espresso revelations #1
'tis the season to be terrified and bewildered and overjoyed and homesick and in desperate need of an espresso.
To whomever it may concern,
The concept of writing for people is truly terrifying. I have deleted this draft three times and the entire account twice now (how dramatic!). However, if not now, when? I am 22 and I love to write but have never written for people. How boring. It's time to terrify myself. So here we are!
I have been in Bologna for two whole weeks now. Packing up my life into a hiking pack, a large hard shell suitcase and a duffel bag felt so easy (I must declutter when I get home). Unpacking into my room in Italy felt easy too. However, getting a residence permit, realising the incredible distance between myself and my home, figuring out course enrolment, struggling through language barriers and grappling with the constant frustration of not having kept up my Italian language after high school - now that has felt very hard indeed.
Despite the difficulty of it all I have found small comforts. Most of these have been found/realised over coffee. The Espresso Revelations.
In the past week, I have been making instant coffee in the morning, the way my mum taught me to make hers when I was 7 (two teaspoons of instant coffee, boiling water and a dash of milk). It’s cheap and easy. The Moka pot scares me (I’ll get there one day!). But for now, the instant coffee is nostalgic.
My second coffee of the day is nearly always a macchiato. Over the summer in Australia, I trained myself to enjoy these teeny tiny, itty bitty cups of coffee. Here in Bologna, they set you back a whopping 1 euro and 30 cents. It’s economical.
My macchiato is often accompanied by a cornetto with pistachio cream, and a friend. Even after a humbling experience with PosteItaliane in pursuit of my residence permit, a macchiato and a pastry with a friend renders the big wide world a softer place. There are not many stresses that can’t be fixed with a pastry and a coffee or a ‘coffee and croissy’ as we call it at home. Some things don’t change.
And yet some things do! Riveting stuff, truly. I have also been introduced to Pocket Coffee and it’s honestly been a game-changer. For those of you who don’t know, or haven’t been introduced - Pocket Coffee is a delicacy. It’s a shot of espresso (maybe a little less than a shot?) encapsulated in dark chocolate. A chocolatey capsule of caffeine? Sounds fun! Is it for the better or the worse? I’ll let you know in 6 months. But for now, it has allowed me to stay out past 2:30 am (friends/family from home will understand the magnitude of this feat) and it’s also just delicious.
If you can’t already tell the first two weeks have been full of homesickness, exhaustion and lots of thinking. However, they have also been filled with new friends, trip planning, picnics, citrus fruit, flea markets, the need to touch the grass, Kaboo, pasta every night, too much Aperol, and complete bewilderment at the chapter we are beginning here in Bologna (I have included some images for your perusal).
Also, it’s not all going to be about coffee, I promise. When SubStack asked, I think I said that this blog was for ‘travel’, ‘fashion and beauty’, ‘culture’, ‘food and dining’ and ‘humour’. So get excited for all of that too, I guess.
Love always,
Mia x
I would give this ten out of ten. Loved it. Greedily devoured every word like I was having a coffee and croissy. Loved the image of everything becoming a softer place. Love you🧡sorry I was a bit behind the times in logging onto the blog.
Most beautiful little mind brew! Can’t wait for more 💙