A new chapter

Over a year ago, I wrote my first blog post here (in Dutch). After months of writing about the differences between Italians and the Dutch, sharing recipes, and giving advices about the beautiful places Italy has to offer, it is time for a new chapter!

Hopefully, tomorrow I am leaving to Italy for good. That means even more material to write about and even more Italian recipes to share. Things have been quiet for a while, but SHARE Italy is ready for something new! New ideas for blogs, new ideas for the business, and time for new adventures!

But first, the story leading up to the movement. What a months...

Of course, this didn't come out of the blue; Cris and I were already done with the Netherlands for a while, so it was a matter of waiting until the Olympic Games were over and costs would drop in Bormio. However, that didn't happen, and I was left with the unease that I was really ready for it. 'Why don't you just call a real estate agent? They might be able to gauge how things will go.' After saying this to Cris, everything moved at lightning speed. It was difficult to arrange things from the Netherlands, and fortunately, Cris was still in his trial time. Taking the risk or keep trying and end up with a one-month notice period? Cris took the risk, and I am so glad he did! He ended in his trial time and left to Italy four days later, three days after that, I got a call: 'We have a house and I have a job.' The house may not be in Bormio, but it is still close by and in a beautiful area!

From that day on, everything moved at lightning speed. Cris started his life there, and I started closing mine here. Both separately, both in different situations, both knowing that we were heading towards a new future. This lasted two months, and it wasn't easy. Normally, you pick up a key together and celebrate these kinds of milestones together; this time, it had to be done separately. As unpleasant as this situation was, it also provides extra confirmation of how crazy you are about each other, and once again, we knew why we were doing it.

It involves quite a bit of organizing, but I had all the time in the world, or so I thought...

The cats had to be vaccinated against rabies, otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to cross the border, and we also had to ask for the best drugs for them (especially Fonzi). More on this later, but the drugs we had ;).

In between, I had some pasta workshops scheduled, I ofcourse wanted to see everyone as much as possible, and had to pack. Ultimately, it was quite a busy schedule these months, and packing turned out to be very stressful at the end. You always have more than you think. On top of that, of course, there was the hassle of cancelling all the contracts, unsubscribing from everywhere, and best of all, cancelling my health insurance. I actually celebrated that with a little party!

Cris came to the Netherlands in a van the last weekend to pick up the stuff and bring the cats back. At that moment, I had already been living in stress for two months with few moments of rest, little sleep, the van was smaller than expected, I was worried about the cats, and I had to speak in three languages. My stress level was at a boiling point. So I wasn't quite myself, and you can safely say that a witch inside me emerged. Once again, sorry to everyone who had to experience this haha (of course, I've already told this face to face ;)), but this explosion was actually quite nice for a change. The next day I cleaned the house, the cats had arrived in Italy by then, and so all the weight fell away from me and my shoulders dropped a centimeter lower after months!

Just a quick side story regarding to the cats. They had been given Diazepam, and with Luna, it started working after just 10 minutes. She would fall over after just a few steps, stagger around the room, but also start playing with everything she came across. Normally, Luna isn't this playful, but okay, I suppose that's part of it. At one point, Fonzi lay down, looked quite stoned, and became a bit wobbly too. Time to go. Luna meowed for 5 hours straight... Every time Cris called, I heard her in the background. I Googled if this was normal, and in a small percentage of cases, cats become hyperactive from it—just our luck... Eventually, she got tired of herself, and they both slept for a bit. All in all, a good trip!

Then all that was left for me was a workshop and loooong amounts of time with family and friends. I have really enjoyed these past weeks with everyone and the time spent with my parents. That was my home for these 1.5 weeks. On paper, these days I am homeless and unemployed, and honestly, that was just wonderful for these days! I really managed to completely unwind so I can board the train tomorrow morning feeling relaxed, off to Cris, off to my new home, off to my new life!

To be continued...