19 settimani (19 weeks): Fridges, furniture, floors, friends and festas

Juliet writes:

Cara amici,

Life has suddenly got very busy!

We start with “A shopper’s guide to Italy”. My first reaction is ‘Don’t do it’! It’s a bit of a nightmare trying to get anything here. We love the fact that they don’t have department stores, big chains and sprawling metropolis multi-storey malls. We also think it is part of the Italian charm that 99% of shops, restaurants, hotels and workshops are small and run entirely by the same family (sons, brothers, daughters, nephews, grandparents… all are welcome as long as they share the same blood). Better still, we adore the fact that they generally give you free things/discounts. But on the other hand, trying to buy a fridge turned out to be as easy as bottling an elephant fart. While juggling.

Our various quests to La Spezia, San Stefano, Aulla etc (and I am convinced that we went through Switzerland at one point) would have been bearable if (a) it hadn’t been near to 100 degrees fahrenheit when we decided we desperately needed a fridge and some garden furniture (b) the car was working properly and didn’t require us to put the heaters on full-blast in order to stabilise the constant over-heating and prevent the car from blowing up (c) the opening hours of shops were anything approaching civility, reliability or consistency and (d) we had actually found items that didn’t require a second mortgage.

Still, at least we now have somewhere comfortable to sit and admire that breathtaking view and can drink coffee with milk that doesn’t go off in 3 nanoseconds.

I am also very pleased to report – at long bloomin’ last – that we have the deeds to our house, the permissions have been registered (should hear the response by mid-September), our residency permit is being processed and… BUILDING WORK HAS STARTED!!! It’s all informal until we get permissions, but our lovely Irish builder Jim (looks like God, works like a demon) has ripped out all the naff floor tiles with a vengeance only experienced by people who don’t like anything to do with the ’70s.

So blissfully we have rubble at last :o)

We are well on the way to hiring a great Italian electrician and specialist builder, plus we have almost got to grips with the various heating solutions available in Italy (this requires three master degrees, 5 years as a plumber, an innate knowledge of photovoltaic panels and five miles of tubing).

In the garden, Peter has heroically strimmed nearly all of the vineyard (which has equated to not less than 50 wheelbarrow-loads of grass cuttings so far) and has dug a trench for the underground stream to come up to ground level and thus dry out the foundations necessary for our swimming pool etc. All in stifling heat with only a pickaxe and the dream of skinnydipping to keep him going. No wonder he has lost one and a half stone and is looking very bronzed!

I have helped to tidy up the vineyard, done yet more pruning and have been trying to unmangle the fruit orchard. We now have a nice compost heap on the go (both Peter and Jim have been instructed to wee on it as much as possible as it is the best natural accelerant apparently!)

No longer is Peter called “City Boy” by Giovanni… in fact my dear husband spent all last week covered in dirt with his trousers held up by a piece of string. So his status as Regazzo dell’Agricola (Farm Boy) must surely be secured. Which is more than I can say for the string – luckily for us it was during siesta time when it broke and his trousers and underpinnings fell down revealing all equipment, so at least the neighbours were safe!

We have seen our first hummingbird moth – a beautiful creature (pic to the left), the eagles soar majestically above us most days and butterflies are aplenty. The vines are heavy with both white and red grapes – there is something so exciting about knowing that they will be picked and processed in about 3 months’ time (may this have something to do with our alcoholic tendencies?!) We have had our first peaches from the garden – absolutely the most delicious we have ever eaten. The fig and plum trees are on their second fruit and the few pears that have grown so far are almost ready for picking. Oh for a jam pan.

We had my friend Nat over for 4 days, including her birthday. As the three of us were fairly exhausted, it was lovely just to chill out, catch up, eat cake and spend some time at the house and pottering about Portovenere and Sarzana antiques street market.

September is our busiest month for guests – we have five lots of our loveliest friends over (including my Kiwi mate Al and missus Heather, old neighbour Kazzie, friends Patrina and Andrew and the delicious Chloe). We start the ball rolling with the Royal Visit from the Brosh family – our closest, dearest friends – we can’t wait to see you Clare, Asi, Ella and Maia!!!

Healthwise we are doing well, although P had his first experience of Italian hospitals when he got kidney stones. Very painful but mercifully fairly short-lived. He was seen immediately and thoroughly and the doctor and nursing staff were delightful. Knowing our track record of injuries and tropical diseases, we are so lucky it is just a 5 minute drive from our house!

To prove his return to health, P took part in the Fivizzano tennis tournament. Considering he hasn’t played for over 6 months, he did ever so well. First match was a three-set thriller against a very tall chap with mad hair who may possibly have been the Italian brother of Bill Bailey. 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. Sadly, this triumph was transient – the next match was against Fabio Potesta, a great tennis player. He, quite frankly, whipped Peter in two straight sets: 6-0, 6-3. But at least P got some practice and a tennis partner out of it (Fabio is lovely and is very passionate about tennis) and I got a sun tan. Our estate agent and our Carmine neighbour are the likely bets for the final pair… one to watch!

And in the meantime, if we don’t have enough to do, August is the month of festas. With most of Italy on holiday for four weeks, there are posters everywhere for concerts, wine tastings, food sagras and other general excuses to have fun. We have managed to squeeze in 4 so far this month. First was our local Cerignano festival where the Madonna is carried once a year from the church to the Carmine nunnery where she originally stood, and back to the church again. This was followed by lovely homemade food and wine and a rather manic raffle (we won some lovely plants, an apron, some kitchen knives and a rather strange ceramic thing in 3 pieces that we don’t quite understand or know what to do with).

Next up was a rather moving festa in a mountain clearing above Pallerone, which commemorated the war, in between the pole climbing, singing and hoopla. Here we met the organiser and local bar owner Orso (his name is really Guido, but his nickname means Bear, because he is big and cuddly). Between our faultering Italian and his English, he showed us around the unusual little chapel and shared a drink or six. Molto gentile.

Third was the bread sagra at Solieri – a mad karaoke affair in the middle of a field with fantastic food and very cheap wine. We sat next to two young and delightful Italian couples who happen to know some English friends of ours… it is indeed a small, small world!

And last weekend was one of the very best local events - a medieval disfida in Filetto – a small walled 15th century village which closes itself off to traffic for the weekend and everyone dresses up in gowns, tights and archery outfits. There were lots of stalls with local crafts, beautiful jewellery, leather books, cheeses, olive wood furniture etc and some fantastic performers, including a medieval quartet, a comedy version of Romeo and Juliet and an amazing trio who did astounding things with fire, chains, juggling balls and a diabolo.

This coming weekend is another notable medieval festa in the picture-postcard Pontremoli, with archery competitions, flag-throwing, food demonstrations and more cheap wine. It’s a hard life isn’t it?!

Take care all – please don’t forget us and do keep sending your news.

Ciao per ora.

J and P XXX
PS Weed and Tumble are fine… in fact kitty is trying to climb my legs as I write this… and I am wearing shorts (ouch!)

14 settimani (14 weeks): Blighty, bottle-feeding, builders and ball games

Juliet writes:

Cara amici,

It feels like a long time since I last managed to sit at the computer and write. So forgive me if this post is a little lengthy and/or rambling!

What news? Well, obviously we survived our first whirlwind 6-day tour of the UK. We even managed to smuggle Branston pickle and porkpies on the way back. Even though the weather was appalling and we didn’t want to leave Italy, we had a lovely time - everyone was so hospitable and generous. After a super couple of days separately visiting our old folks (thanks for putting up with us mum and poppa!), we had a sumptuous feast and catch up with James and Amy, a fun night at the Victories with their new pup and a lovely relaxing day with Sammy. We even managed to fit in a delicious lunch courtesy of Helen, drinkies with Kaz, June, Jean and the fluffbots and a trip to the theatre for my mum’s birthday. The latter was Noel Coward’s ‘Brief Encounter’ – part film, part theatre, part musical, part comedy, part weepy and part reminiscing on a gentle, romantic period with a super multi-talented small cast. We sat next to Imelda Staunton and just across from Patricia Hodge. Always a good sign when actors are part of the paying audience. It was one of the best productions I’ve ever seen. If you go to one thing this year, make it that.

The trip back made us realise that the only thing we miss about England (apart from porkpies and vegemince) is a few dear friends and family. And although we have only been here 14 weeks, Italy really does feel like home. This is especially the case when we are both at the house, pottering about pruning and raking in the sunshine and listening to the birds singing and the horses neighing – there is no better feeling of peace and happiness in our little world.

(See photo (left) of Peter with rake, trying to prove he isn't a 'City Boy' anymore!)

For all you cat-lovers, I am pleased to report that kitty is thriving (see recent pics above). Bottle-feeding for Italy, winning awards for weeing and climbing everywhere (the sleeping box is already too short for those claws). However, in kitten world, the poo tray is obviously for eating that delicious and nutritious cat litter and the saucer of milk makes a lovely swimming pool. We will persevere…

We are completely blessed with Anna and Hernando as neighbours as they are not only the nicest, smiliest people we have met, but they are also utterly animal mad. So while we were in Blighty, they were kind enough to volunteer to look after both ‘grande gatto’ and ‘gattini’ as well as water the flowers. They even took Tumble to their house so that they could provide love and milk around the clock. We had our first visit to the vet this week to conquer worms, fleas and other nasties and it turns out that ‘he’ is actually a ‘she’! Unless we were the proud parents of the only gay cat in Tuscany, Peter and I were beginning to suspect this may be the case as Tumble is far too pretty to be a boy. Weed is also doing very well and has been exceptionally soppy since our return. Every time she passes Tumble she stops for an affectionate sniff and I am sure they will be great friends within the next few months.

As to the house, things are beginning to get greener after The Great Fire of Cerignano, although it still looks like the aftermath of The Somme in places. Our grapes are growing well, the agapanthus are in full bloom and we have a large daily supply of fresh and juicy plums and figs, which P and I munch happily as we work, savouring the taste of fruit from our own land – there is nothing quite like it. We were terribly excited this week as we had our first Lecci peach… hmmm – maybe we need to get out more?! We continue to do gardening every day, but we are limited to a few hours due to Tumble’s appetite. Hopefully once she is fully weaned we can spend more time tackling the jungle and amassing a more impressive array of blisters, bruises, scratches and scabs.

For the inside, we have ordered some kitchen units and floorboards for the lounge/library, plus we have sourced the bath tub, Florentine tiles and most of the other flooring, the marble and granite and some lighting, as well as names/numbers of local craftsmen such as plasterers, masons, ironworkers and carpenters.

Things are – at long bloomin’ last – moving forward with contractors. In the hope of receiving our deed of sale in the next few days (nothing happens here without this), we had seven people round today to discuss the house. Thank goodness we took our kettle and some coffee from the rental place! Firstly we met with Elena and Leo who introduced us to their builder/plumber and sparkie. Then our other lovely neighbours Giovanni and Giovanna turned up with their delightful English-speaking friend Simona (wife of one of the firemen who helped us). With them, we discussed the possibility of project management, as frustratingly we do not speak enough Italian for such a complicated project. Giovanni has beautifully restored the 800-year-old nunnery and is also an engineer, so he is perfect for the job - not only does he know everyone from mayor to planning officers but is quite optimistic that – with the right approach – we will get our balcony and pool. Hoorah!

Peter now endearingly calls Lecci ‘Our Money Pit’. Yes, we are slightly concerned about the budget spiralling, but I suppose that was inevitable as foreigners with taste too fussy for their purse-strings. I will try to keep a grip on things as I am one for a bargain and we are both happy to take our time to find the best cheapest options. Realistically, we hope to have a comfortable (or at least habitable) home in time for P’s 60th next June and then a manageable garden, including (in our dream world) vegetable and kitchen gardens, thriving vineyard and olive grove, pool and pool house, fully-functioning pizza oven, terraces, beds and borders, steps and bougainvillea-covered lounging areas a year or two after that. And I mustn’t forget the chickens. So hopefully by Olympic year we will be open for minor royalty (fee-paying of course)!

Giovanni is also, rather handily, the Vice President of Fivizzano Tennis Club, so on Thursday P has his first game for about 6 months. He was quite nervous about his lack of practice, so I offered my ball-girl services and barley water for moral support – not sure if they helped though: the final score was 6-1, 7-5 to Giovanni. However, P came back really well in the second set and I am sure he will get into the swing of it again soon… if he has the time to practice in between hacking the garden to bits, sanding down walls and making up bottles of milk.

Well, I had better dash – that aforementioned rather operatic feline is flexing her lungs. Well, what do we expect from an Italian kitten?!

Lots of love and kisses to you all.

Ciao per ora.

XXX