How many people fantasize about living in Italy and owning a vineyard? Our house came with two rows of grape vines containing 55 plants. I honestly had not thought that these vines would produce a significant amount of grapes to produce a significant amount of wine. However, when I queried our caretaker about this […]
Each Christmas I break out my pizzzelle maker and prepare to spend an afternoon pressing these delicate cookies into snowflake shapes to give as gifts or simply enjoy with a cup of tea. I have been doing this for nearly 30 years when I began the tradition with my then young son who loved to […]
My love of antiques has always made me hunger for the famous antique market held the first Saturday and Sunday of each month in Arezzo. This time I was determined that we would make it there to explore all its treasures. Arezzo is rich in art and dates to Etruscan times, when it was part […]
Years ago while renting a house in Todi (yes we have been at this for years), we had the good fortune to have a cooking class at the home we had rented. I was under the impression that trying to duplicate this experience of having someone actually come to us was possibly too expensive and […]
In essence we have completed our first year of ownership. It has not been without its trials and tribulations; but has come with rewards as well. One of the first things we wanted to do was have a gathering to celebrate this milestone. Even though we are entirely ensconced into the Italian way of […]
As youngsters spending our summers at the beach clubs that surrounded Long Island Sound, the male members of the family would gather on a Sunday afternoon at the rustic dirt bocce court after a copious lunch to play their favorite game. No women were granted access to this fraternity; and only as children were we […]
Painting for the interior of the house had been included in the ‘preventivo’ (estimate) for the renovation. However, as with most construction projects, costs mount, and Arturo and I were quite confident we could paint the house ourselves in an effort to save some money; especially as the quote we had received was 6,000 euro […]
A possible downside of renting out your home is running the risk of having your personal possessions and well furniture broken or damaged. That was the case with the previous owner. Not sure if all his tenants were large, clumsy or just uncaring; but the more than dozen chairs that filled the house had either the […]
When we hired Omega to ship our household goods to Italy, we knew the nearest port was in Civitavecchia, Rome; so when we were told our goods would be sent to Naples and then trucked to Ficulle we were a bit surprised. Well, who were we to question the wisdom of this. Once the […]
When anyone came to Casa Le Crete to have a look around or give an estimate (preventivo) for some needed work they would survey the interior, shake their heads and murmur, ‘tutto IKEA’. (ALL IKEA) Yes, the house had been furnished almost exclusively with furniture and accessories from this mammoth Swedish store. Don’t get me […]