
Once upon a shoe
When I lived in Rome, I occasionally strolled through the fancy shopping streets near Piazza di Spagna. Mostly, I window [...]

Household diplomacy
When I was in college, I briefly considered a career in diplomacy. I’d never taken a political science course, and [...]

A quiet fortune
Every August, a box arrives on my front porch, marked “fragile,” although there’s nothing breakable inside. Just perishable. A dozen [...]

Language of life
Like many people, I started riding a Peloton exercise bicycle during the pandemic. I’m not a huge fan of indoor [...]

The art of teaching
I never thought that I would end up teaching, certainly not based on my halting early efforts. The summer after [...]

For love of waxing
Columnist Kristine Crane again turns back the clock to her Italian days, but this time the emphasis is on vanity and cultural expectations.

Home sweet homes
A few mornings ago, just before I awoke from a dream, I told myself this: No one wants to move [...]

Study abroad… at home in Iowa
I’m spending the fall in Iowa as part of my doctoral degree program. It’s like study abroad — but in [...]

From fearful to fearless
I became a health reporter in Rome years ago. Not officially. That would come a couple of years after I [...]

Violin lessons
Every time I return to my father’s house in Iowa, I try to whittle down my childhood belongings. I’m down [...]

A royal education
Every once in a while, my graduate journalism school posts an article about the Italian aristocrat Beatrice Borromeo Casiraghi, a [...]