Ciao all,
I have been completely incommunicado recently, but I am not going to apologise for it for a change. The rest of June and first week of July were extremely busy but July, 5th marked a welcome change to this lifestyle. My workload was cut in half and I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands. It took me a while to get adjusted to this and I was a little out of it for a few days. Fortunately, this passed as well and I have been enjoying the hot and surprisingly wet Italian summer ever since. Hence the reason for my not having written anything.
I had decided to take it slow, finish up the few things I still had to do at work and devote myself to some deserved (in my opinion at least, feel free to disagree!) rest and relaxation. I have been swimming a lot, getting my body in shape for summer, and think I have managed fairly well. And of course, one of the fringe benefits of swimming is that there is usually a secluded place to sunbathe as well and I took advantage of all those visits to the swimming pool to get myself a nice tan.
As far as activities are concerned, here is a nice little list:
- watching lots of movies (no, seriously, lots)
- rediscovering my love for the French language as well as that country's fascinating culture, i.e. watching French movies (I recommend 'Les Chansons d'Amour' by Christophe Honoré), listening to French music (Alex Beaupain, Edith Piaf) and trying to speak French with Sam
- Lunches in Brera (very decadently on weekdays!!)
- Typing out lots and lots of certificates for students who have recently completed courses at CE
- Lush and raunchy drinking bouts ending at 5am with unexpected house guests
- A Bollywood movie night
- Taking leave of Veronica (our course manager and a close friend), who has made the very difficult decision of leaving CE but will in the end be happier and better-off because of it
- Studying Italian (I have finally been able to pick up where I left off with Paola, yay!!!)
- Teaching Paola Dutch (although it is still unclear to me and the rest of the world why on earth she would want to!)
- Thinking and talking about the future of the company, mainly with Caroline, about our new organisational structure and my role now that Veronica has left
- Missing guests, by which I mean Andrea and a friend who came over for a Friday afternoon but I had to work and by the time I got home they had already left again
- Enjoying living by myself for a change (the second half of June, while Olaf while was still on his world tour)
- An amazing visit to Marike in London: talks until deep in the night, nostalgia (oh those good old days at the Koninginnelaan!!), having children, the future (how our children will get as rich as we want them to be), smoking lots of ciggies, a lovely visit to the National Gallery, coffee and cake in St. James' park, gi-normous glasses of wine for ridiculous prices in Covent Garden, lunch at La Bohème, fish 'n' chips at a pub (of course!), discussions about money vs. happiness vs. success, lovely plans for future holidays and of course 'That Face!', the amazing play with Lindsay Duncan we went to on a whim and that made us laugh until we cried, laugh again, pant, sigh, perspire, hold our breath until the very end and left us lost for words and air but infinitely impressed and satisfied. But next time, Marike, please make sure you stock up on wine!!!!
- Randomly meeting a Belgian on the bus from Stansted to London who turned out to live around the corner from my place in Milan. Bring on the beers and games of pool!
- Hascar and Jolien's wedding, at which I was asked to officiate as best man (Has had done me as well as Ward the great honour of asking us both). I will never forget Jolien's bursting out in hearty laughter as Hascar seriously said 'I do', laughter which slowly developed into tears of happiness. And nobody there suppressed their grins, as we all recognised her victory of persuading the man who said he would never ever marry. I think my speech followed by a pagan libation to celebrate and bless their marriage was received well... Thank you, Marike, for the input!!
- Enjoying Renee and Ejal's visit. There had never before, nor has there since been such a lovely afternoon in Parco Sempione. The cocktails were big (Más!), as were the pizzas (La Padellaccia!), and that freak rainstorm getting us wet through and through in 1 minute while on our way there have definitely made this a weekend I will never forget. Thanks for the pictures, they are lovely!
- Going to random concerts in the Arena and in Villa Reale. A jazz concert (or so we thought as it was part of the Milano Jazzin' Festival) which turned out to be the French band Justice, two DJs playing hardstyle dance music while in front of their tables there was a big shiny cross that lit up in accordance with the music. The Latvian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky, which was beautiful though at times a bit boring - and we were annoyed because there were too many mosquitoes and we had forgotten our repellent!! And last but not least a lovely Cuban Jazz band, the Roberto Fonseca Group, playing absolutely inspired jazz with Latin influences that made it impossible not to love.
- Preparing physically and mentally for our great trip. Vaccinations, insurance, planning a route, booking local trains etc.... Phew!
But it's all done now. And tomorrow we are finally leaving for India!!! I am so looking forward to that! Tonight we will have a final aperitivo (at La Hora Feliz) with a few friends who are still in Milan (most people have already left on holiday or family visits), but fortunately Louisa, Jen and Flora are still here. I hope I will be able to update this blog while we are there but I can't promise anything.
Happy holidays everyone!!!
