The Bittersweet Life

Who remembers what life felt like during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, when cities and entire countries were shutting down right and left? Believe it or not, it all started five years ago …

Exactly five years ago this month—March 2020—the world went through something that no one living had experienced in their lifetimes: a global epidemic that affected the entire world, and forced much …

Our regularly scheduled episode is going to be delayed this week. Katy makes a hard announcement on this much abbreviated episode to explain why The Bittersweet Life is going on a (hopefully very sho…

Do you remember what life was like during the first days and weeks of lockdown following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, almost exactly 5 years ago?

This month, we'll be airing four episodes f…

Everybody who visits Rome knows about the Mouth of Truth—and many of them line up for up to an hour (or more!) to stick their hand in its mouth and snap an iconic photo. 

But what most visitors fail …

Just over 12 years ago, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis in the conclave of 2013. And Tiffany was in St. Peter's Square when it happened. She saw the white smoke pouring out of the…

On this eye-opening interview with special guest Lisa Wilcox, taken from our archives, we explore the science of language learning through linguistics and speech pathology. Sound boring? Turns out, i…

On this bonus episode, available exclusively to our Patreon supporters, random questions like "What is your dumbest scar?" are answered by us with a great amount of laughter.

This small excerpt is …

What happens when you get sick in Italy? How much does medical care cost?

As an expat, how does the Italian medical system differ from that of the United States?

Is Italian healthcare really as disor…

Katy moved to Rome once. Does that mean she'd be brave enough to do it again? Are you brave enough to move to a brand new city? What about a brand-new country?

Katy and Tiffany use a listener email t…

On this Bittersweet Moment, taken from our archives, Tiffany and Aurelio chat about their recent visit to one of Rome’s most secret and best-hidden gems: the Tempietto of Bramante.

Find out what make…

Have you ever lost your mind over a foreign language?

This week's guest, Melissa Muldoon, did just that over 15 years ago, when she dove head first into studying the Italian language. She was so craz…

In this episode from our archives, Tiffany and Katy both say goodbye to their old lives: Tiffany moves out of her Trastevere apartment and braves the Roman outskirts for the first time in over a deca…

On this bonus episode, released exclusively for our Patreon supporters, we're joined by Tiffany's son, 9-year-old Aurelio—our redheaded mascot and "third co-host" who answers our Patreon supporters'…

Author and Italy travel expert Susan Van Allen joins us today to talk about what she loves about Italy and why she believes the bel paese has particular appeal to women.

In addition to being author o…

Have you ever walked into someone’s house in Japan with your shoes on and had a room full of people laugh at you? (Katy has.)

Have you ever traipsed into a room in an Italian home that has been fresh…

On this mini-episode from our archives, Tiffany (and a 4-year-old Aurelio!) will fill you in on one of Rome's most delightful hidden gems: the Owl House!

Swiss cabin meets medieval hamlet meets art n…

Today Katy interviews actor, filmmaker, and author Edward Burns about his debut novel A Kid from Marlboro Road on the stage of Town Hall Seattle. Tune in for a conversation about storytelling, memory…

This week, we hit the streets of Rome with our recording equipment to search for ancient ruined artifacts or “spoglie” hidden in plain sight. Rome has been inhabited without interruption for over thr…

What's going on in the life of The Bittersweet Life podcast's favorite 9-year-old redhead?

On this exclusive bonus episode, Tiffany catches up our Patreon supporters on the life and times of Aurelio,…