The Bittersweet Life
WARNING: This show might change your life. What began as a podcast about what it means to live abroad has become a dynamic examination of what it means to live. Public Radio’s Katy Sewall and Italy expert, Tiffany Parks, guide you on a vulnerable, entertaining journey to discover a more wondrous and adventurous life. Their famous guests, topic-based conversations, and visits to Rome will tweak how you see the world, keep you company, and expand your life view.
Episodes
How do you flirt in a foreign language? What if you barely spea...
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Have you ever noticed that Italian homes don't have closets?
Bedroom closets, linen closets, broom closets, coat closets—they simply don't exist (unless you as a homeowner or renter decide to build one). Because of this lack of convenient storage space, Italians, twice a year, every year, have to swap out all their winter clothes (and pack them away) for their spring clothes, or vice versa.
This got us thinking: what other things t...
Do expat couples divorce more than couples who live in their home countries? They certainly face different challenges.
On this episode from our archives, writer and former expat Debra Bruno joins us to talk about her article Divorce Global Style: For Expat Marriages, Breaking Up is Harder to Do which appeared on the Wall Street Journal's Expat Blog.
Find Debra Bruno on Instagram or at her website.
***The Bittersweet Life podcast ha...
Tiffany does not get Italian beach culture.
In this candid (and a bit heated) mini-episode, she wonders: what's the appeal of overcrowded beaches, endless rows of umbrellas and chaise longues as far as they eye can see, baking, inescapable heat, and dirty warm water that most people don't even swim in?
Why are Italians so obsessed with spending every free moment of summer here?
Tiffany doesn't have an answer. But maybe you do: writ...
Tiffany finally made it to Rome's epic 2025 Caravaggio exhibit and it was well worth the wait! (The tickets were also nearly as hard to come by as seats at Taylor Swift concert!)
Tiffany and Katy talk about the thoughts that came up during the exhibit, incluing possibly misplaced tears, an astonishing encounter with true Caravaggio expert, and what makes an exhibit a great one—beyond just the works of art on display.
Tiffany also r...
Expat Amy has lived abroad since college. First in Italy, then in Nicaragua, then back to Italy.
In this interview from our archives, we sat down with her (over a decade ago!) to chat about her indecisiveness on whether to return to the US or not. All year she had been planning to return to move back and yet she never leaves.
That got us wondering, do long-term expats lose their sense of truly belonging anywhere?
After Monday's episode about traveling with teens, Tiffany and Katy continue the conversation on this bonus episode by turning the spotlight on themselves.
What were we like as annoying teen travelers? Did we drive our parents crazy with our boredom and apathy like the "kids today"? (Spoiler: yes.) And what did our parents do about it?
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Have you ever traveled with a teenager? Or maybe you have travel memories of your teenage self?
Were you as insufferable a traveler as teens these days appear to be?
Today we chat about what exactly turns off (is it an "interest switch"?) in the human brain around age 13 or 14 that makes incredible art, fascinating history, and amazing visual locations so very very dull.
So how do you spark interest for a reluctant teen traveler, o...
Is dating harder when you're an expat? Is it easier? And does your gender make a difference?
If an expat dates a local, does that improve their social standing? Do all cultures flirt in the same way? What's it like to flirt in a foreign language or date someone's who's language you don't speak?
Today we dig into our archives to re-air one of our very first ever episodes (Episode 5 to be exact!) in which we discuss the thrills and p...
Americans show their patriotism on the 4th of July—Italians do it on the 2nd of June.
But in very different ways! On this mini-episode, Tiffany talks about the history of the Italian Repulic (it's several centuries younger than the American republic, believe it or not!!), how it came about, and how Italians celebrate this important national holiday.
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Tiffany and her family recently spend ten days in and around Paris, a city Tiffany has visited many times.
Somehow, though—and to be fair, it was a quickly thrown together trip—Tiffany seemed to get it all wrong, mistaking museum opening hours, booking wrong nights in hotels, and committing other potentially disastrous mishaps. You'd think a professional travel planner would know better! But somehow planning your OWN trip is a thou...
As you know if you're a regular listener, our show goes a lot deeper than travel tips an "best of"s. Our weekly conversations explore many aspects of life (both abroad and at home), and we encourage our listeners to live more daring and authentic lives.
But we've had so many requests for an episode about our favorite restaurants, wine bars, and gelato shops, that we finally gave in!
Whether you're preparing for a trip to Rome, or j...
On this snippet from a recent bonus episode—available only to our supporters on Patreon—Tiffany reveals why she decided to cancel her trip back to the States this year.
It's Memorial Day in the States, Aurelio's First Communion in Rome, and the occasion for a catch-up on the latest happenings in our lives on this casual, conversational episode. Happy Memorial Day to all who celebrate!
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Is there anywhere else on earth that offers as much sheer beauty as Italy? (We'd wager there isn't.) But in addition to Italy's undeniable beauty, it offers a sense of magic that, once you've experienced it, never quite leaves you.
With artistic masterpieces hidden in obscure churches, exquisite villages perched on remote mountaintops, and archetectural wonders tucked away in the middle of a forest, you never know when you'll turn ...
Did Tiffany manage to witness the white smoke at conclave 2025 and see the first appearance of Pepe Leo XIV—as she did in 2013 for the election of Pope Francis? (Listen to this episode to hear that story!)
Unless you have unlimited time to spend hanging around St. Peter's Square for days on end, it's really luck of the draw if you are able to witness this momentou...
Solo travel... it can be inspiring, healing, life-changing...
...except when it isn't. Except when all it makes you is lonely and sad.
Today we sit down with writer Jennie Spohr to discuss what happens when a solo trip—which you were sure would be just the thing to reignite your curiosity and joy—actually turns out to be a bad idea... or is it?
Find Jennie on Instagram or at her website.
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Little known fact: Rome is the city in Europe with the most green space per capita!
It's true, Rome is not all crumbling ruins and crowded city streets. The city is bursting with parks and gardens, true urban oases that often have centuries-old histories.
Katy and Tiffany visit one such garden on this episode from our archives, the Roseto Comunale, Rome's municipal rose garden, on a hot May day when the roses are in spectacular blo...
When Tiffany first moved to Rome, she made a grave mistake. She paid several months' rent in advance to a seemingly kind man who rented out rooms in his Trastevere apartment to brand new expats.
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