Welcome to my blog!
Hi guys, welcome. My name is Chloe and this is my blog.
I thought I'd start things off by introducing myself and telling you a little bit about why I wanted to start this blog.
I currently live in the UK, where I work as a freelance content writer, copy editor and proofreader. If you're interested in that, check out my other site at chloelaywrites.co.uk.
I returned to the UK in December 2020 after spending about 14 months travelling, working and living in Italy with my partner. We left our jobs and our flat in London to go and spend some time out in the Italian countryside, volunteering on farms and at agriturismi in exchange for food and accommodation.
It was all going well, but then COVID-19 hit. Our planned two-week stay with a Dutch family in Umbria ended up stretching to 12 weeks, and we left just before the first lockdown lifted, moving 5 minutes down the road into an Airbnb apartment.
We spent the rest of the year working remotely and, like most people, just trying to wrap our heads around what was happening. The 'travel' part of our plans pretty much came to a halt.
We managed to spend a week here and there relaxing in a few places around the country, even walking 285km from Florence to Venice over the space of a couple of weeks in September. After that, we got the train down to Rome to stay in an apartment for a few months, but cases of coronavirus were increasing, and we ended up returning to the UK just before Christmas.
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Since then, things have been slightly less exciting for us, as I'm sure you can imagine. We're back living with parents (who doesn't enjoy living with parents as they approach 30?!) and working freelance while we come up with a plan to get back to Italy full time.
In the meantime, I'll be using this space to share my thoughts and memories of my favourite country, offering tips, tricks and advice to anyone planning a holiday.
I've spent a huge amount of time in Italy and have a lot to say about it, so if you have any questions about an upcoming trip, drop me a line. I'm sure I'll be able to help or to point you in the direction of someone who can!
Thanks for reading this short introduction to me and my love of la bel paese. Soon you'll love this country as much as I do!