Australia to Italy
Italy is my heart & Australia my soul
Any chance we get we go bush walking (strolling when you have two kids).
We now live a street from the beach in Queensland and the ocean has become a big part of our lives.
and the gang x
An unstamped passport – dreams don’t always come true.
Hi love, just wondering where that last picture was taken exactly? The one with the water hole and little waterfall? I have been looking for a place exactly like that in Maleny, for our wedding spot. Would be great!
Hi Sharni, funnily this is near Maleny, its called Kondalilla.
It’s a bit of a hike in so you might want to check it out first. It is a beautiful place and wonderful to swim.
From Montville head 4km north towards Flaxton and turn left to the Kondalilla National Park. From the car park it’s a 4.6km circuit walk through the forest, across a gully and down a hill to Kondalilla Falls. Skene Creek drops 90m into a rainforest valley so keep well clear. It drains from a deep pool which in turn is fed by a 4m waterfall.
Hope this helps you find it, http://www.couriermail.com.au/life/outabout/top-swimming-holes/story-fn8ujcxa-1226072923137
ciao lisa
PS send us some wedding photos to our Renovating Italy fb page I’d love to see how your day goes. x
Gorgeous photos – love them! Hope you all had a great Australia Day!
Cheers
Lisa
thank you thank you Lisa, we had a very quiet Australia day and funnily enough had pasta for lunch (which I cooked. I know yours was a little more adventurous being on that plane!
love lisa x
Hi, Happy Australia day!
I love your blog and the adventurous spirit you have. Very inspiring.
In one of your posts you had mentioned that your son has Autism. Do you do any therapies? Are any available when you move to Italy?
Thanks
p.s only asking as i have a child with autism too
Hi Dee,
Thank you so much, and yes our little boy was diagnosed at age three PDD- nos which really doesn’t tell you much other than there is a problem and it’s time to worry. He’s seven now and at school and managing well, the one thing I did as soon as I knew we wanted to move back to Italy was to create a group of friends there who may be able to help us with information for Luca. Never did I guess that this small connection would turn into friendships I treasure and the chance to become an honorary member of an expats group over 600 strong who are a source of encouragement, love, laughter and reassurance! I have friends across the globe now who have children on the spectrum, some home school, others travel. I must say it is my biggest worry about moving and I know we as a family will guide both our children through the experience. The feedback I get so far is the help is available just a fair bit of paperwork to get it in motion. I have found a wonderful blog site which I love to share http://www.flappinessis.com
Many of our friends and I suspect some of our family think we are mad to move countries with Luca, they worry about the language and roll their eyes when we say we’ll work it out. I know he will thrive where ever he is and he and his sister will grow in ways we can’t even imagine.
would love to hear more about your child and thoughts on the subject.
ciao lisa x
Thank you so much for your reply Lisa. My boy is 3 1/2 years old. His language has improved so much in the last 8 months. He has gone from a handful of words to 2-3 word sentences. The cost and confusion associated with all the different therapies is very stressful. This isn’t what I had ever imagined/dreamed would ever be a challenge in our lives. But I wouldn’t trade having my little guy for anything. I love reading blogs like yours. Because having a dream/goal as a family and taking that leap is sure to result in some wonderful enriching experiences for all of you. I hope my family too can come out of this ‘autism box’ and live a little. I’ll keep in touch. x D
Hi Dee, that’s wonderful to hear his speech is developing it was one of my big fears for Luca. I know what you mean about confusion, there is no one simple answer. At first my husband also had his head in the sand so much of the decision making was left to me regarding therapies and schools. Also we moved a lot, Luca just had to fit in and I think that could have helped as we constantly and gently bought him through those changes. Even with driving to school I’d try to do a slightly different way each time to gently mix up the routine. He is now the sweetest little boy, he chats away (often about dinosaurs) yet has skills that are all his own. He has no worry about standing up in front of his class to do a talk, is a creative artist and loves photography. One of the best things we did was give him the camera early, it was a way into his world. I’m sure he will continue to grow and develop in surprising ways, I have complete confidence that travel will only enrich his life! At 3 1/2 we were just starting to realise the Autism was there and wasn’t going away, it’s not hard to think back to those days of fear and worry, never knowing what was the right thing to do and everyone with a different opinion.
the only advice I can give is that you know your little boy best of all, never doubt your own instincts. Look for all the talents he has and don’t worry about those that might come a bit later than normal. That Autism box just gets a little bigger each day, till one day you can’t see the walls anymore.
sending love and dreams to you all!
lisa
Hi, Happy Australia day!
I love your blog and the adventurous spirit you have. Very inspiring.
In one of your posts you had mentioned that your son has Autism. Do you do any therapies? Are any available when you move to Italy?
Thanks
Well said Lisa, and wonderful photos!
thank you Jan, so many travelers carry more than one country in their hearts. Glad you liked the images….ciao lisa
Lisa,
Is that a Kookaburra sitting in a gum tree? Happy Australia Day to you and your family!
Love toni – from Upover. 🙂
Merry merry king of the bush is he! He was sitting about 3 feet from us at a cafe in the hills near our house. We could have reached out and stroked his regal feathers if we had been willing to brave that beak. They always seem to laugh at just the right moment! They must have a wicked sense of humor! A very happy Australia day to you also, love from downunder! xx
That has got to be a kookaburra! I don’t know why I think so, it just looks like one and of course I have never seen one in my life. I understand that you are torn between your love for Australia and your longing to be in Italy. Would you mother be willing to go with you and have one more big adventure in her life?
I constantly read books about life in Italy, especially about the food. Then I wonder why we can’t have it as good in the US. Priorities, I know. I dream about living in Italy and then my husband says, “but we’d never see our kids.” He’s right, but I still dream. We’ll see.
Hi Caterina,
It is indeed a kookaburra, and they love to laugh! This one was hoping to get a taste of our lunch one day. There were three of them sitting on the railing all caroling. It is a wrench between Australia and family and Italy and our dreams. My Mum is not able to travel far anymore, and she wouldn’t get to Italy right now. We’ll just have to worry about it when it happens I think. It is a bit like that here in Australia, fast food and easy options have taken over from real food. I love Jamie Olivers ministry of food and what he is trying to achieve. Are your kids very old? Maybe you could live in Italy part time, I know people who return to the USA after spending a season at their house in Umbria. Let’s both keep dreaming these sweet dreams of Italia!
ciao lisa