Il dolce far niente

So between working two jobs, learning Italian AND still trying to have a social life, I haven’t really had a chance to practice the above. But thanks to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and their inability to correctly calculate my taxes; I may finally be able to fund my trip to Italy without fear of having to sleep on floors and eat only left overs.

First stop shall be Bellagio on Lake Como, where sadly all the money in in the world won’t save me from sleeping on a mattress on Sara’s floor for a couple of months. But I’m willing to accept that in exchange for her mother’s cooking. Not to mention the fact that I’ll be working so much I doubt I’ll care where I’m sleeping.

Then to Milan where I shall make a point of trying the very special risotto alla milanese followed by the grand Milanese institution, the aperitivo. One quick flight and then I shall be in Rome, where I plan to spend a week, maybe two, eating gelato on the Spanish steps; sneakily attempting to take pictures inside the Sistine Chapel and generally making a nuisance of myself by getting lost on trams, and getting in the way of drivers on their mopeds. Not to mention the inevitable trip to Da Baffetto that shall have to made in order to try an authentic roman pizza. From there to Istanbul for a few days where I plan to eat my weight in Dondurma and Baklava, finally visit the Blue Mosque and my beloved Hagia Sophia before flying to Kyrenia in North Cyprus where I shall devour trays full of Lahmacun and meet up with my sister and her boyfriend for a final debrief and loll about on the beach before flying home to miserable old London.

Scrap that, I shall have no time to be idle, I’ll clearly be too busy eating…