The Maremma, a region on the southern Tuscan coast, is the wild side of Tuscany. With a rough reputation as a place of bandits and malarial swamps a few hundred years ago, it has become a fashionable place in the last twenty years, while still remaining unspoiled. It gives me a wild, expansive, anything-is-possible feel. The Etruscans were the first settlers of this area and
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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
Read MorePost #1 Preparing for the Permesso
How to get a "Permit to Stay" in Italy For non EU citizens: You need a visa first. You apply for that at the Italian Consulate in your jurisdiction in your home country. See the website for the consulate in your jurisdiction for more info.Upon arrival in Italy apply for a permit to stay. (permesso di soggiorno)Within 20 days of receiving the permit, go to the Anagrafe
Read MoreThe Cost of Moving to Italy
Moving Abroad (again) A year and nine months ago I moved from Qatar back to the United States. I came back exhausted. I was exhausted from the dust storms, the lack of fresh air and the tension of going to battle on Qatar's roads, and the rigidity of a culture I wasn't use to. I could have used years of being back home. It's so easy in Santa Cruz. Living at my
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