Day 133 - Shopping, Chaos Driving and Family Travel Moments

Another slow start, and still raining. That’s three, maybe four days straight now of just constant rain. Everything feels a bit damp and heavy, like it’s hard to really get going. We all made our way downstairs around 8, coffees in hand, just easing into the day.

Kia, Emmett and I ended up doing a little workout together, which was actually really good fun. Nothing crazy, just moving the body and getting a bit of energy going. Maddie wasn’t interested again, which is pretty standard at the moment. She’s much happier doing her own thing, drawing, crafting, reading. We’ve stopped trying to force it and just let her be.

After that, Emmett and I kept up our usual routine and ran down to the shop. Bread rolls again, plus eggs this time. It’s a simple little ritual but it’s become one of my favourite parts of the day. By the time we got back, had breakfast and sorted everything out, it was pushing 9:30, maybe even 10.

The plan was to head to the local Decathlon, a couple of towns over in a bigger shopping area, so we packed up and jumped in the car. The GPS took us on another one of its “interesting” routes, weaving through random back streets that definitely didn’t feel like main roads. With all the rain, everything’s flooded in patches. It’s so flat around here that the water just sits, so you’re constantly driving through puddles and trying to pick your way through it all.

Driving here is still chaos. I don’t think the road rules mean much to anyone. The only thing people seem to respect are traffic lights. I stopped at a stop sign, like you would, and got beeped immediately from the car behind me. Indicators seem optional, roundabouts are a free-for-all, and people just pull out whenever they feel like it. You’ve just got to stay switched on the whole time.

We eventually made it to the Decathlon, which was part of a pretty big complex. There were heaps of standalone stores around it. Not only that, but there was a stack of men’s clothing shops, an Italian version of JB Hi-Fi with TVs and tech everywhere, sports stores, shoe shops, hairdressers. It felt really similar to something we’d have back home, just laid out differently. More like one long strip rather than multiple levels and sections. Not massive, but definitely big enough to wander around for a while.

Inside Decathlon, we let the kids spend some of their money. They’d both been eyeing off those full face snorkelling masks ever since we saw them in Vietnam, and the people we’d seen using them had bought them from Decathlon, so they were pretty set on getting one each. Maddie also really wanted some running tights like Kia’s and a few other bits. They both needed new swimmers and rashies, so we grabbed those too. Kia picked up a new hat and a few extras, and we even found replacement wheels for our bags that have busted, so now I’ve just got to work out how to swap those over.

After that, we headed over to the bigger shopping centre nearby and grabbed some lunch in a food court. Nothing special, but easy. The kids and I cruised around for a bit afterwards while Kia did some Easter shopping. We ended up being out for most of the day, and by the time we got back it was around 4:30.

The kids went straight into chill mode and put a movie on, which felt fair after a big day out. Kia and I sat down and talked through a few things, and I jumped into the website for a bit. I made one change, but I’ve still got a fair few I want to work through. Not changing direction, just trying to tweak the feel of some of the stories and how it all comes together.

Before we knew it, it was dinner, showers, and bed. That was day 133. A proper rainy shopping day. The rain’s supposed to clear tomorrow, so hopefully that actually happens. It’d be nice to get a few sunny days before we wrap things up down here in the south of Italy and start heading north.