of an eye... for the worse. We've all been there: you crash your car, trip and break your wrist, or lose your job, and suddenly…

Today Katy says goodbye to an old friend, someone she has known for over three decades. She got the news in a text message that her friend had passed away unexpectedly in Bangkok, where he had been l…

We all know how quick life can take a turn, when an accident or split-second decision throws your entire world into tilt, and everything changes in an instant.

We're not talking major catastrophes or…

March, for Katy, is the most melancholy and miserable month of the year, and we talk about why on Monday's full episode. She mentions a particular March a number of years ago when the combination of …

It's spring at last, but early spring (and the month of March in particular) can mean different things to different people. For Katy in Seattle it's a time of constant rain and drizzle, for Tiffany i…

"An adventure is simply physical and emotional discomfort recollected in tranquility." —Tim Cahill

Do you agree? In this mini-episode, we share a snippet of a past interview with fellow podcaster and…

Today we have the pleasure of hosting an episode of one of our favorite travel podcasts, Far From Home, hosted by Scott Gurian.

In this episode, Jamie Yuenger talks about the unexpected challenges of…

They say that in Italy, you're either a furbo or a fesso—a wise guy or a chump. It's an unhappy reality that, in many situations in Italy, if you're not getting one over on someone else, someone is i…

Italians love to complain about how disorganized everything is in Italy, but deep down, do they actually like it? A chance conversation Tiffany had last week sparked this episode about the possible b…

What does it take to produce a professional-quality podcast? As in, what does it really take?

As you may know, Katy is a seasoned radio and audio professional, not just the host and mastermind of The…

Is it possible to move to Italy without speaking Italian? Can you find a job in Italy without speaking Italian? Can you make friends?

This week we tackle a listener email, a question from someone who…

You've seen the David, you know all about the Duomo, and the Uffizi is just to crowded...

What else is there to see in Florence? As it turns out, a lot. 

On this mini-episode, Tiffany fills you in on…

Today The Bittersweet Life pops off to Florence, or at least, Tiffany regales Katy with the details of her recent trip to the cradle of the Renaissance, including specific stops she made to research …

After a discussion about how living in a foreign country can sometimes make you feel like you're completely overlooked and even invisible, Katy shares why, as a writer, that might be a wonderful thin…