Month: August 2021

I’m on a mission to use every one of the tomatoes Piero the gardener gave me.  I refuse to let even one of them go to waste.  I’ve done all the usual things, like caprese salads and panini, and now am ready to take on some major things.  Our...

Most of you know that Italy got hit pretty hard early in the pandemic.  I think because of that, they are very cautious about how they proceed.  Almost everyone wears a mask and you can’t go into stores, offices, or restaurants without one.  They still limit the number of...

We’re almost finished doing battle with the Italian bureaucracy.  We thought we would be done last week, but, alas, if there can be a monkey wrench thrown into something, we will find it.  We went for our final appointment in Sansepolcro to get our permesso di siggiorno.  It was...

Saturday was our dear friend, Anna’s, birthday.  To celebrate, she invited her family and us to dinner.  We felt very honored to be included in this group, even though out of the 10 people there, only four spoke any English (and two of them were us!).  It was a...

We have a gardener.  I know that sounds very extravagant and maybe even a little pretentious.  He kind of came with the house.  Our landlord owns a couple of properties and is 85 years old.  He’s spry and agile, but needs help with things.  The other day they were...

We have certain milestones to cross before we can really start relaxing.  Mind you, we’ve done our share of relaxing already, but these chores are always in the back of our minds.  Specifically, we have to get the utilities set up for the upstairs apartment, get our permesso di...

Italians love a good party.  In the summer when the heat of the day gives way to the coolness of the evening, Italians come out and gather.  The piazza concept is perfect for this, and I’m pretty sure that’s why they were invented.  Piazzas are places to conduct business...

We arrived here two weeks ago to the most amazing weather.  It was hot – in the 90s – but very low humidity and and the most delicious breeze, the venticello.  That breeze kissed your face and brushed your body with a gentle coolness that made you feel like...

I’m typically not a flea market kind of person.  I’m good for about 10, maybe 15 minutes, then I’m ready to hit the road.  However, our friend Michelangelo told us about a place near Citta di Castello that is only open on Sunday mornings and is kind of a...

We visited the Leroy Merlin near Perugia to look for some outdoor furniture for our terrace.  Leroy Merlin is kind of like a Home Depot.  Getting to it required a trip on the E45, the main highway that cuts through Umbria and eastern Tuscany.  Now you may think this...