So... 2015.
Its been an amazing year. 2 trips to Italy so far and 2 to go....
I spent a long weekend in April in Rome as I had the wonderful experience of seeing my Roman friends getting married. I was so absolutely over the moon for them. They are so in love so it is amazing to see them marry. It was a wondeful few days that allowed me to disover even more new places that I somehow feel astonished that I didnt see when I was there last year.... and yet I feel glad that there is still so much for me to see and discover.
After Rome, I spent a glorious week in Naples with the whole family that involved a trip to Herculaneum and to the island of Capri. Capri was without a doubt one of the most beautful islands I have ever been to. There were so many moments in Naples that were fabulous that I cant count them... From the moment we went to a trattoria and were asked whether we wanted pasta with or without meat for lunch and we were given what we got whether we liked it or not... right through to the moment we were on the hydrofoil skimming the waters past Mount Vesuvius towards Capri for the best lunch and views I have had in years.... only matching closely to the swordfish served over the Napoli harbour as the hazy sun settled in the distance over the volcano that is so respected by the Neapolitans.
This year has already been so crowded by Italy and yet I feel so distant from it somehow. I had such a huge comedown after my travels, I found it very difficult to pick myself back up. Coming back to a November England.... dark, dreary, cold. It was such a stark contrast to the luminous life I had had for the previous 3 months. All I had had was sunshine, history and culture alongside food and drink.... also topped by wonderous gardens, sights, churches, and moments that cannot be matched. I had no idea how to move on from my travels. I knew that I wanted to get back to Italy, and yet the thought of taking a job and sitting behind a desk was something that I almost couldn't comprehend. I knew that I had to pull myself out of this and decide what I wanted to do. I was lucky that Christmas was a welcome distraction and somehow it was allowed to be cold and dereary as it was that time of year. It seemed ok not to go out walking for 6 hours a day and ok to sit inside watching bad films and repeats of programmes rather than seeking out monuments and places of interest.
Christmas came and went. It was a wonderful Christmas. A warm home, family, love, food, thanks for life. Everything we could imagine....
And then January came. Cold. Grey. Imposing. It was time to make decisions. I had to decide whether I wanted to do some more serious travelling around Italy, whether I wanted to go somewhere else, whether I wanted to travel further afield or whether I wanted to go back. Quite frankly I had no idea and I felt rather lost. I knew I wanted to go back, but I had no idea how to. And then it happened. A phonecall.
Whilst I was saving for my trip, I sold a lot of old clothes etc on eBay to supplement some spending money. This in turn meant my wonderful mum trapsing up to the local post office a couple of times a week to post my parcels for me. It was then she got friendly with the local post mistress Jo. I hadn't thought much about it, but just before Christmas, I had posted a parcel to my Roman friends for Christmas as a thank you and mum and I made our way to the post office. We got there and we all got chatting and it turns out both my mum and Jo like a chat and she knew about my travels. Mum happened to drop into the conversation that I was looking for work. Jo took my number and I though no more about it. This was mid December. The 5th January, a Monday, I made the resolution that I was to start looking for work. My parents had gone to see family and I had a lie in. I say that, I slept until noon like a lazy so and so. I woke to 5 missed calls from a number I didnt know. I had an inkling... I googled the number and it revealed an advert Jo had placed for staff so I knew it was her. I called. I started at 9am the next day. My mum nearly screamed when I called her to tell her that I had found a job, and not only found a job, I had been asleep when I found it hahaha!!!
So I have currently been working at the local PO for 6 months. I dont want to say it, but it has changed me a lot. It has brought me back out of the dark place that I dropped into when I got home. The people are fabulous. There is such a varied dynamic... from the people I am working with right through to the people that come in. I absolutely adore it. It has also allowed me the flexibilty. It originally started with part time hours over a few days but has grown to full time with different shifts. But that has given me freedom.
When I received the email from Tiziana saying that her and Federico were to be married I was ecstatic... and so incrediably humbled that they would want me to be part of their wedding. When I told Jo, she just told me to mark it on the calendar and we would work shifts around it. So generous...
And so in April... I went to Rome. Tiziana and Federico were officially married on the Wednesday and I flew out on the Thursday as their wedding party that I was to attend was on the Saturday. I only expected to see them on the Saturday night but no.... I was greeted at Rome airport, the day after their official wedding..... can you even begin to imagine a kinder couple!!! They drove me to my apartment, the same wonderful apartment I had stayed in when I returned to Rome for the second half of my travels which I have never posted... Thats a challenge.... but I feel I need to... anyhooooooo. We then went to a local pub to have food and beer. Mutton kebabs, amazing pizza, beer and an amazing catch up as I had missed them so so much. Its amazing how you think you dont remember the language until you are back in that place... the words came, the laughter came, I could understand conversations with waiters and I knew what I wanted to say in Italian. I felt a fire in my belly light again.
The wedding party was amazing. I met T&F through my parents friends. My parents have known Alan and Diane since I was probably about 5... I'm now 28... Ok I am 33 but shhhh....!? We used to spend Bank Holidays, Boxing Days, Summer evenings together. It involved tablecloths, Vol au vents with various fillings and board games between us 'kids'. The make up was my mum and dad, Diane and Alan, myself and my older brother James and their two daughters Stephanie and Hannah. Although now things have changes and the visits involve bringing slippers to each others houses for comfort!!!.... (Don't kill me Di!) When they knew my love for Rome had gone beyond a weekend here and there and become more serious, they put me in touch with T&F. T&F had stayed with them many moons ago whilst they were in the UK learning English. Alan and Di began as their host family and then became their english family. This led on to a firm friendship and a very strange situation of myself, Alan and Di all being in Rome together with T&F. Alongside that were the friends that I had met in Rome along the way. Memories of travel, Villa Adriana, nights in pubs, pizza in Tivoli.
And so the wedding evening continued.... limoncello, prosecco, vino bianco e rosso..... A perfect wedding.
It was absolutely stunning, and I feel so grateful to friends that I have been part of this life.
Long may this continue.
I feel tomorrow I may need to write about Naples and my new Roman discoveries.... That plus future travels to Florence and Rome that are hot on our heels...
That fire in my belly is alight again....
xxxxx
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