I woke up this morning wondering about the weather. Would it be:
a) chucking it down with rain
b) drizzling
c) yucky and cloudy
Well, the answer was actually d) none of the above. Why? Because I'm now back in Italy. And in fact, I woke up to glorious sunshine. And soon I will go for a tasty coffee. And then I might make (or nicely ask the boyfriend to make) a lovely Italian lunch.
But before I get carried away and you start thinking I'm a UK hater, I'm not. Do I love living in Italy? Yes. Do I thoroughly dislike UK weather? Oh, yes. But there's much more to the UK than some grey clouds and a little-known sporting event that just took place in our capital. I have decided to create a list of all the things that I love (and already miss) about the UK. So here it is.
1. My family, of course. They are there and I am here. This does not please me greatly. If only I could have my nan out here making endless cups of tea.
2. Marks and Spencers. Love the food. Anything made by M&S will taste good. Fact. I managed to bring back a few packs of M&S cookies in my suitcase. They may now be crumbs. But they will still taste good.
3. Pub food/Thai food/Cheese and pickle sandwiches. There is a distinct absence of foreign cuisine in these parts, and my word do I miss it sometimes, particularly Thai food. Oh, and pub food is just good. Good, hearty stodge. See picture below for the appeal of cheese and pickle.
4. Eavesdropping. In Italy, I don't do it. (Mainly because a lot of the time I don't understand and it's too much effort...ahem). In the UK I find myself doing it twice as much. Maybe to make up for it. Or maybe I'm just nosey. I actually heard a elderly couple discussing the use of the 'n' word in M&S. Well.
5.Poirot. And other amazing drama series that we have on telly. Have a look here for more of my favourites....
6. High street shops. Primark, you make me oh-so-happy. Especially when I got to the counter and found out that a cute little purse that cost practically nothing in the first place was now half price. Ahhh. Other high street faves of mine include Card Factory (10 cards for a pound?!How insanely useful is that!), Superdrug and ASDA. I'm aware I may sound like I have a painkiller addiction when I say this but... 25p for paracetamol?! It almost makes me wish I had a headache. Almost.
7. Banter with shop assistants. To the guy in Oxford's EAT: Your crisp-related banter and cheery attitude thoroughly amused me.
8. Politeness. Not that Italians are rude but....well, sometimes they can seem that way. Nice British gents holding the door open for you? Casual chit chat as you wait to go through airport security? Waitresses in cafes and restaurants actually smiling at you? Lovely.
But now, as to stop myself from getting somewhat homesick and craving a day of Poirot watching, tea drinking and M&S biscuit scoffing with my mum, here are a few things that I'm glad to once again be able to enjoy:
The sunshine
Coffee
Eating my crushed M&S biscuits while sitting in said sunshine and drinking said coffee.
What are the things that you love most about going home?
a) chucking it down with rain
b) drizzling
c) yucky and cloudy
Well, the answer was actually d) none of the above. Why? Because I'm now back in Italy. And in fact, I woke up to glorious sunshine. And soon I will go for a tasty coffee. And then I might make (or nicely ask the boyfriend to make) a lovely Italian lunch.
But before I get carried away and you start thinking I'm a UK hater, I'm not. Do I love living in Italy? Yes. Do I thoroughly dislike UK weather? Oh, yes. But there's much more to the UK than some grey clouds and a little-known sporting event that just took place in our capital. I have decided to create a list of all the things that I love (and already miss) about the UK. So here it is.
1. My family, of course. They are there and I am here. This does not please me greatly. If only I could have my nan out here making endless cups of tea.
2. Marks and Spencers. Love the food. Anything made by M&S will taste good. Fact. I managed to bring back a few packs of M&S cookies in my suitcase. They may now be crumbs. But they will still taste good.
 |
| via |
4. Eavesdropping. In Italy, I don't do it. (Mainly because a lot of the time I don't understand and it's too much effort...ahem). In the UK I find myself doing it twice as much. Maybe to make up for it. Or maybe I'm just nosey. I actually heard a elderly couple discussing the use of the 'n' word in M&S. Well.
5.Poirot. And other amazing drama series that we have on telly. Have a look here for more of my favourites....
6. High street shops. Primark, you make me oh-so-happy. Especially when I got to the counter and found out that a cute little purse that cost practically nothing in the first place was now half price. Ahhh. Other high street faves of mine include Card Factory (10 cards for a pound?!How insanely useful is that!), Superdrug and ASDA. I'm aware I may sound like I have a painkiller addiction when I say this but... 25p for paracetamol?! It almost makes me wish I had a headache. Almost.
7. Banter with shop assistants. To the guy in Oxford's EAT: Your crisp-related banter and cheery attitude thoroughly amused me.
8. Politeness. Not that Italians are rude but....well, sometimes they can seem that way. Nice British gents holding the door open for you? Casual chit chat as you wait to go through airport security? Waitresses in cafes and restaurants actually smiling at you? Lovely.
But now, as to stop myself from getting somewhat homesick and craving a day of Poirot watching, tea drinking and M&S biscuit scoffing with my mum, here are a few things that I'm glad to once again be able to enjoy:
The sunshine
Coffee
Eating my crushed M&S biscuits while sitting in said sunshine and drinking said coffee.
What are the things that you love most about going home?
At the moment I'm missing air conditioning. :) Happy Ferragosto!
ReplyDelete