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Sweet breath of freedom-ish

You will be pleased to know that this week sees a return to a more positive outlook. It finds us at the start of phase 2 of lockdown in Italy. This means exercise restrictions and park closures have been lifted. We are once again allowed to go out to exercise and we are fortunate enough to have a park on our doorstep.

A BBQ

I am not sure what it is but I just love eating al fresco. This might be because I was born in the summer and so quite a few birthdays have included eating outside over the years, however I don’t think that completely answers it. All the same BBQ and picnics are things that I am very likely to suggest in times of good weather, which we seem to be having at the moment. Usually I am put off by wasps or other creepy crawlies, but they don’t seem to be a problem in quite the same way here, which is absolutely fantastic. The weekend forecast looked good so we decided to have our first BBQ of the year on Saturday night. As usual Al cooked up a storm including making the burger buns as well as the burgers. I contributed some salads and we sat outside enjoying the view of the hill we would conquer on the Monday.

Gratitude

I am trying to stay positive and using meditation to help me deal with some of my feelings. I like the gratitude meditations because it’s good to be reminded of how much I have to be grateful for when things look bleak. At 8.30 on Sunday morning we were awoken by the apartment buzzer. It was the local police. There was a problem with the water and we needed to move our car so that the emergency team could access the pipes.

Al joined the other sleepy neighbours to move cars that have mostly not been started in two months and find another parking space in nearby streets. The percussion of street digging shortly afterwards ensured we gave up on going back to bed. With hindsight the words “water emergency” (albeit in Italian) and the plant machinery concert should have brought to mind the likely scenario. Needless to say, I was still amazed when I turned on the tap and nothing came out. For a fair amount of Sunday and again on Monday we were required to think about the fact that we did not have any water and make the necessary adjustments, giving us the opportunity to appreciate our usually constant supply and make sure we use it wisely. A timely reminder.

Out and about

One of the conditions of the lifting of restrictions is that you must wear a mask in shops and public areas. This was a problem as we didn’t have any and the ones I ordered (see pervious post) had not arrived yet. Al went to a pharmacy on Monday morning on the off chance and was able to get us some, which was a stroke of luck and one less thing to worry about.

It had been six weeks since we had been into the centre of Bologna. During this time our only trips out of the apartment had been solo expeditions to the local Meta (a small local supermarket similar to a Sainsbury’s express). This is the part of the routine that has the most terrifyingly apocalyptic feel; putting on the rucksack, gloving up, wrapping your face in a scarf, prepping to go out and take the risk of potentially, unwittingly, bringing the virus home. Now we were going to be able to go out for exercise too and that felt like real progress, but still also contained an element of fear and needing to be careful.

Roadside Mallow on the way to the park

Villa Ghigi

One of the great things about this apartment is its location. We are 15 minutes walk from Piazza Maggiore, the heart of Bologna but also 5 minutes walk from the entrance to Villa Ghigi, gateway to the hills. We were excited about a much needed change in scenery and it was a no-brainer for us to head here on 4th May, first day of lifted restrictions. The weather was glorious with blue skies and plenty of sun. We tramped up to the top of the nearest hill, from where you get a great view over Bologna.

It’s a beautiful time of year with many fruit trees in bloom of which there are a plentiful supply in the park. We were conscious that we hadn’t walked much for weeks, so we didn’t want to be over ambitious on our first outing. We used the main path up and then took a slightly different route down, including going past the Villa itself for the first time. There were other people out and about, but everyone was respecting social distancing. Being close to nature and in the noticeably fresh air was a great break from our routine and gave us a lot of optimism for what will come next.

One step at a time

Heartened by our Villa Ghigi experience and because of the new masks on Tuesday we decided to exercise by walking into Bologna. This was not quite as positive. We had, somehow, been under the impression that more stores would be open and there would be more people about. There were certainly some people about but it was quiet. There were short queues at the various food shops in Quadrilatero, but all other shops were closed. We had heard the market had re-opened so we headed for Mercato delle erbe. Unfortunately to access this you needed a mask and gloves, we had not brought gloves, so we went to some nearby supermarkets and pharmacies, but they were all sold out. As everything else was closed we decided to go back home, suitably chastened to remember that the restrictions were only just beginning to be lifted and we were not out of the Corona woods yet.

The bit at the end of He-Man where they give the moral of the story and all laugh with their hands on their hips.

All in all, it has been a good week. I have had my first BBQ of the year and exercised in Villa Ghigi. We now have masks so we can go out and enjoy the gradual lifting of restrictions. I’ve been reminded of natural beauty, being fortunate about where I live and the continuing talents of my husband. We have also been reminded that this will be a long road and we are only on the first step. It’s not time to run yet.

  • Lemon tree buds
  • Sage flowers
  • Sage flower cocktail
Our garden coming into useful bloom
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Air B&B Life

So far in our Italian adventure we have not been able to get a permanent apartment. Like many other cities in Europe the rate of house building has not kept pace with the rise in population. Although work can be found, accommodation can be more difficult. Also like many other European cities the supply available to rent to ordinary workers and residents has been hit by air B&B and other holiday let websites. This means we find ourselves in a paradox, using the available holiday apartments to rent for short periods on a strictly no residency basis, while we search to secure a permanent apartment from which to base ourselves. The holiday apartments are more expensive than ordinary rentals and we can’t afford to keep staying in them forever. Add to this the fact that we have no official residency, because we don’t have an address. The address is an incredibly important part of your Italian identify not least as it enables to have post delivered to you. We are not able to have post or parcels delivered, buy a car, moped, get phone contracts, unlimited wifi etc. Many people find renting with Air B&B favourable because as well as the increase in rental value presumably the legislative requirements for holiday rentals, if they are declared, are considerably less than those required for residences, and if they are not declared, fairly non-existent.

Everyone here is looking for an apartment, or that’s what it feels like. Agencies rarely have rentals in the windows because they go too quickly. We have been told you have to call as soon as you get the notification to your mailbox. We have personally visited multiple agencies who have never contacted us and had nothing to show us when we were in their offices. We have seen notices pasted to lamp posts by people also searching for apartments. We have joined Facebook groups and watched other people posting adverts almost identical to ours. We have told everyone that we have met that we are looking for apartments and they have promised to let us know if they hear anything. Some people have told us we will not be able to rent while we are on temporary contracts, but initial temporary contracts are standard for new jobs in Italy. Others have said we will not be able to rent without references; how will we be able to get references when we can’t rent. Still we are searching.

In the meantime, we have lived in 3 very different air B&B in 3 beautiful parts of Bologna. The first was just outside of porta San Malmalo. It had a good-sized entrance hall, a reasonable sized double bedroom with lots of built in storage. The living space was nicely separated into kitchen dining and lounge zones. We had a set of French doors leading onto some private outdoor tiled space. It was smaller than we were used to but, in all honesty, there are only two of us and we need to be more disciplined about use of space so it was encouraging us into good (tidier) habits. The apartment was only 30 minutes walk from the centre of Bologna (as are most places). The only downside of this apartment was that there was no guaranteed parking and we were using a public car park nearby which charged by the day. However, it became apparent that a month would not be enough time to secure a permanent apartment. We could not extend the apartment we were in as they had another booking, so we looked for another air B&B. We found a place that had a 50% discount for booking for a month and we took it.

  • Apartment San Mamalo

The new apartment was considerably bigger than the first and this one had loads of storage. It had two large bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was on the 7th floor and offered incredible views of the city. The floors were marble everywhere except the bedrooms which were wooden parquet. The kitchen was in a separate room and there was a separate study. We were certainly living in luxury and the apartment included a garage under the apartment building. We had a balcony that could be accessed by the French doors in either the lounge or dining room areas of the open plan living space. This apartment was close to the portes of Santo Stefano or Maggiore in the Murri district, a very popular residential spot, so we had alternative walks into the city each with their own pros and cons. Maggiore, for my money, was the prettiest walk in and led directly into the main high street in Bologna. It has porticos almost the whole way along it’s length so from where we joined the road from the apartment all the way into the centre of the city. Santo Stefano has porticos from the porta into the centre and the shops were more interesting. The end of this route brought you through the square of the 7 churches or if you preferred onto the designer stores of Piazza Cavore and via Farini. We loved the area here and the walk was a similar 30 minutes in. There were more shops near to our apartment, so we were spoilt for convenience. This is a very leafy area with tree lined avenues, and it’s close to the Giardini Margherita. Sadly, as we realised that we would not be moving into a permanent home any time soon we also had to leave this apartment, knowing we would probably never live anywhere so luxurious again.

The new apartment was considerably bigger than the first and this one had loads of storage. It had two large bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was on the 7th floor and offered incredible views of the city. The floors were marble everywhere except the bedrooms which were wooden parquet. The kitchen was in a separate room and there was a separate study. We were certainly living in luxury and the apartment included a garage under the apartment building. We had a balcony that could be accessed by the French doors in either the lounge or dining room areas of the open plan living space. This apartment was close to the portes of Santo Stefano or Maggiore in the Murri district, a very popular residential spot, so we had alternative walks into the city each with their own pros and cons. Maggiore, for my money, was the prettiest walk in and led directly into the main high street in Bologna. It has porticos almost the whole way along it’s length so from where we joined the road from the apartment all the way into the centre of the city. Santo Stefano has porticos from the porta into the centre and the shops were more interesting. The end of this route brought you through the square of the 7 churches or if you preferred onto the designer stores of Piazza Cavore and via Farini. We loved the area here and the walk was a similar 30 minutes in. There were more shops near to our apartment, so we were spoilt for convenience. This is a very leafy area with tree lined avenues, and it’s close to the Giardini Margherita. Sadly, as we realised that we would not be moving into a permanent home any time soon we also had to leave this apartment, knowing we would probably never live anywhere so luxurious again.

The third and current Air B&B is in a very exclusive location. Located outside the porta Castiglione, which is between San Mamalo and San Stefano. The area is known as Colli, which means hills, and the road to San Luca (an important local site) runs up from porta Castiglione. The apartment buildings here are generally old and can be entirely private homes. I like to see how many mailbox names are listed as this indicates the number of households’ resident in the building. All the apartment buildings here are accessed by gates, usually automated. It is leafy and private. The apartment building, we are in has 7 households in the main building accessed through an imposing front door. We are down the gravel track around the back of the building in an apartment next to the garages. Many apartment buildings here include a custodian flat where the custodian’s family would live, looking after the maintenance of the building and grounds. We believe our apartment is the converted custodian flat. We have beautiful big windows and high ceilings. The owner has converted it tastefully with carefully selected antique furniture and light fittings. We have a private outside seating area and look out over the garden of the apartment building which itself looks over the tennis court of a neighbouring building. It is small so we are back to self-discipline and space management, but it is a truly beautiful apartment and location. Once again, we are 30 minutes’ walk from the centre along a new route, with new shops and sights to learn. We have been incredibly lucky and there is virtually no chance that we will be able to find or afford an apartment in any of the locations that we have stayed in so far. We have been very privileged to be able to stay in these places and have these experiences and we are just trying to relax and enjoy them while we can.