Incidents of Insomnia in Italy #BlogchatterA2Z

This post is written for the theme “26 Places, 26 Memories” for the #AtoZChallenge.

I FOR ITALY:

Italy invokes thoughts of delicious food, glorious monuments, and fabulous art and fashion. Italy’s Mediterranean coastline is home to pristine beaches surrounded by mountains and picturesque towns; its northern regions produce world-class wines; and the capital city of Rome attracts millions of tourists for its historical offerings.

It had always been my dream to visit Italy, so my husband planned a leisurely honeymoon for us, a few months after marriage. We visited Rome, Naples and drove through the Amalfi coast in June 2014. The trip had many memorable moments- of discovering each other, first fights, crazy partying and lots of romance. However, this memory really stands out.

INCIDENTS OF INSOMNIA IN ITALY:

In Sorrento, a small coastal town, we stayed at an 18^th century nobleman’s house converted to a hotel. The ‘Relais Villa Savarese’ had gorgeous interiors, beautiful lemon orchards, a plush pool and an affable hostess (a descendant of the nobleman’s family).

We had been assigned the attic, a large room with a slanting overhead wall, with access to a picturesque terrace. After a long day of sightseeing, we crawled into bed, dog-tired.

At precisely 3 a.m. on the first night, I woke from a deep slumber and saw the door to our room ajar. Quite afraid, I immediately shook my husband awake, to investigate if someone was in our room. When nothing seemed amiss, he closed the door and carefully locked it. He went back to sleep but I couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried.

I checked my phone to pass the time, but the wi-fi had stopped working. The router was on the other side of the room, and I was too afraid to move and check the problem. To make the situation even more spooky, I kept seeing visions of a young boy in our room. I’m not sure if it was a spirit, or my mind playing tricks on me, but the visions refused to go away. I lay awake for two hours, distracting myself with Candy Crush and other games, but I was terrified.

The next morning, the wi-fi was up and running, and we set out for a long day exploring the Amalfi coastline. That night, we returned home very drunk, after enjoying a 5 course, wine-paired Michelin star meal at ‘Il Buco’, and passed out. Despite being in a drunken stupor, I awoke at exactly 3:00 a.m., with the wi-fi gone, and the young boy back in my mind. Thankfully, this time the door wasn’t open. I didn’t want to wake my husband simply to reassure me. I was aware that my fears sounded childish.

We left Sorrento after two nights, and moved to the stunning island of Capri. No matter how exhausted I was, I continued to wake at exactly 3:00 a.m., staying up for around two hours, every night in Italy. By the time I’d resigned myself to being haunted by the boy, at 3:00 a.m. for the rest of my life, I returned to India and my regular peaceful slumber. Perhaps he preferred exquisite Italy to the heat and crowds of Delhi 😉

Come back tomorrow for the letter J and another story!

Enjoying the sceneries and lovely lemon groves in the Amalfi coast, circa 2014

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A for Amritsar, B for Bhopal, C for Cambodia, D for Delhi,  E for England, F for France, G for Gwalior, H for Hemkund Sahib