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© Kerrie Barker 2007
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We came to Italy to find,
buy and refurbish a farmhouse with its own vineyards, and exactly one year
to the day after we arrived in Italy, we had a telephone call to say we had
obtained planning permission to refurbish the farmhouse and convert the
stable and hayloft into guest accommodation, and also to install a swimming
pool. Much joy and celebration in the Barker household, accompanied by, of
course, a bottle of wine.
We have received a very
detailed estimate of the cost of the reconstruction, in Italian of course,
and are now in search of builders who are both available and able to do the
work, ostensibly within budget. There is also the ‘small’ matter of the
not-so-small planning fee to pay, and an energy survey and site safety
survey that have to be lodged with the comune before work can begin.
Meanwhile, back on the farm,
the mellow winter has meant that everything is ahead of schedule this year.
The fruit trees blossomed before the insects were around to pollinate the
flowers, so unfortunately the fruit crop is low. We have already harvested
our cherry trees
and all claims to the sole apricot have been decided as it has disappeared
off the tree. Everywhere the grass has grown relentlessly and has been cut
regularly by Bob with his new, improved dayglo orange lawnmower. The vines
have grown rapidly too, and the grapes have set and are swelling nicely.
Before finishing school for
the summer vacations, Edward and Oliver went on their annual end of year
trips. Oliver spent a full day in the Alps, taking in a visit to a
monastery. Edward had an overnight visit to the Cinque Terre on the Italian
Riviera. Edward’s party, who travelled by train, encountered a group of
young Canadian lads who unknowingly had sat in the school’s reserved seats.
As the accompanying nun was unable to explain the problem, Edward was asked
to evict them. As soon as they realised their mistake, they left with good
grace, one of them complimenting Edward on his mastery of the English
language !
The second Sunday in May
brought the annual festa to our small village of Cassinasco – the first
since we moved here. Like most things in Piedmont, the emphasis is on food
and wine and having a good time, which we did. Read more about the festa
here.
As May rolled into June, the
festa season was fully under way. We sampled a medieval evening at nearby
Montabone, an authentic medieval hill-top village. Food, wine, swordfighting,
fire-eaters, jugglers – all culminating with a fireworks display. We visited
a wine and music day in a local winery, where we sheltered from the worst
rainfall we have seen since we arrived in Italy. However the wine more than
made up for it. Our visit to the spectacular ‘Assedio di Canelli’ – the
re-enactment of the Seige of Canelli in 1613, is described in more detail
here, and at
Nizza Wine and Beer festa, laid out along parallel streets in the old town,
we found some new wineries and tasted some interesting and definitely more-ish
local microbrewery beers.
Together with the end of
term concert at school, it has been an enjoyable June.
We finish this newsletter
with a trip to the beach to mark Bob’s **th birthday – no he is not yet a
Senior Citizen, by more than a decade, but the lady who sells the entrance
tickets to the Savoy Palace in Turin thought he was! We spent a pleasurable
afternoon on
Finale Ligure beach, followed by a spot of window shopping,
then a pleasant aperitif – shaken, not stirred. We then took a short drive
along the coast to Spotorno, where we enjoyed a celebratory dinner at a fish
restaurant before returning home.
Christmas 2007
newsletter
E mail:
kerrie@anitalianadventure.co.uk
0039 0141 851 154
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