23/05/2023
Welcome back to Villa Donna! Let me catch you up on what's happening here at VD and in San Vito dei Normanni. I just posted our biggest project this year, our new 'back road' entrance off our now shared drive. Finally our guest can drive down our lighted street country side back road, just 900meters from one of five large supermarkets (Penny off via Brindisi). Turning right at black gate between the finally matured pine tree opening. We now share our main home's entrance past the manicured hedges between the almond tree farm. Turning right after the palm tree, follow the newly graveled path past the easy sliding wood gate (btw, planned on an electric gate but our managing company discouraged it as electrics in Italy tend to surge or cut-off unexpectedly). Drive through the almond grove and park under the shady Olive tree. Walk through the open wall into the villa complex. Unfortunately we lost our big beautiful fig tree during our reconstruction but a new one is sprouting so we hope to get back this sweet treasure in a few years. Fig trees grow like weeds here near older ones. Luckily we have several others in and around the property to enjoy, different colored varieties maturing at different times. Spring yields Nespoli and cherries, including the annual festival of the huge ferrovia cherries in Turi. Our jujube, pomegranate, persimmon, pear and cactus fruit trees yield later in the summer and our orange, mandarin trees are ready in the winter. Lemons are ripe now and I'm digging drinking bubbly lemon infused water all day..a 1.5l bottle of fizzy water cost a quarter!! Take that Perrier!
Back to what's new at the villa...we covered the gazebo so no more dining rain-outs and tiled that gazebo for a cleaner slate. Nothing like sinking in the grass as you eat...lol We also, begrudgingly I admit, added glass shower in- casings to two of three walk-in showers as the VP folks think they are more sanitary than a curtain which we changed at every new arrival?
Everything else was spruced up, repainted, pruned and finished by our early May arrival. 2023 will be our busiest year ever with both May and July sold out and only one week left in each month of June, September and October. Wish me luck with those weekly turnovers! Luckily my sister in law helps me but go ahead and count me out for any Saturday events because it wipes me out. I think I may need to adhere to my own old AF motto to 'work smarter not harder', and hire a second cleaner. We actually did just get a pool robot which Aden can remotely drive on his phone. At least he's been listening! I'll leave you with a few glimpses of how things are looking but we didn't have time to get our professional shots retaken this year due to all the bookings.
