Two boys in one week have told me I'm a great pillion. Apparently female passengers are normally very rigid and lean the wrong way into and out of corners, making it more difficult for the driver to control the bike. They were both surprised when I told them that last summer was my first real time on the back of a bike.
I've been thinking about this and it's strange really. In the past, I was so scared of riding pillion; in fact I could count the number of times I'd been on the back of a bike on half a hand. Then my husband is killed in a motorcycle accident. These two things should mean I'm even more frightened of bikes, but instead I've developed a new love for them. Well, for scooters really. I think the reason I'm a good pillion is because I don't think about it. I'm so relaxed when I'm on the back of a scooter, watching the world rush by, feeling the wind against my skin, breathing in the fragrant Mediterranean air, sharing observations with the driver. I move as one with the bike. I don't think about corners and which way I should be leaning. It's so liberating, I love it.
I've said before that when T died I like to think that a part of him fused with me so that we're living one life between the two of us. If this is true – and it's unlikely, I know, but just humour me – then I think I've inherited my love of riding pillion from him. And I like that. I like that through T's death I've found pleasure in new things, things that would have previously been totally off-limits to me.
On the news front, it's been another great week. Last Friday I went to an open-air theatre in a small village to see Moliere's Tarfuffe. It was magical. Then on Saturday a big group of us went to a village festival in a small village in the hills. We ate well, drank, danced and generally had fun. Sunday was spent dozing on the beach – cooling off in the sea when it got too hot.
The kids are on holiday for a couple of weeks so I'm a free agent now, so my days this week have mostly been spent at the beach. I've done lots of swimming and it's amazing! Yesterday I was in the sea by 9.15am and had my last swim around 8.15pm. I love my life here! On Wednesday evening we went to a lovely little village in the hills called Apricale. When I arrived there I told my friends that I thought I'd lived there in a past life. I felt instantly at home. We saw an amazing theatrical performance where you were taken around the village in groups to watch various performers tell their story in different locations. I didn't understand much of the Italian but it was a great experience. Then last night I met four friends on the beach when they finished work and we shared a bottle of wine, ate torta verde and arancini made by one of the mums, and had a swim. Tonight we're off to another village festival that promises to be a good night, then probably out in Monaco tomorrow night. On Sunday night I'm hoping to go somewhere dark to watch the meteor showers that occur at this time of year and that will forever remind me of the meteor showers we saw when T died. Life is good.
I've been thinking about this and it's strange really. In the past, I was so scared of riding pillion; in fact I could count the number of times I'd been on the back of a bike on half a hand. Then my husband is killed in a motorcycle accident. These two things should mean I'm even more frightened of bikes, but instead I've developed a new love for them. Well, for scooters really. I think the reason I'm a good pillion is because I don't think about it. I'm so relaxed when I'm on the back of a scooter, watching the world rush by, feeling the wind against my skin, breathing in the fragrant Mediterranean air, sharing observations with the driver. I move as one with the bike. I don't think about corners and which way I should be leaning. It's so liberating, I love it.
I've said before that when T died I like to think that a part of him fused with me so that we're living one life between the two of us. If this is true – and it's unlikely, I know, but just humour me – then I think I've inherited my love of riding pillion from him. And I like that. I like that through T's death I've found pleasure in new things, things that would have previously been totally off-limits to me.
On the news front, it's been another great week. Last Friday I went to an open-air theatre in a small village to see Moliere's Tarfuffe. It was magical. Then on Saturday a big group of us went to a village festival in a small village in the hills. We ate well, drank, danced and generally had fun. Sunday was spent dozing on the beach – cooling off in the sea when it got too hot.
The kids are on holiday for a couple of weeks so I'm a free agent now, so my days this week have mostly been spent at the beach. I've done lots of swimming and it's amazing! Yesterday I was in the sea by 9.15am and had my last swim around 8.15pm. I love my life here! On Wednesday evening we went to a lovely little village in the hills called Apricale. When I arrived there I told my friends that I thought I'd lived there in a past life. I felt instantly at home. We saw an amazing theatrical performance where you were taken around the village in groups to watch various performers tell their story in different locations. I didn't understand much of the Italian but it was a great experience. Then last night I met four friends on the beach when they finished work and we shared a bottle of wine, ate torta verde and arancini made by one of the mums, and had a swim. Tonight we're off to another village festival that promises to be a good night, then probably out in Monaco tomorrow night. On Sunday night I'm hoping to go somewhere dark to watch the meteor showers that occur at this time of year and that will forever remind me of the meteor showers we saw when T died. Life is good.
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