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Builder mysteriously resurfaced via WhatsApp message and says he is resuming work on my house. Bizarre to say the least. Last week I had no builder… now I may have 3. Who knows?
Maybe I should buy another house. Just kidding … but I do love Prague and Warsaw …
Last update indicates that the walls were being plastered. Last conversation with the builder, he was very ill - extremely high fever for days, severe congestion but still working 20 hour days on his projects. Then, after working with him for a year - he simply VANISHED - none of his clients have heard from or seen him. Very concerning.
Headed to Italy in a few weeks to visit the house and then heading to the southern coast to see if I can find out what happened.
Definitely a major hiccup in the progress - but I already have a team building to help finish what was started! I always love a good challenge and this has definitely been one. But I have a vision for that property!!! I am actaully looking forward to the road ahead and so happy that the ex-pat community in Italy always willing to help where they can.
Never a dull moment -
If I was able to see the house in Bodega Bay through to completion, this challenge is a cake walk!
May visit: walls of outdoor decks raised to meet code, new floors going in over the plumbing, electric and hvac systems. Progress.
Next trip in a few weeks … finally am able to start shopping for interior finishes👏
Destruction of ground floor uncovered the original cistern (I think it it s 9x 12 room) that collected water to supply the house with water. Discovered these cool arches and shelves built into the walls - a few wine bottles sitting on the shelves.
A glass floor is being put over part of the cistern in the main entryway to the house. Lighting is being put it so the cistern can be turned into a room. The glass floor will actually be an operational door. Stairs are being built - so you can either look at the items through the glass floor or venture down to in! Builder wants to make it a wine cellar .... I thought float tank ...
I finally got to see the renovations in person. After the initial shock of seeing my house pretty much demolished on the inside, I also saw the new plumbing, new walls, and envisioned the finished product.
Fun fact- there is a room under the back half of the house, accessible only from the back yard through a nondescript door. One of the workers knew of the room … it was a secret gathering place - a bar - where the resistance movement gathered during the war. Today it is pretty vacant except fir a few little treasures …
Two weeks ago demolition started … many, many truck loads of debris later … the rebuild has begun 🤗
So ... this is now. Got little carried away and decided on a complete restoration that is now underway. Can't wait to see what's next!.
The house
Casa Bel’ Paese
A week later, the offer was made and Casa Panoramica, the home in the ancient village, would become Cases Bel’ Paese – which can mean a home in a beautiful country, a beautiful country home, a beautiful home in the village. Whatever the translation – they all apply. It is a beautiful country home, in a beautiful village, in a beautiful country.
4 LONG years later, a new chapter begins …
House Hunting.
On the 21st, the Realtors, Tracey and Vincenzo, picked me up and off we went to see some houses they lined up. A relatively new condo right by the sea, then a beautiful country house high on a hill with sweeping views of hills, farmlands, vineyards and the Adriatic Sea, then a house with views of the snow-capped mountains. I could not decide what view I would prefer. So, we just drove as they chatted in Italian.
Then we hit a spot as we were driving where you could see the mountains, the hills and the sea, all from one spot! Now this would be perfect! A place where you could have it all – but it was simply a view from a road. Tracey said something to Vincenze, who was driving, who turned the car and headed up a winding road to an ancient village. We parked, walked up a cobblestone road to a place they named Casa Panoramica. A simple 2-story attached home that needed some (well, maybe more than some) care. The brick exterior, covered with peeling plaster, the top painted white, the bottom painted pink. My reaction – What the hell?
Then I saw – the sea, the farmlands, the vineyards, the mountains – all from one simple house. Then we went around the back – each floor with its own terrace and, a rare find – a terraced back yard hosting an olive grove. HA TUTTO!!! It has it all! On the 22nd I was on a train back to Naples to catch my flight back on the 23rd.
The Journey begins.
On March 1, a few days after reading the Forbes article, I booked a plane ticket to Naples, mapped out my travels, booked B&B’s and headed to the internet to find a Realtor to show me some houses. The Realtor, Tracey, connected me with a man (Manolo) who offered tours to show me around so I could see the area to decide where I would like to see houses. Since I had never been there and the Abruzzo region is massive, narrowing down an area was a great idea since I had but 3 days there.
Landed in Naples on March 18th, on a train to Pescara (on the Abruzzo coast) on the 19th and toured the area with my guide, Manolo on the 20th. A native Italian, Manolo was a wealth of information. His love and passion for the area was infectious. We saw the sea, the mountains, the hillside farms and vineyards, the ancient villages. We stopped at Manolo’s house where I met his wife and he whipped up the most delicious meal (which could very well have been the final selling point!).
Bel’ Paese.
This how ancient poets described Italy. They referred to Italy as “the beautiful country.”
Over the years, I had been to Italy before. Northern Italy, Venice, Rome. It had its beauty and charm, but I never thought of it as a “beautiful country.” Tourists everywhere, crowded, the Italian culture diluted by throngs of people from all over the world, shop after shop hawking souvenirs, tour buses. If there was “Italian charm,” is was lost or hidden in the crowds, chaos and commercialization. Where was this beautiful country that the poets wrote about?
Then, in April 2019, Forbes published yet another “The best places to …” list and one of the places was Abruzzo, Italy. I had never heard of it but Forbes talked of mountains and the sea, city and country, very affordable and safe and, most of all, relatively undiscovered by the tourist industry.
Corso Umberto
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Two weeks ago demolition started … many, many truck loads of debris later … the rebuild has begun 🤗
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