The Bittersweet Life

  Have you ever gotten sick while traveling? Really sick? Today's special guest, Katy's sister Dana, has and on this possibly TMI episode, she joins Katy and Tiffany to explore the illnesses that you might encounter abroad. And how sometimes, they linger with you longer than you had bargained for. *** Katy's sister Dana (who appears on this episode) has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 agressi...

In this interview from our archives, the executive producer of the Oprah Winfrey Show,  Sheri Salata and her cohost Nancy Hala on the popular podcast, The Sheri and Nancy Show join us on this very special episode! Sheri is the author of the new book, The Beautiful No, And Other Tales of Trail, Transcendence, and Transformation . They discuss the inevitable question that arrives somewhere in your 5...

Is Katy becoming a curmudgeon? Listen to this recent event, and weigh in! This is just a sneak peek of a much longer bonus episode that drops today, available exclusively to our generous Patreon supporters.  Want to hear the whole epside and many many more like it? Become part of the Bittersweet Life community by supporting just on   Patreon ! For as little as $5 per month—less than the price of a...

We all notice some things over other things. What determines what we notice?  Is it our background? Our innate personality? Our experiences? Our preferences? Our past mistakes? All of these things? Today we discuss this idea, and chat about the things we notice and why we think we notice them. What do you think? We always welcome your thoughts and feedback on the topics we discuss. Email us here a...

Is the Mona Lisa in the Louvre fake? Was impressionist painter Claude Monet a radical? And was Caravaggio—our show's muse—murdered? Art history holds as many mysteries and baffling stories as it does masterpieces, and Jennifer Dasal, museum curator and host of the wildly popular ArtCurious podcast knows all the best ones. In this week's episode from our archives, we sit down with Jennifer to chat...

Don't stumble around one of the most important ancient sites in the world without learning about its incredible history, structure, art, design, and curiosities. Tiffany is right now putting the finishing touches on an audio tour of the Pantheon, written and narrated by her, and distributed by VoiceMap, an app where real people lead you seamlessly on fascinating audio tours using GPS so you don't...

Lately it seems like lots of Americans are moving abroad. But, believe it or not, some American expats are moving back to the States. Today we're joined by one such ex-expat, or repatriate. Seattle-native Brie Ripley has been on the show before. We first interviewed her back in 2024 after she moved to Rome without ever having been there before. She joined us again about sixe months later, after sh...

On this episode from our archives, we give all our listeners a peek into some of the extra bonus content that our Patreon donors are receiving. Every month we offer one or more bonus episodes exclusively for our Patreon supporters , and today we are sharing one of those with our entire audience. Way back in 2015, we taped a final episode just before Tiffany took a break to have her baby and begin...

Most break-ups are painful, but every now and then, they can be fun. Or even funny! Have you had a funny break-up? Tune in to hear ours. This is just a sneak peek of a much longer bonus episode, available exclusively to our generous Patreon supporters.  Want to hear more? Become part of the Bittersweet Life community by supporting just on   Patreon ! For as little as $5 per month—less than the pri...

February 17th is a big day in Tiffany's life this year... from Martedi Grasso with Aurelio (aka Pulcinella) to her Italian sister-in-law's Master's graduation to her mom's birthday. Hear Katy and Tiffany chat about what Italian graduation looks like (and what it takes to get your degree) as well as the fun and the surprising (yet very traditional) Carvenale costume Aurelio chose this year. -------...

What do you do when your partner of almost a decade finally proposes, and after a just few short months of marriage, tells you he thinks you made a mistake getting married? Well, if you're the guest of this episode from our archives, you pack your bags and start traveling the world. You might never even come back. On this episode, we sit down with Asia Dawn Simonelli, who's unexpected heartbreak m...

On this mini-episode, we talk about one of the most over-looked and underappreciated sites in the entire city. It has it all: glorious medieval mosaics (some of the oldest you'll find in the city), exquisite works of proto-baroque statuary, hidden frescoes that almost no one knows about, and an ancient underground level that ties the history together. What to know what it is? Listen to this week's...

On the occassion of Valentine's Day, The Bittersweet Life looks at the many different kinds of love, from family love to romantic love to the love you feel for your pets. Katy sits down with her sisters Dana and Sara to talk about the love that binds them as siblings, and s he shares the kind of the love that she feels doesn't get enough credit. She also gets her sisters to open up about their odd...

"All things cute and cuddly" was the surprising topic requested by listener Sara, who supports us at the $50 level on Patreon . Choosing the topic of an episode is just one of many bonuses we offer our Patreon supporters, and as this episode proves, we take that pledge seriously and hold no veto power. The sky is the limit! In delving into this unexpected topic, we attempt to answer many questions...

Romans love the story of the young Renaissance noblewoman Beatrice Cenci. It's an absolutely gruesome and horrific story (for all you true crime fans) and now, it's also a huge disappointment in Tiffany's life. Find out why on this week's exclusive bonus episode. This is just a sneak peek of a much longer bonus episode, available exclusively to our generous Patreon supporters.  Want to hear more?...

What happens when you move abroad with the intention of contributing to the lives of the local people... and those local people don't seem to like you. Author Beth Ann Fennelly joins us to talk about her experiences teaching English in a dark, polluted Czech town just after the fall of the communism, where the locals viewed her with distrust or downright suspicion and she struggled to make even on...

In this interview from our archives, we sit down with Riley Morton, a freelance documentary producer and cinematographer who kicked off his career two decades ago in the adventure sports space, producing documentaries and television about climbing, skiing, trail running, and adventure travel. Over the past decade, he has branched out, producing his own documentaries and collaborating on major proj...

It's Carnival time here in Rome, and before you say—why don't you go celebrate in Venice?—you should know that Carnevale originated in Rome. In this week's mini-episode, Tiffany recounts the ancient origins of this raucous pre-Lenten festival, what it was like to take part in Carnival in Renaissance times, and how it's celebrated today. (Warning: this episode may make you drool.) Places mentioned...

On today's poignant episode, Katy says goodbye to her Grammy Jean, who lived to be a staggering 107 years old. Not only that, she was active, healthy, happy, and mentally sharp until the very end. Katy shares what she thinks might have been her grandmother's secrets of longevity—and a couple of them might surprise you. *** Katy's sister Dana has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 agressive brain...

To continue our January archival series on ADVENTURE, today we revisit an interview with author Michael Maren. As a war correspondent, he covered fierce conflicts around the globe, from the overthrow of Idi Amin in Uganda in 1979 to the height of the Somali Civil War in the early '90s. Maren has lived and worked in some of the dangerous places and situations on the planet.   Katy sits down with Ma...

The Sewall Sisters (Sara, Dana, and host Katy) sit down to discuss aging: what they're worried about, what has already happened, and how a terminal illness changes the perspective. This is a raw, and often surprising, conversation. Please share your thoughts! This is just a sneak peek of a much longer bonus episode, available exclusively to our generous Patreon supporters.  Want to hear more? Beco...

It's January and that means Katy and her sisters are off on Sisterfest! Katy and her two older sisters Sara and Dana have been taking an annual trip together every year in January—which begs the question, would you even WANT to spend that much time with your adult siblings? Would you get sick of each other? Katy asks her sisters if they are sick of her! They dispute the pros and cons of cruising,...

Photographer and visual storyteller Cyndie Burkhardt was living in New York City feeling unsatisfied with her life. Rather than continue to struggle, she decided to leave. Her goal: to visit 12 countries in 12 months and rediscover herself along the way. Nine months in, the coronavirus stopped her in her tracks. On this episode from our archives, we sit down with Cyndie to explore the journey she...

The temps are dropping in Rome and all Roman children (and several adults as well!) are praying nightly for that Roman rarity: snow! Will it happen this year? It's anyone's guess but it's certainly not a common occurance. Since Tiffany moved to Rome over two decades ago, it has only snowed a measely three times. But when it snows in Rome it is truly magical! On this mini-episode, Tiffany talks abo...

When a writer moves abroad, how do they find a literary community in their new country, especially when that country speaks (and reads) in a different language? They create it themselves of course! This week we sit down with writer, editor, and tour guide Lauren Mouat, who has created a literary life for herself in Florence and Livorno, from co-founding a literary society to starting a literary ma...