Ciao

home from holidays. holidays means travel, basically. i realised there is no holiday without travel, unless its just a day or so. maybe we should stay home too sometimes...  anyway holidays was Italy this time. one of our best trips ever, if not the best, i would say. trips are not really comparable though, a 5 day trip to a beach is pretty different from venturing around a country without a plan for 2 weeks. to be fair we knew our starting and end point, but everything in between was decided on the go, usually late the previous night. the trip could have benefitted from some research beforehand, but then there would be loss of randomness and learning on the go. this worked out quite well.
Milan, Lake Como, Genoa, Florence, (some small villages and winery and Siena), Rome, Naples, Amalfi coast.

 need to go another time...so much more to see! and thats not even an exaggaration. Sicily for one...

italian cities vary a lot and are of course full of  culture and history... and food, lol. i ate pasta 2 weeks straight, pretty much. doctor was more adventurous, trying pizzas and fish and meat...  besides what i just listed though, the positives of italy are obvious i guess ;  warm weather, great nature, great functional train network, Aperol spritz. very nice country to visit although not cheap at all.

my strentgh is in pointing out problems though isnt it. so i have a need to list whats "not great"...

• napkins are always really hard, thin, useless "paper"
•  "no tipping" BUT almost every restaurant has cover charge/service charge 2e per person or 10-15%... sooo isnt that the same? also charging 2-3 euros for plain water is a bit cheeky?
• the occasional 'style over function', in especially northern Italy - like a fancy looking water tap that u cant figure out how to use
• i think its difficult for a vegetarian, outside a pizza margarita or some of the most basic pastas - there is usualy nothing else on the menu. the salads are just simple side salads not really meals.
• sweet breakfast
• service industry employees often a bit temperamental or uninterested and just busy gossiping 
• fucked up light switches; they always have 3-5 buttons but never do all of them do something. even in the toilet it will have like 3 buttons but one of them is the light and thats it. then u just keep guessing which one is the functional one. if u look closely u can probably tell but for everyday use.. eh, why keep people guessing? i'd understand if i came across this once or twice, but this is a tradition you can count on everywhere.

the return home was a bit rough. bus along amalfi coast is very pretty but my increased fear of heights did not approve with the narrow curvy roads alongside mountains that drop straight into the sea. then our flight was hours late... after 2 hours is admit hoping it would be 3h so we could get the 400 euro compensation*. it was. we we home past midnight. okay fine thats all nice. then we go to sleep, but i later get up to go to toilet and there is this huge spider on the wall in the bathroom. i was so f*ckin terrified i have no words for it. i did get some bug spray but the fucker wouldnt die, just ran into hiding. well i didnt really want to stay there watch anyway cos i was so scared. i spent the next hour going back to see the situation cos i couldnt sleep knowing it might not be dead. it did die though. still i couldnt really sleep after. i think it was near 6 before i passed out. i spent that time researching (once again) stronger insecticides and repellents and ordered some, too. and today, instead of having a super chill day i "had to" vacuum the house thoroughly - cos im hoping to sleep better tonight. doctor did help me though. my invention was to muzzle the holes where water pipes are brought in through... with Dettol cleaning wipes sprayed with bug spray. 

these fears, hights and spiders and whatnot are becoming almost debilitating though. i have my theories about why these things are springing up, but i don't know really, its confusing. i think what ive learned in therapy though is to let myself feel what i feel and be curious about it.



Back to Italy. 
Amalfi from the Lemon Path;

Siena

airbnb experience in Rome; a food tasting. we also did a Spritz making class in a bar - lots of fun and learned plenty. doctor found that he prefers Campari Spritz.

Rome

Naples

Naples

regarding our flat purchase im trying to stay cool while we wait...  ive been warned that this waiting phase can be painful and so im glad we had at least the holiday to take our mind away. we did our paperwork before going away and have since been waiting for the seller's solicitor to send the contract. its week 3 and we dont even have a contract yet? the chance of the seller canceling is lurking in my mind i hope i dont lose my patience. doctor is much cooler about it although i can tell he would like things to progress too. we scoured through the surveyor report today and listed any additional questions or issues to address. at least the boiler needs checking as well as the electricity fuse unit - the survey said its outdated and neither had been serviced recently i guess. im okay with all the million things that need doing, like okay when in Rome (lol) do as the Romans... but the wait is hard.

tomorrow its time to get back to the grind, work and socializing and self care.



*update: submitted claim to EasyJet today; got an immediate response:

Dear jenni,
We’ve reviewed your claim and are pleased to say that you are eligible for EU261 Compensation.
Your flight 3252 was delayed by 03:09:00 was due to N-E - Technical issues.  This delay was within our control and is considered a non-extraordinary circumstance under EU law.
We’ll transfer GBP 718.34 to the bank account details you gave us. Please allow at least 7-14 days for this to arrive in your account.

i have to give props to the for firstly making the claim form easy to find and fill and then owning up and agreeing to pay instead of making it a painful process for both of us.