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Salve!

My name is Tom, and I just joined the ½ûÂþÌìÌà group and thought I'd pop by and make introductions.

I blog about my expat life in Vicenza, the City of Palladio, in Italy's northeastern region of the Veneto as The Palladian Traveler ().

This is an eclectic site devoted to the pursuit of happiness — la dolce vita — from within the borders of Italy and, occasionally, beyond.

After countless years as a “company” print and broadcast journalist, with well-worn passports that have gotten me in and out of 42 countries and counting, I’m now finally on my own — totally unrestricted — to follow the prevailing wind of the moment to wherever it may take me.

With my trusty camera gear, notebook and a No. 2 lead pencil, I strive to do my very best — dangling participles and double negatives aside —  as I keep my eyes, ears and mind wide open along the ancient and endless cobblestone streets, roads and paths that I travel.

I fell in love with Italy years ago; actually, I married into the Bel Paese.

I’m inspired by the beauty I find in all things that are very, very old; and, reliving history, or at least meandering around time-tested pavement laid down centuries ago and just looking up and marveling at what occupies the space still today, really gets my "Vespa” running. And, I try and uncork that excitement and energy in each and every article and photo that I jettison into the blogosphere.

TPT provides a tad of historical perspective, a dash of humor and tidbits of info that you wouldnÂ’t normally know existed unless you carefully looked between each and every bit of cobble along the way.

The subject matter runs the gamut and is written from the fresh perspective of an expat trying to absorb and understand all the nuances of his adopted culture: food, wine, travel, customs, traditions, expressions, impressions, style, trends, etc.

I hope you'll join me as I "meander along the cobblestone to somewhere." And, I promise to return the favor and sample your ink, too.

Oh, the "I am not a cat eater" subject line is in reference to the other major Veneto region cities collective opinion of the local residents of Vicenza -- Vicentini magnagati -- as having been cat eaters back in the day.  I'll not add to that historical observation other than to say i Vicentini do like rabbit.

Ciao for now.

Tom