Spending, Friending, and Nesting in Liguria

Throughout the past week, I have carried an odd set of emotions around with me. I have a list in my head of all the diverse items I need to live in my little apartamento.  I need wooden spoons and a cutting board. I have 1 spoon now, and no cutting board.

I need wi-fi and internet. I thought I had purchased the correct thing months ago but no, what I have does not work. I ordered the correct set up now and am now just waiting the 2 or 3 or 4 weeks it will take for them to arrive and install. Piano, piano. That’s what Italians say. They mean go slowly and wait. I am learning. The sea helps.

I need a TV. What came with the apartment was an old style maybe 11-inch TV set that only works on one channel. On that channel, I have watched documentaries about different areas of Italy, the Italian news and a show called REX, the Detective Dog (I think).

That one makes me laugh even though it is not supposed to do that. It was time to spend money on a TV.

There is a store called Unieuro in town that is a pint sized Best Buy Store. I found a 32” TV which, in comparison, is quite large. It was too difficult to carry (I walk everywhere.) so I had to wait for delivery. They said it would arrive Saturday. Great!

What I also seek in my new home town, something more important than a television or wooden spoons, is more friends. I adore Renato and Mario at the gelato shop. They have been very kind. I would love them to be true friends. But we are not there yet. However, through one Facebook group, I met a wonderful person and expat named Sharon. We had been talking about meeting when we discovered that a semi-famous upscale market would be offering its goods in Levagna on Tuesday. Levagna is the next town to the east of us. We met near the train station for un caffe’ first.  We also walked to see the end of a military parade for the celebration of 25 April, in remembrance of the Resistance during World War II and the partigiani, the partisans who fought against Mussolini and Hitler.  I was fortunate to have get a couple photos.

After all these lovely, well dressed marchers, including the mayor or sindaco, were finished, we caught the 5-minute train ride to Levagna for the Forte Dei Marmi Mercato (the town of Forte Dei Marmi in Tuscany offers this market every Wednesday.) Both Sharon and I decided to shop for clothing. This market is unlike others I have attended. Here the quality is higher with young, burgeoning designers’ products being shown. And most things were made in Italy.

So many well-made items were available to us.

Love the purses and the women on their hunt for the best purchases.

I regret not buying this one. But I did buy one of the items below.

Both Sharon and I purchased a few items and, overall, they fit well, are well made and I now have some more items to wear this summer that are linen and cotton. Both will be more comfortable and stylish than what I brought with me.

After saying our goodbyes and heading home with the goods, I tried everything on and it fit or was a bit too big! That is great news! So, I thought I would celebrate with a big bowl of gelato.

The weather had changed. It was dark and cool outside. In fact, most of the week was like this.

The next day, while the rain pattered on my balconies and the wind blew it like icicles against the windows, I decided to clean my place thoroughly. I moved furniture around, washed nearly all the floors and prepared for the arrival of my TV.

It was a cold, windy day again on Thursday when the television arrived. It was early. How amazing in Italy! Two young men got it all set up for me and it was a perfect day chill out with the television. Did  you know that you get close to 300 television channels here at no cost? About 50 of them are probably trying to sell you a scooter, or makeup or a new bed. Still that is a LOT of TV. I found a few English-speaking channels and I fell into my TV. I wish I had had this television when I was ill. So it goes.

Friday, my new friend Sharon and I did a different kind of shopping. Sharon needed to install a border on her flowerbed. We visited a huge, commercial shop to pick out bricks for the border and stones too. We found the brick but then traveled to the outdoor store for the stones. There I finally bought my basil plant. Now I have fresh basil every day if needed.

Sharon and I spent the entire day getting to know one another better. She is really a great person and I am so happy to have met her. She is completely fluent in Italian. Yet we spoke in English mostly. We had a wonderful day and I look forward to seeing her again.

In between outings with Sharon and becoming addicted to television again, I cooked. Most days were dull and dreary. Soup was back on the menu.

So was risotto,

And so much more. Somehow, cooking in my tiny kitchen on the little gas stove brings me peace. I tend to experiment which is a creative outlet for me. And, just getting things to work in my rental apartment with the supplied cookware can be a challenge itself.

But I love it.

The sun is out today. I am off to adventure.

I think that last week’s rainy days gave me the opportunity to get more settled into my apartment. I was nesting. Have you done that? When you first move into a new place and all you want to do is stay there and experience it all? That is nesting.  

You want to see your neighbors, the neighborhood, and catch the feel of it all. I am doing that.

Wish you could experience this with me. You can travel, rent an apartment and stay in one place as your home base. I have chosen to do this for a minimum of one year. How long would you like to stay? Let me know how I can assist you in following your dreams. You can spend, friend and nest too. You will never forget it.