The Fireman's Wife

In September 1999 Niall Allsop and his wife Kay flew to Pisa and stepped onto Italian soil for the first time. Within six months they returned and therafter they visited Italy at least twice a year, usually to the most southerly provinces of Apulia and Calabria and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. They knew they holidayed differently to other people and in Italy, despite the lack of language, they found themselves somehow drawn into people's lives and homes; they had experiences and encounters that seemed to pass others by. 'Stumbling through Italy' is the irreverent chronicle of their Italian travels and the people they met there up to the summer of 2008 . when, finally reconciled to the inevitable, they returned to Italy one last time. Which, as they say, is another story. Also included are chapters on the idiosyncrasies of the Italian language and the Italian driving experience. The sequel to 'Stumbling through Italy', 'Scratching the toe of Italy', is also available.