Gluttony and Other Virtues
Santuario della Verna I really don’t know what my fascination with St. Francis is. I was raised Southern Baptist and we didn’t do saints and such. But for some reason, St. Francis strikes a chord with me. Maybe it’s because he was all over this part of Italy. Maybe...
The Simple Life is a Lot of Work
We thought we were moving here to simplify our lives. No more (real) work, no more schedules, no more responsibilities. Just carefree days of doing what we want when we want where we want. While that’s largely true, our dream of simplicity is a little complicated. We have no...
Day Trippin’
We’ve been a little housebound for the past few weeks due to various issues and situations. We had expected to take many day trips while we’re here and we’ve really been itching to get out. We finally got out recently and took two trips. One to Deruta and one...
There’s Red Sauce in My Future
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...
The Upsides of Pandemic Dining
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...
Nesting, Italian Style
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...
The Fresh Produce Connection
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...
Shiny Stamps at the Post Office and Other Italian Peculiarities
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...