Until the last few weeks, I've never pondered what we have in common with Napoleon. But that's changed with our resident permit renewal process creating a quasi-exile situation for us and our recent trip to Elba where we, too, almost spent more time than we wanted. We share at least a few things with the Little Corporal now.

Resident Permit Exile Blues

We submitted our resident permit renewals in January before the old ones expired. We filled out our paperwork, made the necessary copies, and took our packets to the Italiane Poste where the staff went over our packages and then prepared them for review in Rome. Our next step is an appointment at the local police station where they (re)fingerprint us and we give them new passport photos. Fingerprints can't possibly change much annually and it's funny that my US passport photo is good for 10 years, but Italy needs new photos and fingerprints every year. So it goes.

At the Poste they guessed that the police appointment would occur in a couple months. That sounded fast for the legendary Italian bureaucracy (last year it took three months). But instead of this optimistic timeframe, we recently learned that our police appointments are set for November. Because we now possess expired permits and a postal receipt stating that we submitted our materials, we don't have valid travel documents outside of Italy. We can't travel within Europe and basically all travel is difficult or carries the risk of not being let back into Italy. So after intending to escape the Italian summer heat and tourist hordes we're now plotting how to make the most of our newly imposed Napoleonic exile of sorts. This part of the world is a beautiful place to spend time, but even Napoleon couldn't last a full year of Elba exile without busting out to go to France. We lack a mini navy to use for getting out of here.

Because our forthcoming permits will only be valid for a back-dated year we will likely have to renew again as soon as we receive them! That means we might be in this exile state for multiple years if we decide to slog through this process in future years. We've been discussing whether this is the life we want. Because of the expired permit situation and uncertainty about future processing times there's a sizable pile of limitations we have to deal with. Our world has shrunk. But where would we go next, anyway? We're still trying to come to grips with our situation. So here we are feeling like Napoleon, in a lovely place, but feeling stuck.

Able Was I....

And we almost did get stuck on his temporary island home. We just returned from a short trip down the Tuscan coast to Piombino and nearby Elba. Elba is convenient to get to and we've long been curious about it as a potential swimming and hiking spot. We took the train to the Piombino and rented a place there for 3 nights. On the second day we took the ferry over to Elba and the island made a good first impression. The ferry ride to Portoferraio, the main town on Elba, floats past much of the very green, undulating island. Portoferraio is a small, manageable town with gorgeous beaches nearby. It's a 10 minute walk from the ferry port to one such beach. We almost instantly decided to come back in the spring. After spending the rest of the day walking around, doing some gelato research (very good!), having a nice lunch, and spot checking a few more beaches, we reaffirmed this decision.

After a relaxing day we decided to head back to Piombino on the 6:30pm ferry. The winds had grown intense by this point and we learned at the ticket office that the 6:30 ferry might not depart because of the weather. We'd waited with a pack of agitated Italians also wondering about the fate of the mainland return. According to the woman at the ticket office there was a chance that all ferries for the rest of the evening and the next day might be cancelled because of the brutto tempo! So we rushed out to a supermarket to buy toothpaste, floss, and brushes before the shops all closed because our belongings were in Piombino. Would we need to find a last minute hotel? We waited in the ticket office with the Italians, dealing with the predicament as Italians do--with much chatter and hand waving. As luck would have it, we did catch a ferry later that night--and the journey wasn't even that rough--and we're glad we did because the next day was indeed worse. I'm not sure if ferries made the circuit that day.

Piombino didn't charm us like Elba did. It is an industrial town and has some nice coastline but feels more like a place to pass through. We asked our Piombino host about what we should see and she immediately said her heart is in Elba, not Piombino. Ok then! After our Elba trip, back in Piombino, we got soaked as we walked along the coast in amidst strong gusts, watching the blue-gray water crashing along the coast.

On Saturday we took the train to Pisa which is the transfer point heading back to Lucca. The sun came out for a while and we got to see a few cute Tuscan coastal towns just south of Livorno. We decided to spend a few hours in Pisa since the weather was nice. We've been there quite a number of times but we think this was the first time we've ever seen blue sky there. After lunch we took the short train ride back to Lucca and got home shortly before an immense hailstorm started, piling much ice on the street and roofs.

Lucca--Continued Learning and the Carnevale Rivalry

Back in Lucca, we continue with our Italian studies. Sam recently passed her A2 language test and is forging ahead to the next level. I'm a couple months behind her schedule but am making progress with this convoluted language. I have a new favorite word that I learned in class the other day-- rompiscatole -- which translates, according to my teacher, who I adore, in her endearing Italian accented English as 'you crush-ah my box-ah!', but is used for an annoyance or nuisance. We're dealing with a rompiscatole or two right now!

Italy has been in full Carnevale mode and everywhere you walk there is confetti underfoot from recent Carnevale events wherever you are. Nearby Viareggio holds one of the most famous Carnevale celebrations in Italy. Lucca seems to be hoping to glom on to this Carnevale fame. Last year they had a mini Carnevale parade on the walls here. This year Lucca held a smaller parade and borrowed a few of Viareggio's prior year floats to display in a few piazzas. The craftsmanship of the floats is amazing. The Viareggio artists spend a year making these gargantuan figures out of papier maché, and the figures usually have arms, heads, etc. that move. In Lucca this year, we've borrowed a 25 foot tall tiger and the Rolling Stones in Piazza Napoleone, of course (you can see a video of them in full swiveling action from Viareggio here). Sam's Italian A2 language teacher lives in Viareggio and spent a chunk of one class basically pooh-poohing Lucca's attempts to ride Viareggio's coattails. This wasn't just poking fun, but highlights how deep these centuries-old city rivalries go, like Viareggio-Lucca, Pisa-Lucca, etc.

So now in our quasi exile, we study Italian, work in the community garden here as Sam aims to bring some order to the garden chaos, and we cook with delicious Tuscan ingredients. We're frustrated but it's not all bad. And we hope we can plot a path out of our exile without it becoming our Waterloo (even the Abba version)!