If this is your first visit to my column, you should know that each month I talk about the previous one, in this case April. If you are a regular follower, Bentornato!
April was a great month for us, mainly because we moved to a larger and most beautiful property just down the track from the little villa. It is called ‘Querceto’ and this is hardly surprising because it means Oak Tree.A massive oak tree guards the entrance and the property is full of old oak beams. Some say that it was once a church and the façade certainly gives that impression. However, when you walk in it opens up into a maze of rooms, just like the Tardis. The most stunning thing to greet you will be the wild life fresco on the wall, then if you turn around you will find a beautiful painting of oak leaves over the inglenook fireplace.
Now all this is wonderful, however, you should also know that moving house in Italy is not a simple thing. Oh, yes, getting removal men and a good formal rental contract is OK (the latter is very important, many landlords prefer cash and no contract). The problems start when you go to your local commune (town offices) to register your new address. Firstly, despite having a formal rental contract with the address on the front, we find that the commune’s computer does not recognise it and in fact, according to them it does not exist! After an hour in the office, mounds of paper from filing cabinets and a phone call to someone called Uri, our commune man announces that it does exist but the address is completely different and was changed five years ago!! OK, we can deal with that, our previous contract had the old address too!
Meanwhile, Farty Barty the semi-wild cat was very confused. We are still in his general stomping ground, in fact just a twenty minute walk from the old place. During the month, he disappeared for five days and we had to retrieve him from the little villa. But finally, he relented and agreed that the new place was rather nice and the food just as good.
The other great thing about the new place is the fabulous wooded garden and the perfect terrazza for our rock concerts. Regarding the latter, we are well into the preparations for 25th June, and the repertoire has lots of new songs including three Robert Plant. We will be getting better lighting this year and catering staff. Well, we know a few locals who will be glad of the extra cash! If you are in Tuscany at this time and would like an invite, send an email to june.finnigan@virgin.net
OK, must go now, places to go, people to see and a house that still needs sorting! Lots of local news next time.
Have a great month.
Salute June x