Ciao a tutti! February was a whirlwind of a month, half of it spent in the home country of la bella lingua. In Rome I added new words to my vocabulary, including nevicata (snowfall). I will be writing about other language lessons and adventures in my blog in upcoming months. The highlight of March will be a presentation on "The Tastes and Sounds of Romance, Italian Style" in collaboration with A.G. Ferrari Foods at San Francisco's Italo-Americano Museo on Sunday, March 14. If you are in the Bay Area, please join us for a fun afternoon. We are gearing up for the release of the paperback edition of La Bella Lingua on April 6. It will include an all-new glossary and a Reader's Guide for book clubs. I will be presenting the book in several locations on the East Coast in April, and I look forward to the opportunity to meet some of you there. My preliminary schedule is posted here. After a cold, wet, snowy winter, many of you are undoubtedly looking forward to the wonderful, welcome season Italians call "la primavera." Anch'io. (Me too!) Con affetto, Dianne Hales dianne@diannehales.com