So today is one month since we left sunny Sydney for icy Italy and I couldn’t be happier. In some ways it feels like we just arrived yesterday and in others it feels like we have been here a lifetime already. I said to Ben I am already getting sad about leaving Italy…he was not impressed!
Life feels so normal here in so many ways already. Today I woke the girls up, got them ready for school, made breakfast and dropped them off. It’s now 9am and I am having a morning pastry and coffee at my favourite local caffe…yes apparently I drink coffee now after avoiding it for 42 years! I was asking for tea at the caffes and they thought I was mad so have switched to coffee for now. Ben orders Caffe Corretto and I’m not there yet (that’s espresso with a shot of grappa or sambuca).
My accent is terrible, by far the worst of our entire family. Even Audrey has a better accent than me! Am working on improving my pronunciation so I can talk to locals without using the word ‘allora’ so much….which is a filler word when you are thinking of what to say next (so, then, well).
I had a major Mum moment earlier this week when I realised if I had a heart attack, the kids broke a bone, Ben was attacked by a wild boar or shot by hunters while out running in hunting season (yes he is!) I had no idea how to contact an ambulance, where the local hospital was or how to call a doctor. So now I’ve programmed this into all our phone and devises and I feel much better.
School life in Siena:
So the girls are on day 4 of school and could not be happier. Day one they were all super nervous as to be expected. New school, new country, new language and more. Polly had a bit or a cry when we dropped them off, which of course made me cry.
They all came bouncing out of school so happy with new friends they have made already and the teachers they met. Each of their year groups only have 12-14 children so its a tiny school with amazing views over Tuscany and could not be more different to what we are all used to, which was part of our plan.
My all time favourite thing about school in Siena…NO LUNCHES! They get lunch, morning and afternoon tea every day. This gives us a good hour in the mornings without the daily lunch drama of what to take each day. Fruit and vegetables are for morning tea, lunch is a 2 course hot meal starting with a pasta course, bread and then protein and vegetables. Afternoon tea is pizza, focaccia or biscuits. This also means a light meal for dinner, so I really feel like I have so much more time without really making lunches or dinners. Did I mention I LOVE ITALY!
We said to the girls after day one how proud we were of them all and how resilient this process is going to make them as not many experiences in life will be this tough again. To work out coping mechanisms at such a young age will just make them tougher in the long run.
Hayley has made a friend who is from China and her English is not great so Hayley talks to her in Mandarin as neither of them speak much Italian. She translates Italian and English to Mandarin to follow along in class, while Hayley is translating Italian and Spanish into English. I love this experience for the girls. She has booked into trumpet and trombone lessons so is very happy about that and I am trying to sign her up to play with Siena Jazz which is a well known group or bands in the region.
Polly’s new friend is a local Italian girl who is a golfing champion and they have the same birthday so are apparently bonded for life. Her year seems very welcoming and a lovely group of kids.
Audrey has of course made friends with the whole class and uses the term ‘hashtag popular’ a lot at home so I need to keep an eye on her! She has her first field trip coming up in 2 weeks and I volunteered to be a class parent on the trip, and I cant wait. We are off to a Crystal and Glass Factory in Colle Val d’elsa for the morning.
When I go to school pick up there are only 30-35 parents there and then I remember the school only has 100 kids and a lot of siblings so that’s most the parents. Will take a while to get used to the small school, but so far really feels like a family and everyone is so friendly.
It’s only week one with the kids at school but I am loving the slow pace of life. I came home and baked muffins yesterday and today Ben and I are off to explore Montalcino, wonder around and have lunch before getting the girls at 345pm. We have done a lot of baking in the last 3 weeks and all I ask is they chose Italian recipes so we have made ricotta cheesecake, nutella scrolls, biscotti, tiramisu, Italian fried doughnuts and more. Must start looking at cooking as well as baking so we don’t just eat sweets all the time.
Polly and Audrey have the record for 9 meals in a row being pasta and Hayley following them with 7 pizza meals in a row. Lucky we all like pizza and pasta, and I’m trying not to obsess about the lack of protein we are all having. It’s very much a carb centric culture.
Italy is very much centred around food, cooking and coffee! There are so many supermarket chains in Siena which only has a population of 30,000 people. So far we have been to Pam, Coop, Conad, Penny, Simply, Supermart and it’s only been 4 weeks, I am sure there are many more. I’m trying to decide if I just go to my favourite supermarket to get everything (Coop) or if I do the various farmers markets on certain days of the week, go to the local butcher, visit the fish monger van that comes to our town on a Tuesday (we are in Costafabbri). Have not decided yet, we have been doing a mixture and I love the farmers market produce but in sub zero degrees it’s nice to get everything under one roof too. We discovered the local pig farm when on a walk from our house and while playing with the piglets who were 6 weeks old., the farmer said they are made into prosciutto at 6 months.
The amount of alcohol consumed in our area has surprised me as people start with coffee/liquor early in the morning, have wine or spritz with lunch, through the afternoon and again at dinner time. We already have 14 bottles of various liquor and wine at home which is pretty good in a month, and we keep buying more. At 3 euro for a bottle of wine, 10 euro for most spirits and only 5 euro for a bottle of Aperol how can we not buy bottles every time we go supermarket shopping. Ben and I normally order 1/2 litre of wine with lunch and most people who dine alone are consuming that without a second thought.
Walking in this area is a little terrifying as there are no pavements, no shoulder on the road and cars drive at 90 in our area so I feel like we might all die if we head out for a walk. We can go through the field but they are often icy and frosty so we (or I) tend to slip! When it gets warmer I might attempt to walk the fields to the local caffe but for now the car is my friend. We just ordered our car which Ben is off to Rome to collect end of Jan and I cant wait, its a brand new Peugeot 3008 and will be perfect to drive back to the snow when we head back to The Dolomites in February for ski week break from school.
What I am missing from home right now (apart from people)…my bed and pillow. Might have the pillow sent over as I bought one here and it’s not the same!
Must go and meet Ben and leave the warm caffe for -2 degrees outside, and leave time to scrape ice off the car window, so excited I bought an ice scraper yesterday after ruining all my credit cards using them one morning. So excited I get to scrape ice and frost from the windows, it’s all still so different!
Ciao xo
