#83: Lots of Quality Family Time
Ciao Nonni,
Hello from sunny Lucca!
We are surviving the interminable summer break here, with the support of various summer camps and other friends with kids in a similar situation. Luckily, that wild heatwave that scared the absolute life out of us in June (38 degrees for days on end!) still has not returned.
Looking at the forecast, I think we should make it at least a week or two into August before there is any risk of further stinker days.
Summer equals more time spent with the kids, and this has made for some very funny interactions. We really do have two unique little humans on our hands.
Raffy has taken great pleasure in turning all of our phrases and explanations back on us, with devastating results. The other day she was bugging David to come and play with her, while he was finishing up doing the dishes or something equally as boring. When he asked her to wait for just a few minutes, she replied with "that is not an appropriate response Dad".
I almost choked, as it was like hearing my voice being transported across the room and coming out of the mouth of a five year old. Poor DA.
Leo, meanwhile, is a lovely space cadet of a child. He is 95% sweet and chill, and 5% maniacal demon sent from hell to torture us for our sins.
His bedtime behaviour of late has been diabolical, and we've had to confiscate all the lightbulbs in the kids room to stop him from flicking the switches on and off constantly until Raffy is in a state of complete meltdown. He is at that stage where the obvious discomfort and distress of those closest to him is the funniest thing in the world. Little terror.
Here's hoping this phase is short-lived, for all our sakes.
Our third child is our hilariously dilapidated little blue Fiat. We had a scare a few weeks ago, when a mechanical issue led to me having to coast to a gentle stop on the side of the road (thankfully very close to home) and call a tow truck to take us to the garage. I was worried it was the gearbox, so we were concerned that this might be the end of the road for the blue gremlin.
While many Italians drive small old cars (especially Fiats) until they literally fall apart, this is less common amongst foreigners from places like the US, the UK or Australia. People are always surprised by our car, but usually pleasantly so.
For this reason I think I am something of a novelty, especially to the mechanics at the local garage. On this most recent visit to pick up the old girl, I was once again shocked at the price of the repair. It was below any estimate I had found online (it needed a new axle shaft, thankfully not the gearbox) and included a ludicrously small fee for labour.
When I went in to pick it up, I was met by all the staff working that day. They commented on how beautiful it was to see the car still working, and how happy they were that it was easily fixed. I swear that when I got in to leave, they all came out the front and looked on like proud parents, waving as I drove off into the sunset.
If they'd charged me any more, I would start to be suspicious that I was being taken advantage of - but given how much they have either done for free or for crazy low prices, I think they are just genuinely happy to help. It's really nice.
Finally, we managed to bring a little more of what we miss about Australia to Italy this week by ... wait for it ... going surfing in Tuscany! Who would have thought, but when the right wind conditions occur (which happen less frequently than a blue moon, especially in summer) there are actually half decent waves along the northern Tuscan coastline.
We rented hideously dinged up foam surfboards from a shop in Lido di Camaiore and paddled out with only five or six other surfers in the water, and had the time of our lives. There was a proper crowd watching from the pier. It was very cool.
All my love and a big, big hug!
