One month in Italia

Well, I've now called Italy home for one month. And what a month it has been. From the snow capped mountain tops to the heat of the Mediterranean sun, I've had an absolute ball. Here's an update on the adventures so far...

Week One - Finding my bearings and my Italian tongue

When I sat quietly on the plane headed for Milan, I knew I was in for an adventure, but it didn't really hit me until I saw my cousin Pietro at the airport waiting for me at the gates.

"Ciao, tutto posto," he said.
FUCK, brain switch to Italian, you must speak Italian.

And so it did. I was chitchatting away to him about things the whole ride from Milano to Dongo. The truth was that I had practised in my head everything I could say about me and my family weeks before arriving. But once I had said everything, what next....

FUCK, need to improve my vocab.

And so my second cousin Giorgia who is 8 gave me her book 'Pimpa' to read. Giorgia got 'Pimpa' when she was 3. It's a picture book with images of every day objects. It tells you the Italian version of 'upstairs', 'fridge', 'toothbrush' etc. I was very humbled, because at this point all I could do was point and say "Questo/a" or "This".

When I wasn't madly studying my new found bible, I was wandering the streets of Colico to get my bearings. After all, this town, in the north of Italy on Lake Como will be my second home over the next year. Every morning I rose at about 6 o'clock (something I was only able to do the first week whilst my body clock adjusted to Italian time) to go on my four hour walk, sometimes along the lake or through the villages or up the mountain. I found short cuts and secret passages, cherry trees bearing fruit, furry animal friends and street art scrutinizing the Italian PM.

I also went rock climbing, something I've wanted to do for ever, but never had. My cousin Mauro LOVES rock climbing, so I have a feeling it won't be the last time.

Did I mention that I also ate a lot of pasta and a lot of olive oil? My god was my stomach feeling ill...

Week Two - What's the difference between Australia and Italy

I spent most of the week with my cousin Giuliana and her family, often during unplanned circumstances - I'd be walking down the street and there they'd be driving in their car and I'd hop in for an inproptu shopping adventure or feast. In December 08/January 09 they had come to Australia for a month and fell in love with the place. Now they want to live in Oz sometime in the future so over many delicious meals and bottles of wine I shared with them many of the differences between Australia and Italy.

Things that may interest you is that their supermarkets sell the lot. In the same store you can buy the latest plasma tv, speakers, bottles of booze, fresh fish, tampons, bottled water, barbie, camping gear and laundry detergent. In summer, the sun rises at about 4.30am and doesnt set til 10pm. They coat their food in olive oil, eat so much pasta, bread and gelati yet they are so god damn slim (???). You don't even ask for a cappucino or latte after 11am. You eat salad at the end of a meal. Kids go to school on a Saturday. ITALIAN'S DON'T GET DRUNK... I haven't been drunk for a month...

We also went on a day trip train ride from Tirano in Italy to St Moritz in Switzerland. St Moritz sits high in the Swizz alps and oozes wealth and everything fashionable. I could have spent my entire bank balance on one item in the Gucci store... thankfully I didn't otherwise I'd be back in Oz. The train ride was spectacular. With so much snow lacing the alps in summer, I get excited about what winter will be like!!! Ahhh, my first Winter Christmas is only six months away!

Weeks Three and Four - Mediterranean Getaway

Sardegna... a glorious island off the coast of Italy in the Mediterranean. When I stepped foot on the island after a 15 hour journey I sensed something remarkably familiar about the place. Honestly you could almost be down south at some beach around Yallingup or Dunsborough. The only thing that was missing was the Dunsborough bakery. This is an island with dramatic blue coves, white sandy beaches and a harsh rugged terrain that the Sardi have let loose with sheep for their own personal gain, delicious mouth watering cheese of all varieties. Heaven! There even Eucalyptus trees and geckos. Close your eyes for a second and you could be in Oz.

We spent every day at the beach. I don't think my skin can get any darker than it is. Surprisingly I never got sunburned, even after 10 hours+ in the sun. I think it has something to do with the fact that I wasn't directly under a hole in the ozone layer, as we West Aussies have to put up with as a result of the world's lifestyle. What was also welcoming about the place was the fact that come night time, frogs in their thousands hopped from their place of rest and hung out to enjoy the warm summer nights. There were literally frogs every where, and dogs. One set back about Sardegna is there K9 problem. Stray dogs roam the streets in gangs like they own the place. And when a bitch is on heat, things can get a little nasty with the sounds of dogs fighting sending you to sleep. I was a little sick to the stomach about this whole affair. I even asked if it was possible to call the ranger but there was no interest, or perhaps no ranger.

We spent a day along the Smerelda Coast, a stretch of coast line that some wealthy investors bought and turned into a havan for the rich and famous. Its ports were filled with boats the size of mansions. It's hotels no less than 5 star. I joked that my family should leave me there to find a husband... of course I was only joking. No ring on this finger!

To compensate for all of the eating I have been doing, I have had to do a lot of exercise. I've added one kilogram to the scales which could quite easily have been seven had I not kept with the exercise. Whilst my yoga has suffered (but not completely) I got on the bike for a number of rides around Sardegna. And they aren't easy rides, not only is it fucking hot, but there are lots of good hills to keep your thighs entertained. I made a 30km ride one day down the coast and at one point of the ride I actually thought I was going to die. This climb was hardcore for a person that comes from a country that is mainly flat, but I got through it thank god!

One thing that I learnt whilst in Sardegna is that Italians know how to relax. When they say they are going on a seaside holiday, they mean it. They will spend the entire day at the beach sunbaking, reading, eating, doing nothing. More than half of them don't know how to swim, so they aren't really there for the water sports. It took me a little while to get into the swing of doing nothing, but once I got the hang of it, I could comfortably lay in silence for hours, only moving to turn over and brown some more.

Things to do (in no particular order)

1. Find a bookshop that sells books written in English, and find one fast
This is by no means a cop out for not learning Italian, but my god how much do I love the English language, and how much do I miss it! Thank you Michelle for the book "Eat Pray Love", it was the most joyous read and I recommend it to everyone. Thank you Kathy for all of the delightful Lonley Planet books, they too have been an absolute treat and I have learnt so much about this part of the globe and where I want to go and how to go about doing it. I have one English novel up my sleeve - Peter Jnr, its some crime novel you left here one time, so thank you!

2. Learn Italian, and learn it fast
When I'm not reading the few English texts in my possession, I am being very studious about my Italian. Naturally I am in an Italian speaking country, so every day I am being forced to speak the most beautiful language in the world not all that beautifully (damn I can't even roll my r's), but I've also been reading everything, and I mean everything, newspapers, cereal boxes, kids books, dictionaries, magazines, anything that's written in Italian. I have improved my vocab dramatically and whilst my tongue hasn't quite caught up with my mind, I am reading Italian better than ever before. Okay so it might take me an hour to decipher a newspaper article, but it's worth it. Take the recent death of Michael Jackson (god bless) for example. The Italian paper read "Michael Jackson é morto", being a Westerner I was like "WHAT THE FUCK". What happened? What are they saying? I want to know now!!! I imagined the news bulletins back home paying homage to the man and the newspapers with The King of Pop written all over it. But all I had was this Italian newspaper article, so I read it!

3. Work
Yep, its not all fun and games. I am going to work with my cousin and her family in their mountain refugi. Don't be mistaken with imagines of refugee camps. Here in Italy, a refugi is a place where mountaineers who are off on exciting adventures can stop after a days hike for a meal or stay the night. For about two weeks I'll be helping in the restaurant, behind the bar and maintaining the dorms!

4. Visit Mel in Paris
From 14 to 19 July I'll be wandering the streets of Paris with the delightful Mayhem herself, Miss Melinda!

5. Whirlwinding through Venice, Firenze and Roma with Megs (and then some...)
From 31 July to 7 August Megs and I will be speed dating these three beautiful cities. Will we sleep? Once Megs departs I'm thinking the Amalfi Coast or the Cinque Terra, or both...

6. Plan for my next adventures
Notions are filling my head very fast

Interesting Fact
Did you know that my English last name is G Bones? That's because Ossi means Bones in Italian.