Italy 2011

The Italian Countryside - Taken from the Car

Hey everyone! I hope you've all had a good couple of weeks since I last saw you. I've been on holiday (vacation - sorry!) in Southern Italy with my family and I have to say it was one of the most bizarre but peaceful holiday's I've ever taken. I hope by sharing my experience with you all you can learn more about me and my favourite past times. 


The region we travelled to was named Puglia and we stayed in two villas, one in a little town called Lindinuso and the second in a slightly bigger town called San Vito dei Nomani. I think the easiest way for me to break it down is week by week!

Week One.
My holiday started at 5.30 am on Saturday 23rd as I woke up and began the final preparations for travelling! The flight was only two hours and twenty minutes so it was a nice time but I still have a routine! If you watched my video on summer beauty staples you know I am a moisturizer addict! In the hour and half from waking up and arriving at the airport I'd already moisturized 4 times! 

I <3 Airports

After the flight it was about an hour and a half drive to our first villa. The first thing I realised was "Oh my gosh - the Italians drive like maniacs!" As a learner driver (very nearly qualified driver!) I was terrified. They were over taking, under taking all at 140km an hour with no indication on double S bends. I wanted to sit in the back with my eyes shut! It was definitely an experience. The weather wasn't fantastic so we went and explored the local area. I was about a 5 minute walk from the beach which I LOVED!! I live about 30 minutes from the beach normally but it's all made of pebbles :( Ever since the beginning of my Tone It Up journey I've wanted to do a sand run and I got the chance in the first week of the holiday! It felt so amazing, I'd never run as far or for as long and it was all on sand, I can't tell you how good it felt and how much of a big step it was for me. 

Poolside!

Most of my days in Lindinuso were spent catching rays by the pool! We went to the beach once and it was amazing - the sea was so warm and I'm usually terrified by the sea - I live by the North Sea and the beach was the Adriatic Sea. The difference was about 20 degrees!! It was incredible! The sea was warmer than the pool was! The time came for us to move on to our second villa in San Vito!

Week Two.

As we approached the second villa, on our drive up there, I was looking out for places to run as I was feeling so encouraged and motivated to continue running. I was told by the owner of the villa that the road surrounding our villa was a 6km trail that the locals used for long walks/runs but as I looked out from our villa I saw ridiculously fast cars on ridiculously tight bends on ridiculously narrow roads which really only had room  for a single car, never mind one in each direction with pedestrians, so I decided that I didn't really feel safe running on such roads; so I decided to look for an alternative method of keeping up my fitness! 

In my Hammock by the Pool in the Second Villa!

I soon discovered on my third day in the new villa that there was a roof terrace! I couldn't believe that I hadn't  noticed! I then set myself a target of running up the flight of 20 stairs 20 times a day. I'm pleased to tell you I achieved that! I worked out that it was 800 steps a day and after watching an episode of The Biggest Loser before I departed I listened to Jillian Michaeals and she said that all you needed whilst on vacation is a flight of stairs and what's more I enjoyed it!

All of the incredible fresh hand picked produce!

It's fair to say that I definitely didn't eat very well, compared to my diet I've been on before going away, but I was eating a LOT healthier than before my weight loss journey began. Both of the villas had vegetable gardens and farm land. The second owner told us that he had not bought a single fruit or vegetable since he'd moved to Italy from England 5 years ago. I can't begin to tell you the difference in taste and overall quality. It felt so good to know we were eating Zucchini that we'd picked from the garden thirty minutes previously. It was definitely inspiring but unfortunately I have neither the space or the climate in Britain to help me out with such exotic veg! 

What was incredible was the amount of cyclists in both areas of the region. I was both blown away and humbled by it. It was mainly the older generation too! It was beautiful to see, however completely on the opposite side was the amount of overweight children and I mean young children. They weren't just slightly overweight either, I'm taking 50+ lbs. In many ways it was heart breaking. I know I'm not perfect but I couldn't imagine inflicting that kind of future on my kids. I wanted to shake them up and say 'look at what you're doing to your children!' I make a point never to judge anybody but surely these people would want the best for their children. 

Afterthoughts.

The holiday was so relaxing, the area was so bemusing - it was almost like stepping back in time. I was informed that the use of credit/debit cards was only introduced three years ago, internet only 18 months ago. It was incredible, but so so relaxing. It was the perfect holiday - and the best part of it was spending quality time with my family and with the absence of English TV and Internet etc, we did just that - lots of quality time. It was brilliant. 

I missed my Tone It Up family millions! Whilst it was refreshing to have no wifi access but I hated not checking in and not seeing what  you were all up to. It was horrible so coming home and logging in to Twitter again was fantastic! Again I want to take the opportunity to thank you all for your continual support!

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts with you all :)