What I have noticed about bikes in Lucca is that, as a local, the rustier and more generally decrepit your bike looks, the better. Nothing marks a foreigner more clearly than a shiny new cruiser bike without a scratch on it.

We are approaching the three month mark of our time here in Lucca, which has absolutely flown by. It feels a momentous milestone - no longer being just another blow in here on a 90-day tourist visa, but a proper resident of the city.

Our approach since we moved here has been to embrace as much of the Italian way of doing things as possible, even if it didn't seem to make sense to our very Australian minds.

One of the aspects of general attitudes here that I appreciate greatly is unabashed efficiency in tasks that aren't inherently enjoyable. Efficiency bordering on laziness, some may say, but aren't those two concepts very close and rather subjective?

It's been a busy week for us here in Lucca. We're in the midst of school orientation (inserimento) for Raffy and Leo - a highly complex operation which seems to take a month and involve different hours for each of them every day so we are all kept on the tip of our toes at all times.

David and I went for dinner the other night (with the lovely Ilenia - she of the magical tomatoes - babysitting the bambini) and we had a rare opportunity to catch up and reflect on everything about our move so far and how we're feeling.

Last weekend we caught our first Italian train. I can't believe it actually took us this long, considering one of the reasons we specifically chose Lucca because of its rail connections. We packed up a beach bag and headed off for a morning excursion to explore Viareggio.

I always thought that Italy was located on the other side of the world to Australia, but it turns out that actually it is on the face of the sun.

Yesterday was the much-anticipated actual day of Ferragosto, the public holiday that stops the nation - for a month.

We are well and truly experiencing the phenomenon that is August in Italy. Three of our four most frequently visited cafes are now closed until the end of the month.

Settling into life officially living in Lucca has well and truly commenced. We have farewelled our last visitors for the summer and our apartment is starting to feel like home.

Siamo arrivati in Italia! We have arrived in Italy. After a couple of weeks in the UK (London and then Newquay, Cornwall - a lovely spot that we will definitely visit again!) we landed in Italy.