My mum and stepdad are Italophiles and it’s always been their plan to turn their holiday favourite into a stint living abroad. This year that finally happened. I was perplexed though when they chose to pursue their decades-long dream in winter, staying for January, February and March.

“You’re only going to do this once, don’t you want to go in the summer?” I asked, reverting to my role as a teenager who thinks they know best. “No, we want to experience normal life, not the tourist version,” my mum said.