Instantly Italy

Italian speaking practice and grammar tutoring

Italian Language For English Speakers: English-Italian False Friends (Nouns)

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

I am sure you have come across many posts about English-Italian false friends while googling language resources online.

This is the type of post you usually find on language learning blogs, right? Well, when I came up with the idea of writing a blog post about English-Italian false friends, I first thought that this was a very ordinary idea. But I keep on seeing my students making little mistakes due to these tricky words and I’ve decided to give it a go.

[Read more…]

Expats in Italy: A Chat with Isabella Paz of YouTube Channel “The Passeggiata” About Life and Travels in Italy

It’s the first time I interview a YouTuber and I am super excited!

Jokes aside, when I met Isabella – the expat I am interviewing today – on Instagram, I found the fact that she had a YouTube channel very interesting because I believe that making videos is a great way to tell about life in a certain country. Needless to say, I have immediately asked her if she was interested in being interviewed and I am super happy she said yes!

[Read more…]

Ricomincia la scuola! A List of Useful Italian Words and Phrases That Are Related to School (Downloadable File Included)

I have prepared a pdf file with all the Italian words and phrases you’ll find in this post. You can find it in Your Italian Toolbox, a section of Instantly Italy where you’ll find Italian learning materials. You can get access to it by subscribing here.

It’s September and school is about to start again, here in Italy. 

The air is getting chillier and everybody is getting ready for a new school season, you can really feel it in the air even if you have no kids. It’s that time of the year when you wish your only thought was to go to the nearest stationery store and buy all you need for the new year.

[Read more…]

[Hidden Italy] The Gardens of Villa della Pergola in Alassio

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

Even if I am not an expert gardener, I have a sincere passion for plants and gardens.

In particular, I really like visiting gardens and I am very lucky to live in Italy because there are a lot of very beautiful Italian gardens to visit and enjoy.

[Read more…]

[Italian Phrases] Ne parliamo a settembre!

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

There are some popular Italian phrases that have more meaning than they may seem.

If you are not a native Italian speaker or if you haven’t been living in Italy for a while, you may hear and understand them, but you may lose some of their meaning.

[Read more…]

[Hidden Italy] Visit Triora, The Village of Witches, Awesome Bread and Fascinating Old Houses

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

As I said quite a few times before, some of the most unique villages in Liguria are not by the sea.

Well, don’t misunderstand me, there are some true gems by the sea, like Varigotti, Camogli, Portovenere, Cinque Terre and many more, but the sheer uniqueness of some places inland is incomparable, in my opinion.

[Read more…]

From Scratch by Tembi Locke: A Memoir About Italy and About Love, Loss and New Beginnings

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

This is not another memoir about visiting Italy and falling in love with an Italian man. Well, somehow it is but the book is way more complex than that. 

I have discovered this book via the lovely Jasmine on Instagram. If you have been following this blog for a while, you may remember her interview for my Expats in Italy section. She has a very interesting Instagram account, which shows her love for Italy and gives you a nice way to learn more about expat life in Italy (in her stories, especially).

[Read more…]

Italian Eating Habits: Do Italians Eat In A Healthy Way?

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

How can you be so thin when you eat so many carbohydrates? 

This is one of the questions I get asked the most by non-Italians when we chat about Italian eating habits. I actually have no quick answer and I always just reply with a smile and “I don’t know”. But after having been asked such a question so many times, I started thinking about it.

[Read more…]

Expats in Italy: A Chat With Susan Zimmerman about Moving from Texas to Italy and Getting Used to Life in a Small Italian Town

Wow, can you imagine a life in a small Italian town without knowing a word of Italian?

Well, this is basically what Susan Zimmerman, the lady I am interviewing today, had to face when she arrived in Italy, after marrying her Italian husband. It must have been challenging to say the least and Susan is great at describing how she felt and how she managed to overcome the frustration of being in a completely foreign environment without knowing the language. 

[Read more…]

[Hidden Italy] A Scenic Hike To Discover One of The Most Beautiful Villages in Liguria

Subscribe to the Vespa rides and get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of language learning materials that you can use to practice Italian.

I always say that the best way of seeing Liguria is to go up. 

As you may already know, Liguria is a tiny stretch of land between the sea and the hills. This is what makes the region so special: space is limited and villages are often perched on the hills overlooking the sea, with houses clinging to steep slopes.

[Read more…]