All I have to say about Milan….

Fashion, glamour, furniture design, money, status, busy, chaotic! And an amazing Japanese restaurant!

Bella Toscana Ancora

Arriving back to Tuscany and to my simple, small stone ‘herby’ cottage everything seemed exactly as I left it. I slipped back into life at the Villa perfectly and found my spot within my little Italian family, as if my 7 month absence hadn’t existed at all.

Resuming the au pair role, Sam and I quickly reformed the bond that we had last year. He was quick to forget all about his Mum and began pulling me around the house, showing me his new toys and wanting to hold my hand wherever we went. His excitement at having me back in his life was wonderful to witness and proved that the 7 months I had spent with him last year in 2008 weren’t just lost in time but were real memories which he had formed and begun to remember again.

He is exactly the same as when I left him, although now 2 and half years of age, he hasn’t changed nearly as much as I thought he would, which is lovely. He is just craving to talk constantly and learn. He copies every word or sentence I say, which is just hilarious. Verity and I will be chatting away while driving to do the weekly shop and suddenly from the back seat of the car we hear “Oh for goodness sake!!” and quickly realise Sam has repeated something that Verity or I have said about the traffic only a few minutes previously. He certainly hasn’t lost any of his funny nature nor his impatient, stubborn temperament either!

Upon returning to the Villa, the lazy day I was dreaming of, relaxing, unpacking and sleeping off the wicked tiredness that seemed to be lapping at my feet constantly following the ski season didn’t seem to happen. I slipped straight back into the routine of changing nappy’s (yep, Sam is still wearing nappy’s, with no signs of wanting to be potty trained yet!), eating at set meal times, memorising Harvey’s school timetable and times he needed to be picked up from the bus stop, carrying tissues in the back of my pocket to wipe up Sam’s runny nose or his inevitable mess, playing children’s games, nap and milk times, and listening to Sam’s constant babble while trying to decipher his baby talk conversations with him.

Life was back to normal very quickly and the busy yet relaxed days, which I love so much at the Villa, were again part of my life for yet another summer. With the only difference being that Verity is pregnant again! She is expecting her third child in October which is very exciting for all of us. We found out the sex of the baby this week but I am not going to tell! I am going to keep you all in suspense, making you all wait till October for the announcement of a little brother or sister for Sam and Harvey to play with.

As I can hear most of you asking the question “Will she stay on for another season to look after the newborn?” Sadly I have decided to not return next year, and Verity has already begun the process of finding a replacement for my position. I have decided to take my travels to the southern hemisphere following yet another season on the ski slopes of France this winter. Like I have said, I have fallen in love with the lifestyle within the Alps and hope to be able to follow the winter from North to South and join the fun times of the slopes of New Zealand next year. I have already begun the process of finding a new position for the winter ahead here in Europe and hope to have things finalised soon with a wonderful company who run two chalets within the ski resort, Morzine in France. Stay tuned for the details…

The Rolling Hills of Toscana are a Calling…..

From France Phil and I caught a train over the beautiful French/Italian Alps and ventured to Milano for a brief few days. We decided we needed to acclimatise ourselves before we went back to our real lives within the world. We weren’t quite sure how we would feel leaving the secure bubble of Vaujany or how well we would mingle back into the reality of the real world. So the indulgent lure of Italian culture was just what we needed to sooth the senses and reacquaint ourselves back into life without snow, skiing and the familiar faces of Vaujany.

Despite the constant rain we had a great time exploring the hustle and bustle city of Milano. Eating Italian food, wondering the streets by night and indulging in good Italian gelato. I had been excited about my return to Italy and I welcomed the language, cuisine and culture change whole heartedly. I had missed Italy’s familiarity and chaotic brilliance. I let it sweep over me and I was instantly transported back to a place in my heart which holds feelings of home.

Home for the most part of 2008 had been in the beautiful rolling hills of Tuscany and I was about to begin yet another summer scorching amongst the olive trees and endless lines of grapevines there. I was returning to the same position I had taken with an English family running a 15th century Villa in the heart of the Chianti region of Tuscany. I was employed as their au pair and given the responsibility of looking after the families’ two and a half year old son, Sam.

I couldn’t wait to get back to him, to see how much he had grown and to see if he would remember me. As I boarded the train from Milano on my way to Firenze it was with such a bitter sweet feeling. I was sad to be leaving Phil. The season officially ending as I boarded the train to begin the next adventure. But the sweet knowledge and the joy I was about to witness as I arrived back with Simon, Verity, Sam and Harvey was all I could think about and helped me board the train and begin the journey back to them.