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Pregnant through the Tuscany – part II

Pregnant through the Tuscany – part II

As I wrote in part one – these holidays would be the best before a new chapter in our life would start.

Ok, the start of these holidays were mainly food and toilets.

I love to eat, I always did, but pregnant I was eating more and was craving fresh and healthy food (mainly) so not the typical pregnancy cravings but the healthier version of them. Especially breakfast, I love breakfast.

Italian Breakfast

Fresh fruit daily, without would have been a nightmare, so it was great that Marzia’s father had his daily walk over the farm and that he stopped by to give us some fresh peaches out of their garden for the bambini.

My daily breakfast was greek yogurt with peaches and while writing about it I could just eat it again although I’m not pregnant.

Greek Yoghurt with Peaches

In Siena we sat on the Piazza del Campo the year before eating Pizza out of the box, just enjoying the sunshine and watching people. This year I preferred the Caprese Con Mozzarella Di Bufala.

Caprese Con Mozzarella Di Bufala

There was lots of food this year but honestly, what would Italy be without food, still nice but something would be wrong. They have so much wonderful food that not eating would be a shame. Besides I had to eat for two now, hadn’t I 😉

I mentioned toilets earlier but don’t worry, all I ate stayed with me, I just had the wonderful pregnancy urge to go to the toilet felt every half an hour. That’s not a big thing when you are at home but it can be really annoying when you are in cities or sometimes even villages and you have to find public (eeewww) toilets. My best friend was a disinfection spray in my bag and wet tissues.

My baby was so wonderful, growing inside of me without bothering me with pregnancy sickness, heartburn, nausea or other pregnancy signs. OK, I had a bit a bloated belly but hey, I had nothing to hide, it looked even a bit like a baby bump.

Baby bump or bloated

It looks even more than a baby bump and not just bloated when you place your hand on your belly 😉

My husband was the happiest daddy-to-be you can even imagine. Our mood was really great and we are often fighting for nothing, two stubborn minds, but during these holidays I cannot remember that we had lots of senseless fights about who bought the wrong water or other life-changing topics.

Parents-to-be seem to be full of oxytocin.

Parents to be

I love stunning views and could sit and look at them for hours just thinking nothing, during these holidays I was loving to sit and just watch the ocean, breathing in the salty air and thinking if our baby would realize the change from Munich to Italy, thoughts what he or she feels, tastes, do embryos taste even at that early stage?

Sunset

Hours could pass like that without me being impatient or bored.

As I’m a bookworm I surely took a book with me to the beach but I think I read if at all the introduction page and the remaining time my thoughts were everywhere but focused on that book.

Book Beach

What I was reading at night was Deepak Chopra’s “Magical Beginnings, Enchanted Lives: A Holistic Guide to Pregnancy” and I can recommend that to every pregnant woman. I loved it!

We had not only our wedding anniversary but also my husband’s birthday while we were in Italy and I always wanted to visit the archaeological site of Pompeii since I heard the story during my Latin’s lessons in school.

If not this time when then? That surely wouldn’t be something with a baby or toddler so the next years not on our list.

Wedding anniversary in Pompeii, the biggest catastrophe you can imagine not only for couples but for whole families – thanks that we both don’t believe in bad luck or better said will always find the opposite if something is bad.

More about Pompeii in part three – the little embryo is already 13 months old and needs my attention now. I hope you stay with me.

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Pregnant through the Tuscany – part I

Pregnant through the Tuscany – part I

It was just the beginning of my pregnancy when we drove to Italy.

These holidays were planned and I was even more excited to visit the places with our baby in my belly.

Couple time for almost three weeks without stress, without work, without daily routine, without plan.

Yes, without plan. What I like is that we spend our holidays according to our mood and indeed without a plan.

We want to sleep long, we do it, we want to visit a certain city, we drive there, we want to eat ice-cream for breakfast, yes, we do that. Perfect for a pregnant woman.

I was a bit worried as the way from Munich to the Grosseto region is quite a ride but with lots of breaks it was completely fine.

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The interesting is that as soon as we are over the Brenner Pass it’s like a button that is pressed and we run in holiday mode. It’s like a magic line, before we are too close to home to feel the holidays already and after that line all is relaxed and sunny and the radio is already playing Italian music.

We’ve chosen to stay in an agriturismo quite close to the sea which is like an apartment on a rural farm. The year before we were more inside the country and my husband had an encounter with a very tiny scorpion and since then the first question before we even check for the price is: “Have you seen scorpions in your area?”.

Our choice was close to perfect! (I will add the address as a footnote for those interested)

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We were expected by Marzia Lucchetti, the owner, and found a homemade cake on our kitchen table to welcome us made by her mother. A family run farm where you feel the warm-hearted atmosphere on the doorstep.

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This was our base camp to start excursions in all directions. It would be our last Tuscany visit as a couple. The next time we would go to Italy it would be a family vacation where activities need to be more baby friendly.

First on the list – find a beach nearby which is not too full and has nice sand. That was easy as the region has indeed wonderful beaches.

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Checking the area is something we love, we just start to drive and see where we end up. Going north felt familiar as we went there the year before and many places were close to our hearts already and a must for this year like San Vincenzo, San Gimignano, Piombino with the wonderful view to the island Elba and of course the bigger cities Siena and Florence.

Exploring the Maremma area was new and we found some hidden jewels for us there as well, Castiglione della Pescaia is one of our favorites, so small but such a wonderful atmosphere in the evening.

Grosseto itself is also nice, we liked it to sit on the market place in the evening when families gather there and children are playing, when will we be back with our child? Will he or she run crazily around like the other kids do, these thoughts were so new yet so full of love already.

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These holidays would be the best before a new chapter in our life would start, I was sure about that and the fear that something could go wrong (again) subsided step by step.

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Here’s the link to the Agriturismo Il Migliarino

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The perfect getaway in the Caribbean sea

The perfect getaway in the Caribbean sea
 The perfect getaway in the Caribbean sea
Believe it or not, I won!
I couldn’t believe it myself when I received the official announcement letter back in 2008 but it was true.
I entered a code found in a perfume package just on the web page of the producer and hit the jackpot.
Twelve days and nights for two in a five-star resort on a private secluded island south-east from the Bahamas.
And as if that wasn’t enough, it was all, and I mean all, included. Flights from Germany over Miami to the capital Providenciales of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Transfer by boat to the island Parrot Cay which is really private and secluded plus a big amount of pocket-money for lunch, dinner, massages and other amenities.
When I called my best friend to ask her if she would like to join me she first thought I was kidding but then quickly said of course we go.
Women planning a trip – what to say? A man would just pack his swim trousers, one or two pair of denims, some shirts and ready to go…
But we started lists which grew longer on a daily basis. Clothes for the beach, for breakfast, for dinner, for walks around the island, for relaxing time just sitting on the balcony, for the night, for the trip itself, sun protection, body lotion, book, sunglasses, several pairs of shoes, camera, arranging documents, are our last vaccinations still active, do we need thrombosis prophylactic stockings for the more than ten-hour flight…I can go on for ages like this, women will understand, haha. We ended up with really heavy luggage just at the edge to pay overweight and our hand luggage was what some need for a three-day trip.
Here we go, two normal girls on their way to an island where we found out Bruce Willis has a villa as well as Donna Karan.
After the first ten-hour flight to Miami we were desperate for a coffee and for gods sake the first we saw after getting out of the gate in Miami was Starbucks right in front of us.
Our flight to Providenciales was delayed so how do women spend time while waiting? Correct, do some shopping, the first piece were sunglasses and the second a zebra scarf. We quickly realized on the island itself that there was only one shop at the reception and not a shop which was affordable for us. Unusual but this trip wasn’t filling up our suitcases.
Landed in Providenciales we were picked up by hotel staff for the boat transfer to the island itself. At arrival it was already dark so the whole beauty of the secluded island wasn’t visible for us that night. It hits us the next morning when we stepped out on the balcony and were welcomed with sunshine, orchids and birds chirping. Relaxation! Silence! Beauty! Food! The terrace for breakfast was directly in front of our room and turned out to be the perfect start for a day – they offered everything you can imagine. There was not one single piece you can think of which wasn’t served. It just took a few days for the servants to realize that we will need a second table to put the amounts we were ordering each day right in front of us. Pancakes with syrup, waffles with slices of mango, fresh orange juice, scrambled eggs with bacon, sunny-side-up eggs, coffee, cereals, fruits, … Before arrival we were thinking about leaving the island for a day trip once or twice during our stay, but when being there we got into a full relax mode, which you could call also lazy mode. If there’s no lack of anything and you feel completely pampered there’s no reason to change it. This mode was starting off with the breakfast followed by beach with book & fruit cocktail, during lunch time we went to the bibliotheque where cookies or cake and tea were offered and where it was cooled down. The bibliotheca was also the only place with access to the web. Afterwards we either went back to the beach / pool area or enjoyed the balcony of our room. And dinner was each night a ceremony of starter, main course and dessert, no way to leave one course as they all were so delicious. Instead of leaving the island we booked massages and went to the area with steam rooms and sauna, which is awesome even in the Caribbean sea as you have orchidees around you and stunning sea views. All shower and body care products offered there underlined the feeling of total relaxation. I never thought twelve days on an island without places to shop or heritages to look at will keep me to stay there more than forty-eight hours in a row but honestly, enough food, the sea, the weather and lots of silence were more than sufficient for us. We didn’t even had a slight thought about leaving for shopping or crowded places.
What’s the main conclusion after this trip?
If you win it, definitely accept and go! If you have to book it yourself you may choose another location which is not that expensive because it was expensive, almost not affordable for ‘normal’ people. If you want an idea, the trip for us with a stop over flight from Europe, twelve nights breakfast included was about twelve thousand Euro. A three course dinner was around one hundred dollar for two persons. We never had lunch and didn’t missed it as it was warm during this time and after the extended breakfast also not hungry.
They offer a lot of massages and treatments which are had to resist, at least once is a must during a staying.
Not much of us are falling into the category ‘I don’t care about money because I have enough’, if yes, book and relax.
If not, honestly, there are lots of offers even around the Turks and Caicos islands which are affordable. It won’t be the secluded exclusive island with security boats during night. This is a ‘nice to have’ but not really something desperately needed for relaxing holidays. I have seen the beaches and the surrounding out there and it’s awesome. White beach and turquoise water raise instantly a vacation mood, at least for me. I think I is kind of similar to the Maldives but I cannot assure it as I haven’t been there yet. I would imagine it to be similar. Nevertheless – we loved our stay and if I’m ever in the situation of having too much money I may consider to go to a second time but with my fiancé. It’s a romantic place where many spend their honeymoon or even get married.
In holiday mood? Enjoy a few pictures of the island.
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First holidays on my own in Italy – part 3 (Departure)

First holidays on my own in Italy – part 3 (Departure)
One week alone in Italy – was it what I wanted?
On the bus travel back to the airport I was trying to draw a conclusion of what was good, what not so good.
There are many if I’m honest, I just tell about the main for me.
The first and most important lesson learned for me was that you always carry your mind with you, there’s no escape. But if you are out of your daily routine you are able to get another view on it. You have the time to re-think, over-think, search, at least I had the passion to do so and was driving back in a better shape.
Another good experience was not to be scared of traveling alone. If you are a bit communicative you will make contact to others. I kept it on a low level as my intention was not to make friends but nevertheless I had some nice chats with tourists like the two women or my neighbor couple as well as with some of the locals, the poolbar chief who had once a gelateria in Germany, one of his co-workers who proudly showed pictures of his newborn daughter and a farmer who lived near to the hotel.
This was a nice story as I was walking by each day and from time to time I was buying some of his fruits, tomatoes, pepper, and as he was only talking Italian he teached me some phrases. This reminded me again on my wish to learn Italian, unfortunately it’s still just a plan and I haven’t worked on it yet. But it showed me how friendly these people are and they don’t need big houses or expensive cars, they just enjoy there being which is something I took back with me.
Simplicity is often the healthier way to live instead of running after timelines, being stressed or work until you fell asleep exhausted in the middle of the night.
What I missed is someone to share the beauty with. If you are standing at the lighthouse and enjoy the beautiful view of the sea you miss someone next to you to share it with. I took so many pictures and for sure I shared them with others afterwards but the moment itself was just for me.
Also many of these places were romantic and these were the moments when I asked myself what I did wrong to be there alone instead of snuggling up into the arms of someone, but that’s life. Everything which happens in life has a deeper sense.
And it was still better than traveling in a group with a guide explaining stuff you don’t want to know. These guides which hold up an umbrella and you run after it. I think I would have felt even more lonely within such a group.
In the end it was exactly what I needed. I went back with new impressions, new thoughts, ready to do something in my life to change it. I wasn’t completely renewed but it was a step towards myself.
I regained the faith in me, trusting myself, having the ability to change and to live in a happy way.

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First holidays on my own in Italy – part 2 (Stay)

First holidays on my own in Italy – part 2 (Stay)I woke up early on my first real vacation day which is completely unusual for me. But why not – I wanted a change so I took it just like this and went for breakfast. I had no special plans for my day, just walking around, enjoying the sunshine, going down to the beach to see how it is, just drifting in different directions. This plan turned out to be the best I ever had. I’m sure I wouldn’t have discovered all these nice places when booking a guided tour or making tough plans on what to see during the days. Capo Vaticano, it’s a cute, small, one-horse town in Calabria. I walked up to the lighthouse and was already catched by it’s beauty. You have awesome views from there down to the sea. A small cafe next to it served the typical ice-cream for this region called tartufo. It’s hard to describe how I felt but it was a bit like Alice in wonderland, every now and then I saw beautiful flowers, small ways covered by trees with sunshine breaking through the leaves, always the sound of the sea near. Silence, exactly what I wanted. It was not the main season so not all places were crowded by tourists, it were mainly locals walking by and greeting as if we know each other in a friendly way. I was calm, more calm than all those weeks before. From time to time my past was hunting me, mainly in the evenings when it was getting dark outside, like ghosts they were appearing out of nothing but they didn’t brought me down like they did before. There were too many thoughts on my mind which left not much place for them. When I felt them, I just accepted that I couldn’t run away but also I started to search for inner peace to get rid of them completely one day. Thanks to Paulo Coelho here, as his ‘Warrior of light’ was a great inspiration. Another great experience was that I opened my eyes again to all what was going on around me. Like sleeping beauty caught in a never ending nightmare, I was awakening, step by step, back to the person I was a long time ago. Ok, without the kiss, but this was something I wouldn’t even think about. Before thinking about a man I first had the task to get back to myself again. Pushing my self esteem was not on my list but it was unavoidable as blonde in Calabria. I never believed all stories about Italian men but discovered very quickly that there’s a lot of truth in them. Believe it or not, cars were slowing down next me and men from eighteen to eighty were smiling and waving at me. Back in the hotel I relaxed at the pool, reading in the shadow of my umbrella, until one guy from the pool bar brought me a drink I didn’t ordered. With best wishes from our cook, who was standing on the opposite of the pool waving over. The rules that staff is not allowed to flirt with guests weren’t existing, at least not for them. But as long as it was not bothering in a rude way it was fine for me. To realize that I wasn’t invisible was pushing my mood. Servants giving me something extra, nice to have, I knew that it’s not because it’s me as person but who cares, as long as it feels good. When approaches especially from the cook became more I explained there’s no chance at all, I will not go for a drink, I will not drive to a private party, I just finish my drink and go in my room, alone, and sleep. He tried it again each night and in the end he was not saying goodbye like a huffish child not getting what it wanted. Poor guy, the next blonde was for sure there quicker than he thought and some will like it for sure.
The days were passing so quickly that I already thought why not two weeks instead of one. But one was ok, I was relaxing, I was calming down, I enjoyed the landscape in bright sunshine and not to forget the awesome Italian food.
What’s the conclusion of this week? See part 3

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First holidays on my own in Italy – part 1 (Arrival)

First holidays on my own in Italy – part 1 (Arrival)
Did you ever had the feeling of being totally worn out?
It was last year September when I had the feeling the only thing I really need is silence, time for myself, lots of it.
This year was full of stupid bad stories and I was tired, soooo damn tired of everything.
I never went on holidays alone, it was always someone around me to share things with so I was a bit scared first of booking something just on my own.
What if I feel completely uncomfortable during the holidays or got homesick?
But the urge of relaxing and calming down was bigger than the little fear in the back of my mind. Not to over stress myself I decided to split my two weeks of holidays and start with a visit of family and friends, they can bring me back on track whenever I’m unsure, and for the second week I booked my first “just me” holidays.
I chose Italy as I’m loving the country.
When I was there for the first time I instantly fell in love with the landscape in Tuscany.
The food is one of my favorites and I’m also addicted to old buildings. But instead of looking for Rome or Milano I picked a small town in Calabria.
My aim was to relax and not to go from one big city to another and even if I like shopping so much, the need of silence was bigger.
Calabria in mid September meant still up to over 30°C and the sea was just a short walk away from the hotel.
Italy welcomed me with blue sky and lots of sunshine when I arrived in Lamezia Therme airport and the women from the travel agency was waiting for me to guide me to the bus driving tourists to their different destinations.
As I thought, there were so many German tourists, like the cliche with white socks in sandals, that I quickly turned my “I’m not German” mode on. After many travels I’m not too bad in pretending as I’m really almost running away when hearing my mother language in a foreign country. The last thing I wanna do is making friends somewhere. I have friends, thanks, and I’m fine just on my own. Even better than with groups of persons who order German food in Italy or expect everyone to talk German just because they are not able to adapt.
I sat down at the window and put music on my ears. It would be an one hour drive through Calabria and I just wanted to enjoy the view.
The music was not too loud, I was still able to hear people talking behind and in front of me and it proofed quickly that I wasn’t wrong with my assumptions.
“How dirty, did you see? They just put the garbage on the street. Plastic bottles, they need to put them extra in a separate trash can. This would never be possible at home.”
“Hey, there’s a German restaurant, remember the name so we may go there one day. Honey, our hotel has a German menu, I checked it upfront.
“It’s too hot here, I thought it’s around 25°C, hopefully it will cool down a bit during our stay.”
“Oh, did you see how the houses look like? Cannot imagine to live like they do. Awful.”
“Each car has big scratches, the decision to fly was the right, not that ours got damaged here.”
You wanna more, I still have many sentences in my portfolio.
I know that not everyone is like that but honestly, most of the tourists are annoying me wherever I have been.
I experienced the same in Hungary, Greece, Malta, UK, Spain,…
Maybe it’s me, sensing it, but in the end I try my best everywhere to get out of sight very quickly before I’m getting mad.
When we stopped in front of my hotel two women were leaving the bus together with me. I was the first at the reception for checking in and the receptionist was directly talking English so I communicated with her that way until I got my room keys.
The bad thing of traveling alone was the time of breakfast and dinner. I skipped lunch as I didn’t want to stay near the hotel each day to be in time for lunch. But there were still the mornings and evenings where I had a singe table just for me. And I was the only person there traveling alone. It felt strange the first evening, I had the feeling as if everyone is watching me. And not only watching, also like feeling sorry for me, sitting there so lonely.
Not to feel to uncomfortable myself I started to analyze the people around me.
The couple in the room next to me was, who thought it, from Germany and the wife said hello to me when I first stepped out on my balcony. They had a table on the other side of the room and she was smiling from time to time, saying cheers across the room. He just turned once to see to whom she cheered and then they were talking to each other like couples do when eating outside.
Next to me were the two women I had on the bus. They were also saying cheers in a nice but unsure way. They were talking a bit but nothing really interesting, just about the trip itself, that it seems to be a nice spot they chose and what to plan for the next days. The rest was only looking and from the different expressions on their faces you could start to assume their thoughts.
The young couple with the baby, he was staring from time to time whereas it was for me like he’s dreaming about something completely not related to me, I was just sitting in the same direction. She was looking at him as if she was jealous not realizing the situation at all. Maybe he was just tired, and she not feeling comfortable after giving birth with her own look, who knows but I wasn’t the reason for the silence between them while eating.
An old American couple where both were chatting as if there’s no tomorrow, where you saw they are not listening to what the other one is saying. Two people living in separate worlds but still a couple. They seemed as if they arranged and it was OK for them.
There was another old couple in a completely different style. She was only serving her husband, not saying anything without being asked. From time to time you saw in her face thoughts running but before she was starting to talk she held herself back with a sad face. He was only ordering, can you give, could you go and ask, will you bring, not even a please.
Interesting but also scary, how would I be one day? What I saw there was nothing I would love for my life.
After we finished dinner and just had our drinks left in front of us my room neighbor was waving me over to join her and her husband. She told me it’s hard to see someone sitting there alone although I was not looking sad or unhappy.
A nice gesture and it was ok. I wanted to travel alone but that doesn’t meant to avoid each human contact.
The two women who arrived with me were more than surprised and stopped on their way to leave the dinner. “Are you German? We just heard you during check-in and we’re both sure you must be from UK or US, what an awesome English you are talking.”
Not too bad as compliment because it was proofing that I really can pretend to be anything but German if I want to.
The first day was coming to an end and the first hurdles like eating my dinner alone were taken. I was tired in a good way and just sat for one hour on my balcony, reading Paulo Coelho’s ‘Warrior of light’, listening to the chirping of crickets, enjoying the sounds and smell of Italy.