Home, at last!

We’ve finally been reunited with all our lovely belongings after five months apart. I don’t think I’ve ever been so pleased to see the view of three, sweaty removal men swing in to our new road and pull up outside our beautiful new home here in Italy! If it wasn’t for their previously mentioned state, I could have kissed them!!

After a frenetic few days unpacking, we’ve got things sorted and it feels so nice to be settled. Despite the odd hiccup along the way, like Mr BND flooding the kitchen because he forgot he’d left the tap on – even the removal men knew to stay quiet and out of the way – the whole process went swimmingly (!) well. I was even reduced to tears by soft furnishings at one point (not something I thought would ever happen) when I opened a box to find all our bed linen beautifully washed and ironed by my wonderful Mum. Climbing in to our own bed that night was the best feeling ever! So now I feel like our Italian life can start in earnest. The previous few months have certainly been an adventure but now it’s the real deal.

I keep getting asked what I plan on doing with my days, to be honest I’m not sure I’ve got time to fit everything in! I want to do more of this. I’ve decided I love writing and I’m excited by the prospect of seeing where it could take me. Even if it’s just you reading my ramblings, then so be it.

We’ve also got a fantastic group of friends down here already, everyone has been so welcoming and we feel like part of the community, so there’s always someone to catch up with over a coffee, go to the beach with for breakfast or pop over to the island of Ischia to go to the spa for the day! (OK, that last one was a one off treat and not a weekly occurrence, before you shut down the screen and stop reading out of protest!) It’s not without it’s tribulations here; like running the gauntlet as you cycle down the main road, taking your life in your hands. Perhaps a slight exaggeration, but the first time we encountered the ginormous Rottweiler that guards the gateway round the corner, Mr BND screamed like a girl and my repressed fear of dogs resurfaced as my life flashed before our eyes. So now, we have to time our pedal stroke to reach maximum velocity at the right point to enable us to sail past his gateway at a speed where his bulk means he can’t chase us. Unfortunately it means we arrive everywhere a sweaty mess but on the other hand it certainly helps to wake us up of a morning! This isn’t the first dog/cycling encounter we’ve had. On our first proper bike ride here early one morning, we headed south to where it gets a bit lumpy and on one particular climb a group of stray dogs were spread out across the road up ahead. They made a lot of noise and snapped at our heels, causing my heart rate to reach a new, unprecedented high and the fastest I’ve cycled up that particular hill. It could be the new performance enhancing method of the cycling world! Never a dull moment.

It’s a world of extremes here, a life caught between rich and poor. Something that’s so evident on early morning bike rides, when you’re cycling along amidst mountains of rubbish on the road side – a sight that we’ve noticed we’ve already become desensitised to – with little traffic on the roads except for the battered old people carriers and minibuses stopping to pick up the many migrant workers looking for labour by the roadside, before turning a corner and passing a luxury beach club that wouldn’t look out of place in the glossy fashion magazines. You could be whizzing past a tall block of flats with many occupants apparent from the vast amount of washing fluttering on the washing lines on balconies, then by the next pedal stroke you’re passing a huge, pristine gated mansion with a brand new car on the drive and a swimming pool alongside. There’s juxtapositions everywhere. There’s a point on my morning route where you crest a hill and have a wonderful view of Baia peninsula sprawled out below, the morning sunlight is glinting off the ocean that stretches across to the rocky island of Ischia and you can make out the thousands of buoys on Lago Fusaro announcing the location of mussel pots that supply the various roadside shacks with their fresh, delicious produce. A sight that makes me smile every time. Until your eyes drift down to the roadside. The panorama is lined with piles of litter and rubbish dumped by the road side, ironically, the disgusting nature of the foreground enhances the beauty of the landscape. Then it’s whizzed past and you’re on the winding, gradual descent down to sea level. It’s such a shame, but much too big a task to be tackled by any one individual so it becomes par for the course and you soon stop noticing it.

Whilst there’s a few areas that are rough round the edges within our local vicinity, there’s some absolutely gorgeous places too. We soon realised that generally the locals look after their houses and their businesses really well, resulting in some fabulous little restaurants and gorgeous beach front clubs where you can sip on a cocktail and watch the sun just melt away in to the sea, leaving it’s soft red hue, as a reminder of it’s presence, plastered across the huge sky. Every time we witness it, we comment on how lucky we are to be here. It’s moments like that, surrounded by friends, which make the low points worth it. I’m writing this the day before we fly back to the UK for four nights. Soon, not only will we have been reunited with our belongings, we’ll soon be reunited with our families too and I just cannot wait!