A Change of Scenery | The Friday Update

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Friday Update, in which I give a little insight into what I’ve been up to for the past seven days.

What have I been up to this week?

These past seven days involved a pretty radical change of scenery!

An old friend of my wife’s was getting married in Sorrento in Italy.

And, not wanting to miss out, we teamed up with a bunch of other good friends to book a villa near the Amalfi Coast to go to the wedding and enjoy a bit of sun.

Unfortunately, so humungous is my work load at the moment that I wasn’t able to take the entire time off…

I took a couple of days to see the sights, but I also had to spend a decent amount of time tip-tapping away at my laptop.

This maybe wasn’t ideal. But it made for a pretty lovely writing retreat!

I was able to write about both the UK General Election and the US Presidential Election whilst looking over a gorgeous view of the Mediterranean.

Some of you will no doubt also be writers. And, you will perhaps find that finding focus at home can often be difficult.

It’s too easy to get distracted by chores or family or pets.

This is perhaps one of the reasons that so many writers like writing on trains or at cafes: the sense of distance provides some separation from the “normal” aspects of life and therefore creates a higher sense of focus.

My week in Italy certainly ticked that box. Now I’ve just got to try and bring some of that sense of focus home!

And outside of work?

Alongside going to our friends’ wedding (my third so far this year!), I did also manage to enjoy lots of great Italian food.

The quality of pizza in the UK has improved substantially over the past few years. Pizza Hut and Pizza Express have been joined by a rapidly expanding number of sourdough, wood fired and hand-stretched alternatives which push out beautifully chargrilled bases topped with rich sauces and fresh ingredients.

I therefore wasn’t as impressed by the Italian pizza as I expected to be. Not because it wasn’t amazing; but because what we’ve got at home just matches it fairly well these days.

The pasta, however, was a real cut above. I had gorgeous lasagne, cannelloni (which you rarely get in the UK at all), and spaghetti.

Alongside this, I had some amazing arancini and bread. I often make pasta from scratch at home; but I definitely want to try making some arancini sometime soon now too!

What have I been reading/watching/listening to?

This isn’t technically reading. But, it’s learning-adjacent so we’ll count it…

One of the day trips I did manage to go on whilst I was away was to Pompeii, which ticked off a long-held desire for me.

I went to Italy once before when I was seven years old. It was the only family trip abroad we did when I was younger and I’d really wanted to see Pompeii.

Unfortunately, with three kids to please (and with the trip actually being to Rome rather than to Naples), it didn’t make the itinerary.

On Friday, my wife and I therefore caught the train along the Sorrento coast to the architectural ruins.

I had expected the entire site and audioguide explanations to be about the volcano eruption and destruction of the city.

Perhaps foolishly, I hadn’t thought about the fact that the real reason the city is so special is because of how well-preserved it is and therefore the insight it gives us into what Roman life was like.

On reflection: pretty silly of me!

It was so interesting to wander round the massive sight and see former homes and businesses; as well as the various frescos and mosaics that are still in-tact.

If anyone here ever goes in the future, I found the best companion was a free audio tour on the app “Rick Steve’s Europe”.

Much more fun than the official audioguide—and free!

Thanks as ever for your generous support and I’ll look forward to updating you more next week!!