Despite what you may have heard, not all pizza is created equal and it actually IS entirely possible to have a downright terrible meal in Italy. Part of this has to do with “fast” food, and I’m not talking about McDonalds. You may know the places I’m talking about; think of restaurants or bars with…
Learning Italian? What You Need to Know About Dialect
Note from Cher: While we do A LOT of Italian-related stuff at The Iceberg Project, we don’t plan trips for you. That’s why I love partnering with a few key travel agents and planners so you can have the trip you keep daydreaming about – whether that’s visiting the town your family is from or…
Tips for Navigating the Train System in Italy
Taking the train in Italy is a reliable, easy, and fast way to get around and explore new places. However, it can also present challenges to those who are unfamiliar with how it works or come from a non-train taking culture. Fear not! It’s actually really easy, once you break it down. Ready for un…
75 Vocabulary Words for Talking About Sports in Italian
When you think about sports in Italy, I’ll bet the first one that comes to mind is the infamous calcio, or soccer. And if you have spent any length of time obsessing about Italian culture or in Italy–or both–team names like Juventus and Gli Azzurri will come to mind. But beyond calcio, there are lots…
How to Supercharge Your Vocabulary Flashcards for the Digital Age
I have a confession to make: I hate language learning flashcards. Well, I used to, anyway. Before you reach for your pitchforks, hear me out: The traditional vocabulary flashcard suffers from two key problems. Flashcards are, in my opinion: — Cumbersome – Flashcards take up space, and lots of it. If you’re using index cards,…
What It’s Like to Move Houses in Italy
Before Friday, 16 March, I will have moved 23 times since I was 17 years old. After March 16, I will have moved 24 times. At this point, I consider myself a bit of an expert in this matter. I pack quickly, unpack quickly, throw away or donate anything even remotely useless to me, and…
Worksheet: Phrases to Talk About Your Italian Lessons
Click play on the player at the bottom to listen to this podcast or listen to it on Stitcher or Apple Podcasts. We snaked our way through the streets of Florence as we made our way to il mercato di Sant’Ambrogio. I turned toward Mary, “Com’è andata la tua lezione? – How’d your lesson go?”…
10 Italian Love Songs
I LOVE LOVE. I’m really good at falling in and out of it, talking about it, and looking for more of it. 🙂 That’s why we’ve written articles about love every Valentine’s Day since The Iceberg Project has started. Turns out, you love love as much as we do — especially when it helps you…
Dialogue: Differences Between American & Italian Culture, Pt. I
At The Iceberg Project, we believe the only way you can truly learn a language is by using it in real life. (We also believe that Italian is the best foreign language to learn.) To help you get that real-life experience, we put together this dialogue for you. It’s about two friends — one Italian…
Love Florence? Make Sure to Do This First.
Every time I tell someone I live in Florence, I’m met with the same reaction. “Oh my gosh, you live there!? I LOVE FLORENCE!” And I’m never surprised to hear it, in fact, I totally get it. I too am absolutely smitten with my city and take a lot of pride in being a Fiorentina….
Everything You Want to Know About Chianti
Since I live in Florence, when it comes to wine knowledge, my specialty is Tuscan. In particular, I’ve spent a lot of time learning about and indulging in that famous blend called “Chianti.” It’s a name known all over the world, but it’s not very well understood. Chianti (pronounced “key-ahn-tee” whatever you do, don’t say…
Our Favorite Places to Visit in Florence, Italy
Confession time: When I first visited Florence, I wasn’t impressed. To be fair, I was also 21 and had very little appreciation for history or art. Don’t get me wrong, seeing the Duomo made my eyes big + shiny, and my jaw definitely dropped. Back then, though, I just didn’t think it was “authentic” enough….