In the below video about adding a second bathroom, please note the transformation of the black hole at the end. That "black hole" was so typical of the state the apartment was in! My Antique Floors and the Inappropriate Sporcaccione My floors are what we called "cotto" in Italy. Meaning made from terracotta bricks. They are antique floors and rather special. But
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Sagas of Doors
The Complexity of Doors -- Who Knew? Who knew that getting a few doors built and installed would be such a saga? I spent months dealing with the door that was to go between the living room and the second bedroom. And this was over the course of a year 😱 There were two days of 6 hours each of the Senegalese guy in my apartment, installing the door. And he turned out to
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The Kitchen Remodel (Part 2)
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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Remodeling Living Room & Bedroom, and adding electricity
This is the second in a series of posts about my experience remodeling an apartment in Florence. The living room as it looked originally I didn't hire an architect. I got some advice from my "Geometra" and then hired some Moroccan guys and attempted to be be a "manager" myself. This meant discussing masonry and electricity in Italian, which I'm not familiar with
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Remodeling a Bathroom in Italy
This is the first in a series of posts about my experience remodeling an apartment in Florence. I had bought the apartment before the pandemic and I hadn't realized how much work it needed and how much it would feel like living in a warehouse until I was able to start renovations. The topic of the pandemic and surviving it in Italy arose on a recent tour I led for two
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A New Life In Sicily: Vineyards, Volcanos, and Chickens
I am pleased to add this interview to my Taking the Plunge series Here is Rachel Villa who moved from California to Sicily Where do you come from and when did you first have a connection with Italy in your life? My father was an officer in the US Navy, and we lived in Florida, California, Hawaii, and Japan. But I had never been to Europe. When I was 18, attending
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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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Video Diaries from Lockdown
Video Diaries From the First Five Weeks of Lockdown Italy's President Giuseppe Conte announced Monday night, March 9 that the country would be under lockdown the following morning. It has been extended twice, first to April 3 and then to May 3. Day 11, March 20 Day 14, March 23 Day 15, March 24 Day 18, March 27 Day 32, April 3 Day 36, April
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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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Post #5 getting the Carta d’IdentitÃ
How to get your Italian Carta d'Identità . 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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