Add to List - #37 (Italy Edition)
The beauty of thunderstorms, snakes and Emily in Paris
How many times do people give you a recommendation and you say ‘Oh, really? Cool. I’ll add it to the list!’ and then you go away and do not add it to any list anywhere?
Well, I present you with Add to List: the Sunday newsletter containing small things that brought joy, evoked an emotional reaction or became some short-lived stability for me in the past 7 days.
Obsession
Thunderstorms.
The weather in the mountains has turned this week. I am adoring it.
Whilst on a few occasions the clouds have prevented me from my routine swims (see here about how this helps me find creative flow) I have found the drama of a thunderstorm restorative and inspiring in their own way too.
One of my best days of writing came when locked in the house, looking out at a picture perfect landscape with complete stillness, followed by the quick whip of wind, then a thunder clap which felt like it was breaking my bones from the inside out, forcing me to scream out loud while typing. The opposing forces built, there was nowhere but to be but locked inside with my characters emotions. There was moments of joy, hope, melancholy, release and renewal all within a twenty-minute symphony. So, it probably isn’t surprising to discover I wrote a break-up scene between two characters I’d been struggling to get on to the page for weeks this day.
I typed away, grateful for safety and a roof over my head, moved by the atmosphere, before looking out at a skyline canvas of a golden sunset with the lingering melancholy of clouds in the air. There’s not just calm before a storm but during and after one too. And sometimes, the odd rainbow.
Confession
I watched Emily in Paris and enjoyed it.
Look, the outfits are vomit-worthy, the acting is tragic, the story-lines are cyclical, frustrating and repetitive.
Emily needs a long overdue holiday, some serious therapy and an enormous plate of steak frites but I can’t stop watching her. She is hateful, awful, a deeply frustrating person and I can’t get enough of her.
Shook
How afraid I am of snakes.
Yesterday a huge snake blocked my path on a hike. I knew I hated snakes but until you experience the real fear in the wild you never know actually how scared you are. It’s safe to say I am FLIGHT over fight — wouldn’t last a minute on that Bear Grylls show. I immediately fled the scene, didn’t continue on the path ahead and spent most of the afternoon, sunglasses on, hood up, in an adrenaline come down.
I googled the spiritual meaning of snakes (yes, this animal symbolism stuff has become quite common place for me this trip). Snakes symbolise creative life force: transformation, renewal and healing. The shedding of their skin signifies re-birth and the inner snake remaining represents the incoming power of change and transformation.
I’m seeing the positives, but I’m still having nightmares about my scaly friend.
Book
Magpie by Elizabeth Day
Fertility and women’s health are topics close to my heart so I enjoyed how Elizabeth Day weaved these sensitive themes into a psychological thriller which I binge-read from my sun-lounger. The book features unreliable narration, unexpected twists alongside important messages about motherhood and female reproductive choice. It’s a little ‘tropey’ of the thriller genre at points, but I think this one would make a great TV adaptation.
Cook
Salad spreads.
I have a friend visiting this week who is vegetarian. Safe to say Italian mountain food is not created for the veggies.
“Allora, Signora - chicken or fish?”
We’ve managed to find something everywhere for her (mostly, pasta and risotto) but we’ve enjoyed salad spreads on the terrace in the evenings using the seasonal Italian veg. The temperature has dropped significantly so we do need a jacket on to watch the sun go down and eat our meals. Salads maybe not always the most warming. Luckily we have Chianti to help with that.
Can’t Stop Scanning
The weather in Cinque Terre.
Hoping for my last bit of sunshine this summer next week. More below.
Forward Planning
The final adventure.
Tomorrow, I am leaving the mountains for the final time and heading to the Cinque Terre for a couple of nights to close off the end of my adventure. I have been re-reading my morning pages from every day of this trip to understand the way I’ve decompressed and recompressed into the next evolution of myself. I’ve been living in a period change, blissfully aware that I’ll never get to experience this version of myself again; blissfully enjoying all the revelations the mountains have handed me.
I’m weirdly excited about heading home but at the same time, I know within days I’ll wish I could map out the corners of my mind onto the vision of this landscape again very soon.
Next week will be the last Add to List (Italy Edition). As the sun sets on my Italian adventures, I want to thank you for being here, for reading my words, for opening my emails and for coming with me on this journey.
I can only hope that I have been able to share just a tiny slice of this place’s magic with you.
Have a wonderful time in Cinque Terre! Looking forward to your final Italy Edition 🇮🇹
I’ve loved reading your Italian missives too. A life changing experience for you for sure 😊Funny enough I also read Magpie very recently. I agree it would make a great TV drama - excellent twisty turny plotting and important subject matter. The weirdest thing for me though was that it was set on the exact street I used to live on in south London. Was a strange feeling to be able to picture the locations so precisely!