Friday was a much better day following the tough day we had on Thursday. Riccardo seemed much more relaxed and calm throughout the day and I felt much more at ease after I had slept. Me and Erica walked with Riccardo to get a new pram which is much easier to manoeuvre. Man I can't believe how much you mummies have to spend on baby things, it is crazy! After we bought the pram we walked to a patisserie and sat outside and had americanos and I picked two cakes- one was alike to a ferrero rocher on the outside and the inside was a little spongey with nutella..that's the best way I can describe it, but it was amazing and we also had a croissant filled with vanilla cream! Then we walked home and I played with Riccardo for a bit and fed him then we went out a little later and met up with a girl that is marrying into Michele's side of the family, she was really nice and could speak English fairly well. I always feel so relieved when we meet up with people that can speak English. Throughout Friday my hayfever was incredibly bad. I must have sneezed over 100 times and it was so irritating I can't even describe it. We walked round Brescia and tried to find me a new bikini because I only have a high waisted one and the bikinis were so expensive in the shops and the one I loved in H&M wasn't in a size 10 which sucked :(
When we had been at home Erica had said she felt lightheaded and I had a little, maybe from the heat. She checked her blood pressure and it was a little low and then we checked mine and mine was really low, although I already knew I have low blood pressure it made me think how careful I should be especially when I exercise in this heat. While we were out we went to a coffee shop again and I had an iced coffee which was topped with squirty cream, chocolate sauce and chopped hazelnuts which perked me up a huge amount after feeling so crappy all day with my hayfever!
We went home and I relaxed for a little while and then Michele came home and told me to be ready in half an hour because we were going out for drinks with their friends. I got dressed and we walked with their pram (I found it so strange that so many italian children were out while their parents drank but I suppose its the norm here, however we werent drunk just a little merry) we met up with the couple I cooked dinner for which I wrote about in one of my previous blogs and I ordered aperol spritz for me, Erica and Michele in Italian hurray! They were the best aperol spritz I've ever tried :)
It was such a fantastic atmosphere, the streets were crowded with people holding their drinks, chatting and laughing. The bars were so small so people were milling into the streets and in the central parts there were really flexible women dressed in costume swinging really high and doing tricks and balancing acts on it while crowds clapped and cheered, I wish England would have things like this on every weekend!
We went to a restaurant around 10pm as here when they go out for dinner they sometimes eat fairly late after they have had their 'aperitif' which is usually between 5-7pm and it is couple of drinks with snacks to keep you going until dinner. I had pesto pasta which had green beans and the pesto was freshly made, it was so so good!
After we walked the long walk home in the rain, but the rain really doesn't irritate me here, it's so refreshing especially when we were walking home after midnight!
On Saturday I woke up and Erica and Riccardo were still asleep so I made a coffee and tried a 'Nutella B-ready' which is like a really light, long biscuit filled with nutella. WHY is the food so good here?!
I got dressed and we walked to the pharmacy to get me some stronger hayfever tablets because my nose was red raw from all the sneezing I had done the day before. I was given some and they actually work! I was also told by my friend Gina that local honey works and I now vow to have a tsp of honey in my coffee every morning instead of sugar which has been helping my hayfever but also is much healthier!
We ran a few more errands and then we came home and I gave Riccardo his lunch, changed him and then played with him for a little while. I don't like talking about other peoples personal lives but I guess it kind of involves me so while I was playing with Riccardo Erica came in visibly upset but just told me when I asked if she was okay that she was a little sad. It worried me a bit but I didn't want to push anything further as I am just their au pair and it's not much my business but I think because Michele works so much in the week-mostly twelve hour days she doesn't get to spend much quality time with him and I think it is much harder for couples after a baby is born because they can't dedicate their time to each other as much for obvious reasons. However he wasn't really here much this weekend as he had other things on but I think the distance had really got to her and it has been stressful with Riccardo teething and being poorly the past few days that I think she just needed a cuddle like we all do. We went for a walk to take her mind off things and we ended up going and having aperitif, we had these red non-alcoholic drinks which were quite bitter and a little like aperol spritz but not alcoholic. They came with a bowl of crisps and some pastries but we didn't end up eating them. Erica always moans about her belly still being a little bump-shaped but she has such an incredible body and she is so healthy. It makes me think that women really do torture themselves (myself included) on their bodies far too much. We all have our own individual wonderful qualities that may not mean much to some but will be really valued by the people that love and you and we must learn to love ourselves more!
I got dressed and we walked to the pharmacy to get me some stronger hayfever tablets because my nose was red raw from all the sneezing I had done the day before. I was given some and they actually work! I was also told by my friend Gina that local honey works and I now vow to have a tsp of honey in my coffee every morning instead of sugar which has been helping my hayfever but also is much healthier!
We ran a few more errands and then we came home and I gave Riccardo his lunch, changed him and then played with him for a little while. I don't like talking about other peoples personal lives but I guess it kind of involves me so while I was playing with Riccardo Erica came in visibly upset but just told me when I asked if she was okay that she was a little sad. It worried me a bit but I didn't want to push anything further as I am just their au pair and it's not much my business but I think because Michele works so much in the week-mostly twelve hour days she doesn't get to spend much quality time with him and I think it is much harder for couples after a baby is born because they can't dedicate their time to each other as much for obvious reasons. However he wasn't really here much this weekend as he had other things on but I think the distance had really got to her and it has been stressful with Riccardo teething and being poorly the past few days that I think she just needed a cuddle like we all do. We went for a walk to take her mind off things and we ended up going and having aperitif, we had these red non-alcoholic drinks which were quite bitter and a little like aperol spritz but not alcoholic. They came with a bowl of crisps and some pastries but we didn't end up eating them. Erica always moans about her belly still being a little bump-shaped but she has such an incredible body and she is so healthy. It makes me think that women really do torture themselves (myself included) on their bodies far too much. We all have our own individual wonderful qualities that may not mean much to some but will be really valued by the people that love and you and we must learn to love ourselves more!
Later we drove to a really posh restaurant for dinner and met up with four other couples. I felt a little awkward because although a couple of them could speak English they were all talking amongst themselves. The food was incredible, for starter I had asparagus flan which was wrapped in parmesan crisps and it had two tiny flowers on top and they were edible! The main was tuna steak in sesame seeds with aubergine guacamole and baked potato chips.
For a lot of the meal I kept having to go outside and the restaurant was on a resort so I had to keep pushing Riccardo round outside past all the apartments and the pool and at first he was really calm but he kept taking his dummy out and just wouldn't sleep then after a while he became incredibly hysterical to the point I could have cried. I literally didn't know what to do with him or with myself. Nothing I did would stop him crying, I rocked his pram, I sang to him (probably the singing that made him hysterical to be fair), I talked to him, I picked him up and showed him all the lights on the opposite island, I sat him on the grass as usually he loves playing with it but he kept coughing and spluttering and screaming, and at some points he cried so much he couldn't breathe properly. I was so frightened. I couldn't soothe him at all and one man even opened the door of his apartment and looked out because the sounds he was making was so disturbing it must have sounded like he was being hurt. Thankfully after about fifteen minutes of this Erica found us and managed to soothe him. His teething is so bad and his cheeks were so red from it. I hate seeing babies hysterical like that, it's so unsettling.
For a lot of the meal I kept having to go outside and the restaurant was on a resort so I had to keep pushing Riccardo round outside past all the apartments and the pool and at first he was really calm but he kept taking his dummy out and just wouldn't sleep then after a while he became incredibly hysterical to the point I could have cried. I literally didn't know what to do with him or with myself. Nothing I did would stop him crying, I rocked his pram, I sang to him (probably the singing that made him hysterical to be fair), I talked to him, I picked him up and showed him all the lights on the opposite island, I sat him on the grass as usually he loves playing with it but he kept coughing and spluttering and screaming, and at some points he cried so much he couldn't breathe properly. I was so frightened. I couldn't soothe him at all and one man even opened the door of his apartment and looked out because the sounds he was making was so disturbing it must have sounded like he was being hurt. Thankfully after about fifteen minutes of this Erica found us and managed to soothe him. His teething is so bad and his cheeks were so red from it. I hate seeing babies hysterical like that, it's so unsettling.
We ended up leaving and he didn't sleep until 2am because I think the pain was too much for him.
This morning I woke up and we got dressed and drove to Milan where Erica's parents live. On the way there the rain was so horrendous that we couldn't see the lines on the motorway and Erica had to lean right up to the steering wheel to even see where she was driving, it was pretty scary so we ended up pulling over to some services for a while.
Erica's parents' flat was much more homely and more like the homes my family have rather than Michele's parents with their incredible wealth! I met her brother and he made us all carbonara (I don't really like the sauce that is used in carbonara so I ate very little) but it was still lovely! Erica's mom was so happy to see Riccardo and she kept telling me to go relax while she played with him. I spoke to Erica's brother about the different places in Italy and people in Italy seem to know so much about history and the population of places and all these interesting facts....Google is quickly becoming my best friend! What a strange question....I have been asked three times about the population of Manchester, how in the hell am I supposed to know that?! Afterwards Erica took Riccardo to the bedroom for a nap and I lay on the sofa watching an american film with Morgan Freeman in but there was Italian dialogue and I actually understood what was going on...proud moment! :) Erica's mom came and put a blanket over me because she said I looked tired and I swear she is one of the best people I have met here so far, she is so sweet! I had a half hour nap and then Erica made me a orange and ginger tea when I woke. We drove back home and I fed Riccardo and then we washed and changed him and tried to get him to sleep whilst Michele went out and got us pizza. After no success of getting Ricci to sleep we sat down and I had my first pizza since being here, it was a 10 inch pizza with speck ham and brie, it was so good!
When I had two slices left we heard Riccardo trump and then saw his nappy was leaking, I think he was trying to tell me to stop eating, it was the funniest, grossest thing I think I've ever seen!!! Babies are so hilarious without even meaning to be.
Erica's parents' flat was much more homely and more like the homes my family have rather than Michele's parents with their incredible wealth! I met her brother and he made us all carbonara (I don't really like the sauce that is used in carbonara so I ate very little) but it was still lovely! Erica's mom was so happy to see Riccardo and she kept telling me to go relax while she played with him. I spoke to Erica's brother about the different places in Italy and people in Italy seem to know so much about history and the population of places and all these interesting facts....Google is quickly becoming my best friend! What a strange question....I have been asked three times about the population of Manchester, how in the hell am I supposed to know that?! Afterwards Erica took Riccardo to the bedroom for a nap and I lay on the sofa watching an american film with Morgan Freeman in but there was Italian dialogue and I actually understood what was going on...proud moment! :) Erica's mom came and put a blanket over me because she said I looked tired and I swear she is one of the best people I have met here so far, she is so sweet! I had a half hour nap and then Erica made me a orange and ginger tea when I woke. We drove back home and I fed Riccardo and then we washed and changed him and tried to get him to sleep whilst Michele went out and got us pizza. After no success of getting Ricci to sleep we sat down and I had my first pizza since being here, it was a 10 inch pizza with speck ham and brie, it was so good!
When I had two slices left we heard Riccardo trump and then saw his nappy was leaking, I think he was trying to tell me to stop eating, it was the funniest, grossest thing I think I've ever seen!!! Babies are so hilarious without even meaning to be.
After deciding my stomach couldn't handle the rest of the pizza I walked up and down the apartment trying to get him to sleep in his pram and eventually settled on humming the tune to Twinkle, twinkle little star which he really enjoyed and after trying to fight it for a while he eventually fell asleep!
Fact of the day- Twinkle twinkle little star has the same tune as the alphabet!
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