Buon Compleanno in Italia!

Challenge 3: Go on lots of day/weekend/many day trips (don't stay in the same place, explore, travel, wander)

Photo by Wendy Lipzker

Having been away from home for almost 6 months now, my 24th birthday had the potential to bring a strong dose of homesickness with it. Luckily, I received one of the best birthday presents I could have wished for: a weekend in Italy with my mum.

On Friday morning I dragged my heavy body out of bed at 3am to get myself to Gatwick for my much anticipated flight to Milan. I was anxious about missing the Gatwick Express or that my flight might be delayed as I was told my step-dad had booked tickets for us to see The Last Supper. Admittedly, I was very confused by this; we're not really a religious bunch so why were we going to see a reenactment of a biblical story? Would Jesus be Italian? Once reunited with my mum and step-dad, I politely posed these questions to them only to be met with laughter. We were actually going to see the famous Leonardo Da Vinci painting which is painted onto a chapel wall. In order to keep the painting in good condition, people are only allowed 15 minutes of viewing time to avoid too much moisture and dust entering the room. It was 15 minutes well spent though; the painting was beautiful and the history behind it was incredibly interesting.

With the cultural stuff out of the way by noon we were free to spend the rest of the day focusing on what was really important: eating and shopping. I realised by the end of my first day in Milan that I had found my culinary mecca! Where else could I consume copious amounts of my two favourite foods, pasta and ice-cream, without judgement? I was mildly concerned to discover that on profile I looked about 3 months pregnant, but if that's the price you pay for happiness, I'll pay it.

The following day we woke up early to catch the train to Como. The first few hours of the day were spent lazing on a ferry in the sun as it took us to the town of Bellagio on Lake Como. The lake sparkled as the sun danced across it, lighting up the different coloured villas dotted along the bank. We spent about an hour exploring Bellagio (stopping to get a gelato on the way, of course) then it was back on the boat and over to the medieval town of Verenna. It was so relaxing to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the town as well as more pasta and my second gelato for the day. Needless to say, my food-baby and I slept soundly on the train back to Milan that afternoon.

That evening we returned to the restaurant we had visited the night before as the food was so good. After polishing off a large bowl of gnocchi I discovered that I could in fact translate Italian despite not speaking it. The jolly waiter explained to us that he enjoys watching Australian Border Security on TV and that in one episode a man shut down the whole airport because his belt buckle looked like a bomb, but in fact wasn't. Unfortunately my translation skills were not good enough to save me from the disgusting Italian liqueur that tasted like cough syrup that he insisted I try. Unable to bare more than a sip, Mum came to the rescue and decided to shot it using her limoncello as a chaser. We discovered that wine, limoncello and horrible Italian shots are a lethal combination resulting in my drunk mother alerting the streets of Milan that she would skip if she could, but she would probably wet herself.

Regardless of her escapades, Mum was bright and perky the next morning for my 24th birthday. I was spoilt with chocolate mousse croissants for breakfast before setting off to visit the oldest church in Milan. It became apparent that modesty is still highly valued in Italy as I was scolded by an elderly nun for showing my shoulders in the church. If only she knew I would be showing a lot more than that later that morning...After leaving the church we jumped on the 'Bike Mi' bikes and cycled around to another chapel. While the notion of riding through the cobblestoned streets of Milan in a beautiful white sundress sounds romantic, the reality is far from it. As I rode I could feel my dress slipping up my thighs and I'm quite certain I gave a few elderly Italian men a view that was hardly modest. For the sake of decency I tried to awkwardly ride with my knees together making the journey that much more challenging.

The next chapel we visited was famous because it has been decorated in hundreds of human skulls and bones when the cemetery became too full hundred of years ago. We then headed to the most famous Cathedral in Milan, The Duamo. After visiting the awe-inspiring interior, Mum and I ventured up onto the roof to see the amazing view of the city. For lunch we refuelled with a pizza, then headed to the castle for a quick bike ride through the beautiful park. However, this became problematic when we could not get one of the bikes out of the stands. An Italian gentleman named George, witnessed out plight and saw it as an opportunity to attempt to run a scam or pick our pockets (we're not quite sure). His tactics involved buttering up Mum by asking if I was her sister and then organising for us to return the next day so that we could discuss our engagement. I couldn't help but laugh when he purred, "I'm a good looking man, no?" Well, no, George was not which is probably why he used lines like, "I will see you tonight...in my dreams." Eventually we made our escape on the bikes in search of more gelato.

Luckily, I did not spend my birthday evening with George. Instead the three of us dined at an amazing restaurant on the canal which was awarded a michelin star. The food was creative, quirky and completely amazing. Highlights included a dish called 'frog in a pond' which came served in foam with origami frogs made out of pastry, pigeon served on a light board with fake blood underneath and my birthday dessert which came on a lit up PAC-man board with sorbet pieces. The food played with all of your senses and was a very memorable way to end the trip and to spend my birthday.

"This is not a game" dessert

"Frog in a Pond"

The Perils of Moving onto the Monopoly Board

Challenge 4: Introduce yourself to EVERYONE (they could be your new best friend/future husband)

A couple of months after I moved to London a girl that I went to primary school with also made the big move. Having experienced so much hospitality from old acquaintances living here, I thought I would pay it forward and do the same for her. Our reintroduction took place at what seemed like a fairly tame BBQ which actually ended up being a pretty messy night at the pub. So over too many shots an old friendship was reestablished.

A few months down the track and we have moved in together to a gorgeous part of London, Angel (or as I like to tell people, the light blue bit on the monopoly board). However, we've discovered that attempting to rent in London isn't an easy game to play.

Chance: Go back 3 spaces

After many hours of searching the Internet, my housemate found a cute little place near Camden. It was so exciting to have finally found a place and put down the holding deposit for our new home. However, we were quickly disappointed when we learnt that the flat was deemed "unroadworthy" by the council, sending us back 3 spaces and leaving us a little disheartened.

Rolled a double: throw again

So the house hunt began again and luckily we found a lovely flat in Angel. It looked like it was all ours until another person showed interest at the last minute, taking us to the point where we had to put in our best and final offer. Waiting to find out who would get to put their little green house on the light blue square was a nerve wracking process so it was a huge relief to finally hear we won and had a home.

Community Chest: Go straight to jail. Do not pass go-do not collect £200.

But, as in any game your luck can change pretty quickly. As we have not been in the UK 6 months we both required guarantors. Thankfully we both have family in the UK so this didn't seem to be any sort of issue. Unfortunately, we were misinformed about the requirements of a guarantor and mine failed her check as she is retired. My stomach fell as I realised I didn't have anybody else in the UK who could act as guarantor and my options were running thin. It crossed my mind that maybe London and I weren't meant to be and it might be time to run away again. After all,  I would have been left homeless if this flat fell through.

Chance: Advance to Go. Collect £200.

Finally the universe decided to throw us a little sugar to sweeten all those lemons. My housemate managed to find us a guarantor in an old family friend who very kindly agreed to act as mine as well. 

Our move yesterday came with the biggest sense of relief and excitement as we finally collected the Angel Islington card. Sure, when we arrived the keys didn't work and we couldn't move our stuff in because the cleaners were still here...but at least we've put our little green house down now.