A Peaceful Week in Allergy Hell

The conclusion of our week living in a house/farm/b&b with a family of five, two dogs and two donkeys in Velletri, Italy was a mostly uneventful and peaceful affair. It was also one of the worst allergy weeks in my whole entire life.

To begin, Trisha and I returned from our amazing Amalfi Coast weekend on Sunday night, high on the beauty and culture of Italy. We also returned with a bit less money as Capri and Sorento aren’t exactly known as bargain destinations, but this inspired us even more to put in a hard week of work with no travel, meals, or hotels. And that is exactly what we did.

Our days in Velletri started around 8:30 with breakfast in the family kitchen. The three children were at school by this time and the husband, Paul, was at work, so we often had the kitchen to ourselves. At 9:00 we would attempt to track down Paola, the mother, on what she wanted accomplished for the day. She usually was working on some project in the garden or around the house, always a bit distracted. The work we were assigned wasn’t the most exotic, but enjoyable non-the-less. Tending to the weeds around the olive trees, landscaping with the weed-wacker, cleaning the b&b rooms, were the standard fare.

On a side note, when Trisha and I are assigned more monotonous and less exciting jobs, we pass our time listening to Podcasts on our ipods. We have actually been avid listeners of our favorite programs since we began our farming careers (For Trisha the entire year). Some of our favorites are NPR Book Review, Stuff You Should Know, The Writer’s Almanac with Garrision Kellor, Travel with Rick Steves. Amateur Traveler, NPR Food Review, and Sunday morning sermons.

By 1:00 we completed our tasks and had lunch with the family. The remainder of the day was ours. Our afternoons consisted of reading under the many large, leafy green trees in the backyard and then a little computer work to follow. In the late afternoon, we took to the nearby streets and walked or biked past farms and houses lining the narrow Velletri streets. We had one afternoon outing to nearby nature reserve that had a fantastic hike and another exploring the city of Velletri (not much to see in the city). Dinner was around 8:30 and then at 10:00 or so we would watch a movie from the family DVD collection on our computer. I suppose it could be considered a very idyllic week, and probably was for Trisha, but unfortunately my genuine happiness was somewhat hampered.

The major factor inhibiting my enjoyment was the location of Velletri, which I now believe to be the epicenter of the allergy underworld. When God created the world, he must have put all the mean and nasty allergy things in this area. Never have I been in a place where I have suffered more, and I normally don’t have terrible allergies. The mornings were worst. I would wake up to bloodshot red eyes, shortness of breath, and have difficulty hearing due to stopped-up ears. After multiple eye drops, inhaler puffs, and two antihistamines, I usually felt somewhat better by breakfast. But it didn’t end there. Throughout the day I would have to reapply eye drops, take more inhaler puffs, and use endless tissue paper to blow my nose. The sneezing was non-stop too. In the evening as I went to bed, the hope of resting my itchy eyes and experiencing temporary allergy relief never came to fruition. Sleeping though the night was an impossibility, as I would need to wake to up to tend to my wheezing windpipe and dripping nose.

I did think through possible causes of my allergy woes and ruled out the dogs, donkeys, and cat (he lived outside), and decided it must be the abundance of tall grasses in the area. It probably didn’t help that Italy had one of its wettest winters in 15 years and now it’s springtime. However, as I write this, Trisha and I have begun our next farm-stay near Arezzo, and I haven’t had anything close to the misery of last week. In fact, our hosts have 8 cats and I have only had to use the inhaler twice today, and no eye drops or pills. So I am feeling much better and more hopeful than last week.

Although we have only been here a day, we have a good feeling about our new place. This current stay is in totally different and gorgeous region than Vellerti. Being further north, the environment has less of the tall grasses and more large hills covered with lush, green trees. I prefer this forested and mountain feel to the rolling farmland terrain. Our new hosts, Peter and Lucy, are both from England and purchased their house and huge acreage about a year ago. It is not a working farm, as both Peter and Lucy have other jobs, but there are tons of things that need to be done and plenty to keep us busy. There are two other Help X workers here too, both from Canada, which has been fun and interesting and put less pressure on Trisha and me to be the center of attention. We are particularly excited about this stay because of its great proximity to Florence, Siena, Oretzo, and Perguia. The hosts are also very flexible and have encouraged us to take daytrips or overnights during our stay here. They are also willing to drive us to local villages or bus stops to catch trains in Arezzo (Arezzo is about 35 minutes away). It does look to be an enjoyable stay, with hard work thrown in there too of course.

In summary, I would recommend the south Rome, as long as allergy sufferers come prepared with plenty of inhalers, eye drops, antihistamines, and tissues.