Last weekend, we had a little getaway to Rome, which is actually only about 1.5 hours away from where we are living now in Italy.
It was M’s first visit to the capital city, so we did the touristy bit of doing a Big Bus Tour to see the main sights. With C19 limiting visits inside places, we ended up with a long tour of the Colosseum, but it was all part of the fun exploring. Some pics are below, but you can also see more on our @footnersineurope Instagram account.
More importantly, though, it was a nice chance for us to reset as all the stress of moving around and wrapping our heads around making Italy home now was making us a bit snappy with one another – though M claims it was more me than him. Never! π
One highlight that had nothing to do with Rome itself was getting a new laptop π». It wasn’t a necessity, but a want and a tool to help allow for me to write or do work away from the ‘dungeon’ we call home ππ½.
In fact, I am typing this post from a cafe with the comfort of my new laptop and freedom to be a true digital nomad. π So, it’s already paying off. π
With that, I shall leave you with just a few images from our trip. More exploring to come.
Well, itβs been a hot minute since I last updated on our status between France and Italy. My last post on this left us with an upcoming trip to Paris to sort out what we thought was going to be an easy and straightforward application for a Type D (multiple entry) visa. So, hereβs an update.
The Type D Visa Application – Round 1
So, June 10th came. We decided to do a road trip to Paris and return slowly with the expectation that we would have visas in hand. We drove straight up and arrived in late afternoon to do some sightseeing in Paris.
Paris has never been a major attraction to me. I visited in the winter of 2012, I think, and was not impressed. While Iβve had the writerβs romantic dream of sitting in a French cafe and writing all day as I observe the people passing by, I did not fall in love with the city as many have done before. M has always warned me that he would show me the romance of the city when we go together. Well…he was partially correct.
I tried an e-scooter for the first time, overcoming my fear of two wheels and speed for short bursts as we scooted around the city. We had fun together, but I still did not fall in love with it. π¬
We arrived early for our visa appointment with M feeling very confident and me feeling less so because despite his sense of knowing I was the opposite. Turns out my instincts this time were the more accurate. π
Unfortunately, we got a lady who made all the rumors and stories of French bureaucrats being rude and unhelpful a sad reality. While we had thought we had all the paperwork, she refused to even move forward with our visa application based on her opinion of our situation and a problem with the type of visa that we were ultimately applying for – something I still believe was out of her actual purview of decision-making knowing that there is a chain of command and she was superseding hers.
As she gave us excuses and refused to hear us out, the conversation ended with her picking up her phone and pretending to talk on it moving as far away from the window as she could. So, we took our paperwork and left confused, frustrated, and at a loss.
We continued with our road trip through the center and east side of France anyway since there was nothing more that we could do.
The Type D Visa Application – Round 1.2
After a great trip (a later post on that), we arrived back to regroup.
Although we were told not to worry about it and those helping us in Italy said theyβd get their lawyer on it, currently that still hasnβt happened and we are six weeks post-visit.
I did manage to sort out what our paperwork issue is through someone at the consulate who has been helpful through emails. So, we still have a couple more hoops to jump through and will hopefully have everything in order before our next appointment date of August 5th.
France vs Italy
Tomorrow, we may have some positive news and finally a movement forward as we keep swinging back and forth on whether or not to give up on the Italy portion of our living.
Initially, we wanted to do it because I didnβt have my French visa. However, that came through a few weeks ago, which has taken a load of pressure off of my mind. I can also move on to sort out health coverage and licensing paperwork, but there is also some hesitation on whether or not to bother because we might be in Italy….
If we donβt have a real step forward by the end of the week, then I want to pull the plug and stay in France to remove the instability. Both of us are at about the end of our threads with patience in not having a place of our own. So, fingers crossed π€π½ that we have the good news we want ASAP!
So… the Universe heard my pangs of frustration and loneliness by providing us with our plan of action for Phase II Part 1 and 2.
Part 1Recap
I already covered most of Part 1 in the previous post. We ate as a coping mechanism, but thankfully it was only one real meal a day in early afternoon applying daily intermittent fasting so that our bodies could use as much time as possible to digest the tasty offerings of the Italian cuisine.
Basically, our visa situation both got simpler and more complicated at the same time. Our Internet woes were only really remedied by taking advantage of cafe culture, which generally works best for me anyway, but isn’t as good for running an online magazine as my big screen iMac. π€·π½ββοΈ
Our plan to move to a bigger place has become reality, only in a different country….
Part 2 – The Visa
It seems that the procurement of the mystical Type-D visa is reasonably straightforward from the Italian embassy. Since our last “residency” is considered France, thanks to M’s ability to get it swiftly and my dependency (not so thankful), we think we don’t have to consider the US aspect for me.
Although we were led to believe that we could simply go to Nice, which isn’t far from where I wanted to be based anyway, to be near my friends, we learned that thanks to the Pandemic C, all consulates have been closed and the only place we can do this visa processing is through Paris.
Unfortunately, the earliest appointment we could get is for June 10th. This is about a month away. Luckily, the consulate is communicating quickly and clearly via email, so I feel a bit more at ease with that.
So, why are we in France now?
Well, M has to travel around the EU for work. Now that the borders are open again with just a negative PCR, he is eager to go away. As it has been about 15 months since we spent a night apart, I’m equally eager for him to go away. π
Since M wants to travel and I really cannot go across borders unless by car, where the likelihood of being checked is slimmer, (have done two crossings now and not been stopped π€π½) I felt that it was safer for me to be in France should anything happen as at least I am in the system here for my residency application. Plus, I have friends here and can speak some of the language. I could not say the same for the tiny town that we were living in; and the dark stone-walled apartment that I would end up hiding away was not conducive to stability in my mental health, which is a bit on edge as it is with the stress all of this is applying to my carefully constructed sanity. π€Ήπ½
Therefore, we have rented a lovely place near where we were before (and my friends) for the next six weeks. At the time that we rented, we didn’t know that it would be possible to get our visa on the same day as the appointment as we had heard it could take a couple of weeks. So, we wanted to be safe….
We will have to be out the day before my birthday, so am not sure what we will do as that is a long way away and our plans are ever-changing. However, I am already a million times happier having only been here for about four hours. I’ve got my friends on notice and plans in motion. ππ½π₯
I’ll share some photos next time. For now, I’m just reveling with lighter air! β¨
Well, it’s been less than a week and I’m already missing my friends and wondering when we can move back to France….
Let’s just get the challenges out and cleared.
Challenge1 – The Visa
Remember how I said that I’m constantly needing to remember to stay fluid and flexible? Well, the promise of a smooth Italian transition was not to be…. A few days before we were set to leave, we were informed that there is some need for a Type D visa, aka National Visa, aka WTF? This is before we can finish our Elective Residency Visa (ERV) that we were told would be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. Too good to be true? “Pfft”, my husband said as he waved off my inner angst at this new twist…
Well, “pffffft” right back at him as I re-learn to breathe, meditate and tell myself not to lose my cool.
A “simple” Google search, as I was nonchalantly told to do, reveals nothing clear regarding how to get this mysterious Type D visa. A brief message exchange with someone else suggests that the aforementioned ERV should be the same thing as this D-visa. Other inquiries bring up more questions and confusion.
Breathe. It’s fine….
Or not…
At worst, I would have to apply for said visa at the Italian embassy/consulate in the US. At best, we will look back in a few weeks and wonder what all the stress was about…. In between is the more likely scenario, we will be heading back to Nice to apply for said D-visa at the Italian consulate there using M’s French residency and my application for it to get the visa, then we come back and continue as planned.
As a recovering worry-wart, who occasionally relapses, I am concerned being a US citizen who has overstayed my Schengen visa with nothing but a registration number legitimizing my presence and should an official be having a bad day could blacklist me from the Schengen area altogether for ten years, which would greatly hamper our current European settlement. Also, with COVID, there are extra issues at play with vaccines, travel, etc.
So, while a forced visit home would not be the end of the world, leaving it could be a challenge as would be being with my man as a non-US citizen…. Anyway, will keep fingers, toes and everything else crossed that the best scenario happens or go with the in-between.
Challenge 2 – Connectivity
Everyone knows that being connected is life. Despite my loathe of social media and avoidance of most things online, I am heavily dependent on the Internet for entertainment – including reading a book – or basically anything AND, most importantly, I can choose to not use it when I want to disconnect.
Furthermore, M’s work requires Internet. The very meaning of digital nomad requires the ability to be digital. Without it, he cannot work, make money – thus provide our lifestyle needs/wants -, etc. and his mood reflects on the ease in which he can do these things; thus, also affecting my sanity!
Like anywhere, it takes some effort and time to work out how to get a new SIM card or access WiFi points. Without either of us knowing the language, there is the everyday/regular stress of figuring out how to communicate and understand what we need or what is available to us.
We are staying in an old stone-walled apartment that is cold, dark, and small. Our Italian SIM cards, while successfully and rather easily obtained, cannot defeat medieval structures meant to keep out everything that was not originally permitted within. This means, TV cannot be watched. Computers cannot be used. Livelihood cannot be achieved. Therefore, M stresses causing T (me) stress!
The remedy?
We shall likely be moving to a bigger space with an outside garden (also the cats will prefer it) and easier permeability. We shall figure out with the help of “friends” what exactly we need to make the WiFi work within rather than sourcing it from outside.
At least this is a fairly easy fix. <sigh>
So, those are the main challenges that are making life feel stressful. They are challenges of the privileged, but so is my life. π However, to end on the bright side:
Restaurants and cafes are open. Since our apartment kitchen is too small to inspire the in-house chef, we have eaten out for every meal. Pizza and delicious pasta has been my daily happy moments. Thank goodness we only eat one big meal a day around midday or we’d have to add on a gym membership! π
Also, the countryside is absolutely gorgeous – dare I say, even more so than in France!
Well, our last stop of our Italy trip ended in Milan. We took an early train on a foggy Venice morning to be sure we had enough time to see what needed seeing in Milan.
Most people have said it’s not worth a long stop, despite it’s popularity for high-end shopping. However, Milan seemed to be the most advanced and cosmopolitan of all the cities we visited.
The main attraction is the cathedral (Duomo) in the main piazza, which is made of pink marble and it’s HUGE! The inside stain-glass windows were incredible. Still, everything was starting to blur together. This was our last chance to get some more gifts, so we headed down the Galleria V. Emanuele II, which is considered the oldest mall and has a few of the shops that make Milan famous. In the center under the dome is a marble bull and people spin on the testicles for good luck. It was funny to see.
After a rest near the statue of Leonardo Da Vinci, we headed toward the main shopping center of Milan – quadrilatero della moda. Of course, my budget didn’t allow for any major purchases in this area, but when we got to the more realistically-priced shopping center, I bought some more gifts and a pair of shoes for me. π
Of course, there is more to see in Milan. The “Last Supper” is held here, but tickets are meant to be purchased far in advance and we were getting very toured out. I remembered how I felt at the end of my Egypt tour where I just couldn’t handle any more history or archeological sites. My mom said “I’m all old-buildinged out”. Perfectly expressed!
So, after a final lunch, we headed to our hotel, which was another adventure, but our last night was spent relaxing before a very early departure to the airport and flights back to our opposite sides of the world.
It was a quick Italian tour, but it was a lot of fun and good to spend quality time with mi mama!
We arrived late in Venice, but managed to work out buying a 36 hour transportation card allowing us to use the boats and buses freely during our visit.
Our hotel was the Rio Alto, which was conveniently located near the famous Rioalto bridge. Once we checked in, which was a bit of a strange process, we settled in for the night and planned the next day’s events since we only really had one full day there.
In the morning, we took the number two boat to the Piazza San Marco, which is the main thing to see. Although we could have walked a mere 10 minutes from our hotel, the best way to see things is on the Grand Canal.
The Piazza San Marco is another impressive sight to see and is quite beautiful at night if you are able to go both times.
From the Piazza, we hopped onto the 41 boat to get to Murano island. Murano and Burano are two islands that many people visit from Venice. Murano is famous for glassworks and Burano for lacework. We just decided to do Murano since we were both pretty tired out by this point of our trip. Murano was pretty and we found a few gifts there for people. We relaxed with a nice lunch and then went back for a nap.
By the time we woke up, it was pretty late, so we walked around to find something to eat for dinner, but most places were closing up and we just took in the night views instead. We did not do the gondola rides, though we heard the gondoliers singing in the canals from our hotel. It was a bit pricey for our limited budget trip, but I think we experienced Venice nicely!
It is perhaps my favorite stop in Italy because the water was relaxing and seemed to add a touch of something more to the atmosphere. Also, it’s easy to walk around exploring without getting too lost. I’d go back for a few days to just chill out there, so I highly recommend a stop in Venice someday. π
Despite not buying tickets to the museums prior to arrival, we were able to get tickets through our hotel. When we checked out of Residenza Betta, Elizabetta, the owner was very warm and friendly to serve us a cappuccino before we headed out.
After a quick breakfast, we headed to the train station to get our tickets for Venice later in the day and drop off our luggage so that we could explore the museums.
Our first stop was the Galleria dell’Accademia where the statue of David is kept. Of course, pics had to be taken despite being told not to…I just can’t help myself! It is truly an amazing statue up close – I still wonder why we aren’t seeing such amazing art these days or maybe I’m just not in the loop.
Since there isn’t too much else to see at the Accademia, we had quite a bit of time before our assigned time to enter the Galleria degli Uffizi. So, we walked around the square a bit and then found lunch to relax a bit. Along the way, we found the boar that people touch/kiss to have good luck that someday they will return to Florence. π
The Uffizi was an impressive building with a number of great works of art by Boccelli, Caravaggio and of course Michelangelo. It’s actually smaller than I expected in terms of the number of pieces there compared to Vienna or other places. However, it was still well-worth the visit. Just be sure to book way in advance if you visit during high season!
After we finished the museum, we just wandered around and hung out until we could catch our train to Venice. We crossed the bridge – Ponte Vecchio – which used to be where the butchers held their shops. Now, it’s the main jewelry center of the city. We walked to the Piazza dee’ Pitti to see the Palazzo Pitti, which used to be a palace but is now a museum with gardens. However, I think we were too exhausted to do any more touristy things, so we enjoyed the outside and then went to the station for Venice!
I will post on our first night in Venice with the next posting.
