This is the second post about the kitchen remodel. Have a look first, at Part 1 to see how the kitchen looked originally. When I returned from California, having vacated the apartment for two months for the lavori pesante---the "heavy works" as my architect termed it---this is how the place looked: So attractive to arrive to after 22 hours of travel! LOL While I
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The Kitchen Remodel (Part 1)
Please everyone, for the love of god, check the chimney! If there's a chimney over a stove in the Italian house you're considering purchasing, don't do what I did. How did I manage to not look under the chimney? The geometra didn't mention it when I walked through with him and I didn't think of it. I know, epic fail! But I was so focused on the SIZE of the room. Yes, size
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An Australian Opens a Bistrot in Florence
I am pleased to add this interview to my Taking the Plunge series Here is Chloé Guest who opened a bistrot/microbakery in Florence in 2019 Where do you come from and when did you first have a connection with Italy in your life? I was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. My aunt married an Italian-Australian farmer, who raised sugar cane and cattle. His mother, a
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Christmas Festivals in Florence
As someone who grew up without religion in a California beach town, I was intrigued when I moved to Italy by the length of the Christmas season and I was confused by some of the festivals. I learned that the season starts on December 8, with the Festival of the Immaculate Conception, and ends on January 6 with Epiphany. I assumed the conception being referred to was the one
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House Hunters Episode Prompts a Move to Lucca
I am pleased to add this interview to my Taking the Plunge series Why did this family move from the US to Lucca? Where do you come from and when did you first have a connection with Italy in your life? I was born in the Philippines but have spent most of my life in Southern California. My first connection to Italy was food. For as long as I can remember, Spaghetti al Ragu has
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The Best Local Piazza in Florence (And it’s Organic Market)
Piazza Santo Spirito: Come here to hang out in the best local piazza in Florence. This piazza is in the Oltrarno which means âacross the Arnoâ (the other side of the river from civic and religious centers where the cathedral and town hall are.) If you feel overwhelmed by the crowds on the main side of the river, come over to the Oltrarno and hang out in Piazza Santo
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Your Residency and Exiting Italy
Does it affect your Italian residency to leave Italy for a period of time? Yes, it can affect your Italian residency to go back to your country of origin for a period of time. The permesso needs to be renewed yearly for a period of five years at which time you can request permanent residency. However, there's an important stipulation. Become a subscriber to my
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Italy’s Prettiest Coastline
Liguria is my favorite region after Tuscany and it may have Italy's prettiest coastline. I usually go there to hike and swim but this time the draw is what my friends say are the best fireworks in Italy. My friends who come yearly to their ancestral home in Lucca's mountains, head to Rapallo every July to see the famous fireworks and I'm spontaneously going with them
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Mystical Solstice Event in Florence
"The information was lost, we didn't know..." The monk tells me from behind the counter of the monastic shop. "No one had noticed the solstice sun illuminating the zodiac?" "No, we didn't notice." The monk smiles. "It was figured out by Simone Bartolini." Simone Bartolini is an astronomer and cartographer who recently (around 2011) figured out that the marble zodiac on the
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Post #5 getting the Carta d’IdentitĂ
How to get your Italian Carta d'IdentitĂ . Do you know where and when to go to apply for residency after getting the permesso? I was told conflicting things by various offices. But I got it sorted. And I've got the scoop for you. Become a subscriber to my Substack to read the rest of this post and get my complete information on how to become legal in Italy
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Paddle boarding in Tuscany
SUP in Tuscany at Lido di Camaiore If you love SUP, and the Italian sea, as I do, you'll be glad to know that it's now common to find SUP at Italy's beach towns. After five months of cold it suddenly turned warm enough on April 15 to switch to summer clothes and by April 21 I was paddle boarding in the sea, out of Lido di Camaiore (a beach town on the part of the northern
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Why I Risked Everything to Buy an Apartment in Florence
A personal essay Not long ago I woke up and was fifty years old, with more than half my life already lived. Divorced, and without kids, essentially alone, I decided to follow my lifelong dream of living in Italy, but to do so, I had to âdare greatlyâ as Dr. BrenĂ© Brown calls it. Iâd been in love with the city of Florence since age nineteen when I backpacked around
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