The Bittersweet Life

Today we explore a story of one woman whose family legacy—in particular her close relationship with her mother whom she lost suddenly to cancer—brought about a life pivot that she was never expecting.

Kaila Merrill joins us today to tell her moving story, from growing up in tiny island town in northern Vermont to a carefree life on the beaches of Australia where she met her future husband, to her whirlwind wedding on Lake Como—one of the last joyful moments she was able to share with her mom—to realizing, while she greived her loss, that her destiny was to run an agrigurismo in Umbria with her Italian husband.

Join us for this insightful, vulnerable, and touching interview. 

Stay at Kaila and her husband Ludovico's agritursimo, Poggio Belvedere, or let hem help you plan the most unforgettable Umbrian vacation at Vero in Italy.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

What if travel doesn't actually change you?

A few weeks ago, we discussed this controversial idea, a conversation inspired by an essay in The New Yorker. (Make sure you listen to that episode first, because we had a lot to say on the topic!)

It turns out, our listeners did too, as we got a lot of feedback on the subject. Today, we share some of it and dig even deeper into the topic.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

What makes a song a good road trip song? This is something Katy has been musing over for several years now.

What better person to ask than a musician who has crossed the country on tour numerous times?

This week, Katy sits down with musician and podcaster John Roderick to talk about the allure of the American road trip, as well as what you should listen to while you are doing it.

John talks about his experience hitchhiking across the US as a recent high school graduate, and even hopping on a freight train, and how it sparked a love for overland travel. Now that his band touring days are over, he has begun taking road trips again, this time with his 90-year-old mother and his 12-year-old daughter.

He also describes how, as a native Alaskan, the continental US often felt like a foreign country growing up and how that was one of the things that encouraged him to begin exploring the country. He also shares his simple strategy for introducing both order and randomness into a road trip, as well as taking you places you wouldn’t otherwise go.

John Roderick is the co-host of Roderick on the Line and Omnibus with Ken Jennings. He is the lead singer and songwriter for The Long Winters and has also toured with the band Harvey Danger. You can find him on his website, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Tell me about that trip that changed your life... and I'll tell you how you're lying to yourself.

So claims a recent essay in The New Yorker titled The Case Against Travel. In it, author Agnes Callard makes some pretty bold and sweeping assertions, including that travel "turns us into the worst version of ourselves while convincing us that we’re at our best."

Visiting a new place doesn't change the traveler, Callard argues, rather, the traveler changes the place.

While there's certainly a nugget of unpleasant truth in that, the idea that travel simply cannot change you is something both Katy and Tiffany know from experience to be untrue. We discuss and debate the article's points and come away with our own conclusions. 

We'd love to hear your thoughts as will. Send your feedback here and we may share it on a future episode. And don't miss this probing discussion!

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

What makes a life meaningful? Can a meaningful death transform an otherwise meaningless life into a meaningful one?

These are just a few of the many ideas touched on in this week's episode, an interview with poet and author Kaveh Akbar. He joins us this week to discuss his new book, Martyr!, released in January 2024 and already a New York Times bestseller. This story follows a "newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, who embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum."

Listen in on this thought-provoking conversation, which explores so many interesting topics, including the difference between collective trauma and individual grief, how discovering his calling as a poet was, in his younger years, what he stayed alive for, and how a morning of writing can be as powerful as a hit of narcotics.

We also continue our exploration of the limitations of languages that was kicked off on last week's episode (which was inspired by a line Katy read in this very book!).

You can find Kaveh on his website or on Instagram. Martyr! is available on Amazon or where ever you buy books.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

A line from a new book by poet Kaveh Akbar sparks the idea for this episode: in a nutshell, does language have the capacity to truly express what we are trying to convey, or is there always something that can't be put into mere words?

Is it true, as Akbar claims, that a photograph can describe what it was, but words can only describe what it was like?

Also, when you speak two languages fluently, or live in two languages, do you naturally have a larger lexicon from which to draw when trying to express yourself? Or does it limit you? What about clichés? Why do we use them, and how do they translate?

Listen to the end to hear some fun foreign words that mean very very specific things that have no equivalent in English. We also talk about our own personal writing tics, descriptive habits we can't stop using in our own writing.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

How do we discover our passions? Is it a given that we will discover them at all?

And where do they come from? Are they something we are born with and just need to be discovered within ourselves? Or are they triggered by something we are exposed to externally? Or is it a bit of both?

Are there people with incredible innate talent for music or painting, walking around who will never know it because they never sit down at a piano or pick up a brush? Or will a remarkable talent always crop up sooner or later, bidden or unbidden?

We don't have the answers to these questions, but it certainly makes for an interesting discussion. Listen in! And tell us what you think by sending us an email  (or better yet, email us your thoughts recorded in a voice memo.)

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Is it Covid or are we just getting older?

This week we discuss how the social world seems to have changed drastically in recent years—but is it due to this post-Covid era we're living in, or is it simply because we're getting older?

We wonder:

Is it acceptable now to simply not respond (indefinitely) to text messages? Even if they are from a close friend?

Is it normal to have a sudden social anxiety that you've never experienced before?

Is it easier to create a social circle in mid-life if you have children?

Have the rules of the social world changed because of the technological world we live in?

Listen in, and don't be shy if you have opinions on this matter—email us with your thoughts, we may just share it on a future episode!

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COME TO ROME WITH US: There are still spots left for our 2024 Rome listener trip! Join on for an intimate week in a gorgeous historic Trastevere hotel 

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

A little girl feeds crows and gets gifts in return. It’s a wonderful true story that’s gone viral again and again. But where did it come from? As it happens, it comes from this very podcast, when Katy discovered the "Nature Girl" and friend-of-crows herself, Gabi Mann. Katy snapped a photo of her collection of crow gifts—a photo that has now been seen by millions of people around the world.

Hear the exclusive true story of how such a wondrous tale first came to be, before it captivated the entire world. Also, hear tips on how to befriend a crow of your own. 

The full interview with the Nature Girl Gabi Mann can be heard here: Episode 51: CROWS (with Gabi Mann).

Hear a shorter and more concise version of the interview here: Episode 67: CROW GIFTS (with Gabi Mann).

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

It's our annual New Year's Resoultion Recap! Did we do what we promised to do last year? This is always a cringe-worthy moment for us both as we go back and listen to our own hopeful voices promising what we will do... and often they are resolutions we don't even remember making—much less keeping!

Listen in as we report how we did, and of course (because we can't resist), hear us make new resolutions for 2024.

Curious about our previous editions?

You can listen back to them all:

What Did We Promise to Do Last Year?  (2022—>2023)

Books, Horses, Lard and other New Year's Resolutions (2021—>2022)

A New Year Begins: 2021 (2020—>2021)

Venti Venti (2019—>2020)

Resolve (2018—>2019)

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Happy New Year from your friends at the Bittersweet Life podcast! We wish you and your loved ones a 2024 full of adventure, personal growth, and excitment!

As a final gift from us, we are extending our $500 discount for our October 2024 Rome listener trip to Epiphany (6 January 2024). So if you're considering joining us on an unforgettable week in Rome next fall, take advantage of this offer before it's too late! It's the perfect gift to give yourself (and your favorite travel partner!).

We are looking forward to bringing you another wonderful year of thought-provoking, insightful, and entertaining podcast episodes! We are so glad you are part of this journey. If you are considering what independent art to support in the new year,  please consider joining us on Patreon. For as little as 5$ a month, you will get exclusive access, two bonus episodes a month, live virtual Zoom meet-ups, and our sincerest gratitude. We literally could not produce this virtually ad-free podcast (as we have for the past 10+ years) without the generous support of our listeners, and we thank you in advance! (You can also make a one-time or recurring dontation via PayPal.)

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

As a special holiday treat, today we are airing a new original radio play by friend of the show, Matthew P. Woerner.

In the tradition of the golden age of radio, Operator is inspired by H. G. Well's historic War of the Worlds, from the point of view of a newly minted telephone operator as she fields calls from panicked citizens, calling in for information about the "alien invasion."

Once the hustle and bustle of the holiday is past, or during a break in the action, find a quiet, cozy place, grab your favorite hot drink, and curl up with this eerie original radio play by Matthew P. Woerner.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

We've all had it happen: you gushingly recommend your favorite cafe or restaurant or bar to a friend, only to have them go and report back something tepid like, "It was ok."

How is it possible that my friend thinks my all-time favorite place is... just ok??

Which caused us to wonder: are our favorite places really that great in and of themselves, or is it our particular experience there (which can depend on so many outside factors) that made it so great for us? 

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Have you ever wondered who you would be if you had made different life choices?

Even making just one big decision differently, say, not moving abroad instead of moving abroad. Or not leaving that stable job.

Where would you be in the world? What would you be doing? And most intriguingly, how would your personality and character be different? 

Tiffany's most recent read, a ghost story by Henry James from this gorgeous edition, inspired this week's talk. Like Henry James' character Spencer Brydon, we go in search of the ghosts of our alternative selves.

***Have an idea you'd like us to tackle? Email us here and we may just discuss it on the show.***

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

On our amazing listener trip to Rome this past October, we interviewed two of our guests, expats Vince and Lindy.

These two native midwesterners talk about their backgrounds—traveling or not traveling as a child (depending on which member of the couple is talking), and how that has contributed to their life choices—and the challenges of being a twin (and being married to a twin).

They recount how they intentionally embarked on their life abroad, which has brought them to as far-flung places as Singapore and Switzerland. They talk about the things they love about those two countries, and what makes them unique, from the soundscape to the bureaucracy. They also describe what it's like to move to a country that you have never stepped foot in.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

On this episode, we bring you along with us on the final tour of our amazing Rome Adventure last month! During breaks between the sites of this super-secret Rome walk, Katy pulls out her microphone and interviews a few of our guests. She asks them about their impressions of Rome, the city's soundscape, the art that inspires them, the subjects that they now plan to explore further, as well as their take-aways from the trip we planned for them. One of our guests has even decided to change way she travels!

Katy also captures a few snippets of Tiffany's tour of some extremely off-the-beaten-track spots, including the moment when we get completely unexpected access to a church that has been closed for decades—a church that has a crypt full of human bones. Katy has been dying to see it for years (no pun intended) and finally gets to.

Don't forget, we are offering another listener trip to Rome in October of 2024! Email us at bittersweetlifepodcast@gmail.com for all the information and find out how you can spend a week in Rome with Katy and Tiffany as your guides.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

On the final morning of our amazing first-ever Bittersweet Life listener trip to Rome, we took a bit of time to tape an episode to capture what we were feeling and how the trip was going.

What's it like to see Rome for the first time? And as a tour guide in Rome who has seen the sites hundreds if not thousands of times, is it possible to remember what it was like to see it all for the first time? Do you wish you could go back and see it for the first time again? 

We muse on these ideas and more on this episode. Also: Tiffany complains about one of the most annoying things that can happen during a tour. Listen to the end to find out what it is.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

Join us for a live episode with our listeners, the participants of the first-ever Bittersweet Life Roman Adventure! On Day Three of this amazing and magical trip, we stopped for an aperitivo in a sunny garden to tape this special show. Our topic: discovery. What are some of the greatest discoveries you've ever made, big or small? And what have you discovered about yourself? Our listeners weigh in live on the conversation with their own experiences.

Don't miss it!

And if you want to join us on our next Roman adventure in the fall of 2024, drop us an email!

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

In October we hosted the very first ever Bittersweet Life Rome Adventure with ten of our listeners! It was a blast, and we can't wait to share more about it over the coming episodes. But first!

We taped this episode the evening before the trip kicked off, just a few hours before we met our guests on the rooftop terrace of Hotel Donna Camilla Savelli in Trastevere. We were nervous, excited, and—if we're being honest—pretty proud of ourselves for stepping out of our comfort zones and making this unforgettable experience a reality.

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ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!

The opening lines of David M. Eagleman's Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives inspires this week's episode, just in time for Halloween.

Eagleman's premise is that you aren't fully dead until your name is spoken for the last time. And although the thought of your name never being spoken again, never again being remembered by the living, is horrific, is it perhaps even more terrifying to imagine that your soul will not be able to rest until you cease to be spoken of? 

What about famous dead people whose names will be evoked for centuries to come? Do they ever get tired of people ceaselessly talking about them? What about people who are mistakenly remembered for things they didn't do (good or evil)?

Join us for this morbid discussion. And have a happy Halloween!

-------------------------------------

ADVERTISE WITH US: Reach expats, future expats, and travelers all over the world. Send us an email to get the conversation started.

BECOME A PATRON: Pledge your monthly support of The Bittersweet Life and receive awesome prizes in return for your generosity! Visit our Patreon site to find out more.

TIP YOUR PODCASTER: Say thanks with a one-time donation to the podcast hosts you know and love. Click here to send financial support via PayPal. (You can also find a Donate button on the desktop version of our website.) The show needs your support to continue.

START PODCASTING: If you are planning to start your own podcast, consider Libsyn for your hosting service! Use this affliliate link to get two months free, or use our promo code SWEET when you sign up.

SUBSCRIBE: Subscribe to the podcast to make sure you never miss an episode. Click here to find us on a variety of podcast apps.

WRITE A REVIEW: Leave us a rating and a written review on iTunes so more listeners can find us.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: If you have a question or a topic you want us to address, send us an email here. You can also connect to us through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Tag #thebittersweetlife with your expat story for a chance to be featured!

NEW TO THE SHOW? Don't be afraid to start with Episode 1: OUTSET

BOOK: Want to read Tiffany's book, Midnight in the Piazza? Learn more here or order on Amazon.

TOUR ROME: If you're traveling to Rome, don't miss the chance to tour the city with Tiffany as your guide!