#76 Sun is lava

I'm on a *workation*, the one I was supposed to have last time we were here in 2023 but I fucked up by unexpectedly catching stomach flu the night before our flight. I was adamant it's just a bit of a fever, a bit of a stomach ache and I'll sleep it off. It'll be fine.

It wasn't fine by a long shot. I was a pain in the ass to travel with. Though my other half kept telling me we can go back at any point of our journey (at this stage, we had 2 trains to catch to London airport), but I wasn't going to be the reason we cancel our trip.

It was absolutely dreadful. The plane was late, so I was slumping over on the floor because it was too hard to stand still. It was hot, my stomach hurt, and I couldn't eat a thing. That was basically the rest of our workation—I spent most of it in our air conditioned hotel room, gently laying on the side without putting too much pressure on my stomach, and going to the bathroom every five mins.

Luckily, I managed to get out for a little bit (I even shot a bunch of photos, you'd never tell I was dying inside) and the highlight of my trip was sitting on the beach for a couple of hours watching local swimmers and sunbathers. Truly, it was the first day I felt I'm back to being alive.

This time round things are a little different. First of all, I'm not ill, woo! That was the biggest hurdle we wanted to overcome, everything else is already a bonus.

I'm kinda between projects right now. Most have finished, others are in that initial planning stage where I only need to dip in for a few hours to do some thinking and a meeting or two, so very much a laid back workation.

I don't want to go back, but today is my final lunch out. Tomorrow, at this time we'll be back in Pisa already, killing time before we leave for the airport. But today I can still enjoy the leisurely walks, soak up the sun (under my SPF50), and ponder about grass being greener here (or at least warmer).

My partner's local Italian colleague says this is a town for the wealthy, and I can see that. It's so well kept, pedestrian friendly, fancy stores, stunning architecture, and of course that fresh sea air because water is just a stone's throw away from the town centre. But what you don't see is an obvious display of luxury. It's way more understated, quiet, almost unnoticed, and I think that's why I feel so comfortable here.

You know how they say Italians are so laid back? They really are—it's like the perfect place if you're working remotely. You don't really see that obvious morning or evening rush. But they're not lazy by any means. My partner says his Italian colleagues will go all out on getting those targets met. A new release coming up and the team is behind? They'll do overtime, they'll push hard to try and reach those goals.

They might curse on the road, but when it comes to customer service, it's all smiles. An Italian nonna with her Apple Watch running the show in a busy pizza place, or the sweetest hotel front desk staff. You feel so welcome; something you might sometimes miss in places like Paris in France. Though, I can't vouch for Rome, but Milan and Pisa were wonderful. Having been burned in Paris, we're always a little cautious on how locals treat tourists. (No offence to Parisians!)

But whilst being here, I've felt totally okay to slow the eff down for once. This is exactly how I envisioned workations to be and for the first time I got it. The only problem is now I want more of it.

It's a little bit of a blissful ignorance for a week, and maybe it's needed from time to time to reset, recharge, clear mind, break bad habit patterns, and come back feeling energised and ready to get back to the good patterns: regular workouts, good food, seeking out more reasons to live fuller besides work.

So in the meantime, I can't yet add any photos I've taken until I get home and edit them (not too many this time!), but I'll enjoy the laid back Italian vibes, have a few cappuccinos, not stress about my two overdue invoices until I'm back home, and just be in peace (with loud bikes whizzing past every 5 mins).

If you're planning a little workation like this, here's my two cents:

• Don't go meeting heavy. My other half got to use his work's local HQ which has air conditioned, fully equipped offices and good WiFI, but if you don't have that, you're at the mercy of slightly spotty hotel WiFi, hotspotting, or booking out local hot desks somewhere. I had a call today and we all had to turn off video because my connection couldn't handle it.

• If you can, plan it with some buffer day(s) on either side of your trip. Say, you arrive Monday, take Tues off and work on Wed, so you have time to settle in, see what the WiFi situation is, book a desk or find some good co-working spaces/cafes without rushing + recover from travels.

• Plan a little less work than your usual capacity. Simply because you'll want some gaps to enjoy being away: going for walks, trying activities (we did kayaking), longer lunches or maybe late dinners.

• If you got quite a bit of work, develop a routine but leave room for improvisation. Get your deep work done during certain time blocks, and then use the rest of the time to explore and enjoy the area.

• Be kind to yourself: it's not easy working on major projects or handling lots of information if all you have is one small laptop. Things might take a little longer if you're used to your home desktop setup.

• Take headphones! Our balcony is lovely to sit and work on but the traffic noise is just too much. The same goes for some outdoor spaces. Headphones are a must if you find yourself distracted by lots of noises or want to take calls. Though, the good thing about being abroad is voices turn into a non-descript background noise so you're not honing in on conversations (unless you're lucky enough to understand the local language!)

• A nice to have: a cute totebag to carry your work stuff around instead of your travel backpack. Usually I have one with me, it's super handy for any impromptu shopping, too. And a notebook for any offline notes and musings. I like this for random coffee outings where I might want to ideate something but don’t want to bring my laptop or use my phone for my notes.

I’m actually finishing writing this while in a well air-conditioned cafe just a short walk from Pisa airport. It’s been 29-30 degrees, but feels like 32+ so anything other than shade outside is lava. I love heat, but this is HEAT.

Italian Meteorological Service has released a ‘moderate high temperature warning’ but luckily this cafe feels like a small oasis in the desert and I dread leaving it.

But what I dread more is not being at the airport on time so it’s best we get moving!

That’s all from me this week—if you enjoyed this newsletter issue and haven’t subscribed yet, you can click the button below. I’d love to have you here! Hopefully, catch you next week.✨