Category Archives: Italian life

The Raccolto – harvest

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OK guys, I’m officially old. Luther and I went and helped our friends with the harvest. I am proud to say we did five trees ourselves. But it did take it out of us. Still we really enjoy participating. I think of the millennia of people who went before us doing the exact same thing. Tradition.

To top it off it was one of the most spectacular days EVER. And I thank my friends Joanne and Mark for letting us enjoy the sun and perfect temperature at their beautiful home. They live in the mountains.

To understand our area is to understand that we are in the Tiber valley. The chains of mountains run up on either side. So for us to go just about anywhere we have to cross over mountains. Our friends live in the mountains but also across quite a long small road with a ton of switchbacks and hairpin turns. In the morning, in our valley in the fall and winter, it is always socked in with fog. A bit dreary. It burns off at different times but usually by eleven. So this morning we left in the fog. At 9am. As we drove up into the heights, we crossed through the clouds and then…the fog disappeared. 💚

It really is a beautiful drive. We could look down on the valleys and the clouds filling them. The road eventually runs along the spine of the mountains and you get views for kilometers in both directions.

So, back to the harvest. When we got there it was quite chilly but sunny, because they are up fairly high. They live in a former monastery from around 1300. It was a ruin when they bought it and brought it back to life over time. Here is a picture of the view. You can see the white cloud in the lower areas in the distance.

This is the olive grove. I think they have maybe a hundred trees. Perhaps a little less. There were eight of us doing the picking. Plus a two man crew who do this for a fee. They bring the equipment used to shake the olives from the tops of the trees. We rake the olives from the lower branches. We picked from 9:30 to 1:15 and then we had a fortifying lunch of hamburgers and grilled wursts, along with hummus, salad, and fruit salad for dessert. Thanks Joanne and Mark!

The helpers, who know olives, said they would probably get about 650 kilos of olives. I know from a few years of harvesting that the trees were heavily laden. It remains to be seen how much oil will come from this haul.

This was a good distraction for us today. I don’t talk politics here, but I’m sure you know how I roll. And needless to say, I’m disappointed today. But, it is what it is.

Election day

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I don’t know about you, but I’ll be glad with this thing is over. I am sure it is a LOT worse for those of you who are living in the U.S. what with all the robocalls and political ads. I am sure it is relentless. At least that part will be over after today! Here I watch the news, in the evening only, on Sky which has most of the U.S. non-network channels. It is scary. And stressful!

I am happy I will be distracted Wednesday because we are going to help friends with the raccolto — olive harvest. It is a huge deal in Umbria. Just about everyone has an olive grove of their own if they have any land. And they are happy to let their friends help them. The region is known for having some of the highest rated oil anywhere. It is bright green and grassy with a distinct peppery taste in the throat. The new oil is just incredible. Unlike anything I had ever had before moving here. Here is a picture from the mill where I watched the pressing process in 2018.

So today we harvested our tree! We too have an olive tree on the terrace! I think you all know this. And is loaded with olives this year. I don’t want them to go to waste so we harvested them today and will donate them to our friends tomorrow and their harvest. It will kind of be cool to know that a wee bit of our own olives are in the oil we will get. 🙂

Last night we had a delicious cannellini bean soup with cavolo nero (black kale). It was delicious.

Hang in there everyone. Try to distract yourselves. Meditate. Do yoga. Take a Xanax 😉

🩵💙🩵

Giorno di tutti i santi – All Saints’ Day

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Today is a holiday, and so is tomorrow. Everyone goes to the cemetery to visit with lost loved ones and bring them flowers. It’s pretty quiet in the hood. Monte Acuto greeted me this morning. Looking good!

Last night was Halloween. It is becoming more popular here and the kids go around to all the shopkeepers to collect candy. They don’t normally come to homes. But that didn’t matter to me because I have always been all about Halloween. I walked down to a nearby store and bought some candy. The afternoon was beautiful. I love the autumn sunlight slanting in and making great shadows.

The citrus are arriving from the south.

I carved a small pumpkin and carried him down to the lobby of our building. I set him on a stool with a basket of candy.

My thinking was the kids could see him through the window and then ring a bell, (maybe ours?) to come in. But we got no bell rings. 😞 So, a couple hours later I went down to retrieve him and the stool and basket. Big surprise. Almost all the candy was gone! Maybe the two girls in our building, maybe, another neighbor let kids in. Doesn’t matter. I’m glad.

It is getting to be chili weather. Pun intended. So I’m deciding which kind to make first. Hopefully next week we will be helping our friends with the raccolta – harvesting of the olives. A centuries old occupation around here. I love being a small link in the chain. 🫒 🫒 🫒

Happy November to all. 🍁 🍂 🦃

Message to help new Visa holders

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Hi everyone. I think this message will be helpful for those wanting to move here. I know most of my readers won’t care, or won’t need to know, but you might still be interested in the process.

I am primarily writing this to help the new bunch of people trying to come to live here who are seeking/or already have the Digital Nomad Visa. I hope they think of it as information sharing, not negativity. Seems they are not getting the information about the things they need to do to stay in Italy legally. This information is the same for all Visas. And if a person wants a path to staying long term, this information is vital (see last paragraph).

I know Nomads are by definition moving around, but in Italy the nature of the Visa means you’ll need at least a years lease before you come. You need to stay put at your leased address until you’ve gotten through all the paperwork. It is a fact of life here. Some people are fine with that and want to stay long term. If so they need to plan ahead.

There are a number of things to do once you arrive in Italy to live after you receive your Visa.

Step 1. First and foremost is apply for the Permesso di Soggiorno (PdS) which is your permit to stay. The Visa is your ticket in, the PdS is your permit to stay. You must apply for this within 8 days of arrival. Your Visa never needs renewing, but the PdS is an annual or bi-annual renewal. Depends on your region .

To get this permit, you go to the Poste Italiene and pick up the yellow packet for stranieri (foreigners). Fill it in (Google that) buy a €16 tax stamp (bollo) at your local tabaccheria and go back to the Poste with copies of all the documentation you used to get the Visa. You will pay a fee to have this packet processed and a postal fee. Google that for amount. You will receive a receipt for this — DO NOT LOSE IT. You may get an appointment at the Questura then, but probably not. You’ll review it by SMS (you’ll need an Italian number) or mail. This appointment can be a year away.

You must go to the appointment. Bring copies of your documents and the receipt. Also photos. And be prepared to be fingerprinted. Then you wait for notification the card is ready. This can be a few months.

As you can see, things move slowly here.

Step 2. Once you’ve got the PdS then you can become a resident. You’ll do this in the Anagrafe in your Comune. You will get a visit by the police to ascertain you live there.

I am telling you all this so you’ll be informed how to get the Permanent Residency (Permesso di soggiorno UE per soggiornanti di lungo periodo) after five years here if you want. This is if you plan to live here long term. You will have needed to prepare for this over the previous five years. You will apply just like you do to renew your PdS but you’ll need to check a box for this Permesso. Most important you’ll need to prove you have been paying your income taxes to Italy. You will also need to pass the A2 certification of Italian proficiency. During these five years you cannot have traveled outside of Italy for more that ten months total. There are several other qualifications but they are obtainable when you’re ready to apply. The aforementioned must be done over time.

I hope any new Visa holders, or those pursuing a Visa, find this useful information!

In Boca al Lupo!

It is Autumn!

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Today, I had an Italian moment. It seems every neighbor was washing sheets. I have three clotheslines on a balcony which is five stories above the ground. It is in full sun and does the drying job nicely. I went out to take in my sheets and saw our across-the-hall neighbor, Helene, was hanging her sheets out too. Then I looked left and the two women on the two balconies next to us were ALSO hanging sheets. It was kind of fun as we all said ciao to one another. I hadn’t seen the two left hand neighbors. I did know the ones right next to us are the parents of Helene. And grandparents of her two girls. One of my lines broke today. So I guess they all need replacing. 240cm x 3. I need to get new line and also clamps to hold them tight.

As the title of the post says, it is autumn! The autumnal light never disappoints. I love how the shadows slant. Everything becomes clearer. I also could tell it is autumn by the produce in the market now. Since I was away on the Ireland trip the produce has changed. I like I can tell what part of the year I am in by what is on offer.

Saturday I went to our little local market. I bought peppers, potatoes, zucchini, an acorn squash, beatole, onions, leeks, and some of the last of the tomatoes. Here are a few pictures of the produce and the piazza. It was buzzing with activity.


I made my first soup of the season. A minestrone. Chock full of vegetables. I was ready for a bowl of soup.

Happy fall y’all.

What we can’t find…we make!

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Maybe you all don’t use or like sweet pickle relish but our household always has it, and so did my Mother’s. We use it in tuna salad, chicken salad and potato salad. Thing is, you won’t find anything remotely like it here. Also you’ll never find nice dill pickles. Alas. So we make our own. I say we, because Luther uses it a lot in tuna salad so I told him there is a TON of chopping so you can help. And he does. He has gotten very good at the peppers.

Luther’s peppers
Cucumbers, cetrioli in Italian.
Soaking in brine.
Finito!

This is only one of the things we want that are not available here. I make my own ranch dressing too, because dressing isn’t a “thing” here. There are not shelves full of different salad dressings. In Italy it is oil and vinegar and that’s it.

I also make Bisquick from scratch. That’s probably weird but it is useful in some things I make. I make my own fish fry to coat fish. Buttermilk is not available here, but it’s really easy to make. I am sure there are more!
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We are still living our heat spell — it has to have been three weeks solid (maybe four) with the exception of that one day of rain. It is said to be because of an African heat dome that is stuck. Here’s the forecast for the next 7 days…and it goes on after that. 🥵. 38C is 100.4F.

I got out early this morning to show some people an apartment that my friend, who lives in Wales now, is renting. Piazza Matteotti was deserted. But cool at 8:30. I said hi to Irene at Bar Mary, and my friend Angelo at his Alimentari. Nice to see old friends. Miss them!

Finally a little about the garden. Being on the roof and in full sun the tomatoes are suffering. I got past the blossom end rot problem with extra calcium. I water twice a day. Still they look like they are miserable. I need a sun shade or something. My first year is an experiment for sure. There are quite a few tomatoes but they are small. They taste really sweet though.

I will leave you with a picture of my kumquat tree which is doing really well. She seems to really like the sun. She’s covered with sweet smelling blossoms…and the blossoms are covered with…honey bees! (You can see one bottom center).

Back to Italian life!

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A couple other interesting observations that I forgot to mention in the trip report. One is the cash economy in Germany. We never encountered as many restaurants that would only take cash. Even in Italy, supposedly more backward than Germany I don’t know of any restaurant that won’t take a credit card. Second one was also about how you can pay. This time, in the Cologne Cathedral, we noticed that if you wanted to light a candle for a loved one or send up a prayer, they DO take a credit card! 🙂 How progressive of the Catholic Church! But in Boppard, to park in any of the pay lots you must have change. No bills accepted, and no cards. How odd.
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It is still quite hot here. Running from 35 to 37 each day for at least the next two weeks. That’s 95-99 for those who are metric challenged. We do have to run errands but wow! So hot. It really takes it out of you. Yesterday we went to the local market in the piazza. Then to buy a crate of fizzy water, and finally to the grocery store to stock up. We were both whipped when we got home.

I have a sad tomato story. Last post I did on them they were looking good. But now I must report the tomatoes are ripening with blossom end rot. I found if I picked the tomato when it was just beginning to ripen I could still use them. But many I couldn’t do that with. I read it was a lack of calcium in the soil so I have been feeding them with calcium plant food. Also some people say too much water can inhibit the absorption of the calcium, but it is just so freaking hot on that terrace in the full sun, if they aren’t watered they shrivel up and look pathetic. I am cutting back a little on the water. Anyway here is a bowl of the ones I did get that are fine.

We have a new wine bar in the Centro! Labrusca Wine Bar. Right next to La Rocca, our fortress. Run by a couple of young ragazzi. They feature lots of local Umbria wines, many we had not heard of. Also artisan local beer, and very delicious snacks. They have a small plate menu as well. There is a beer fest in town now too, called UmBEERtide! So they weren’t serving the menu. We met up with Jane and Christie at the new bar last evening. Always nice to have a new place in town.

Photo credit Michaël Cloet

Today is Sunday. We had a lunch planned with our Canadian friend Karen, at Calagrana. She is a teacher and every summer she comes and stays (mostly) in Tuscany. So we get together. She loves Calagrana. Our main courses. I forgot to photo the starter of grilled peaches, cherry tomatoes, with ham and buratta. So good.

Tagliatelle with truffles
Fegato (liver) with potato puree. I love liver and this was superb.
Baby chicken.

…and for our salad tonight, borlotti beans from the local market which just came in season. In English they are cranberry beans. Too bad they turn brown when cooked! But they taste great!

Ciao for now! Stay cool all y’all! (That’s the Virginia in me coming out! 🤣)

Greve in Chianti

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We went for an overnight to a bed and breakfast outside the village of Greve in Chianti. I had ordered a long time ago, some hand painted ceramics. The artist is pretty popular and put me on the list. It was finished, and ready to pickup in November. I wanted to stay in the BnB which was owned by her friend, and where her studio was.

Turned out, I couldn’t go in December because of travel plans and Christmas. And then in January she went back home to Spain and the BnB was closed for the winter. Then we had the big March trip to the U.S., and on and on. When I finally decided to try to reserve a room he was nearly booked! So I took the one day he had open.

Finally on Thursday we headed out for our nice overnight. It was pretty weather. Perfect top-down weather. We decided to do a wine tasting/lunch combination. We went to Savignola Paolina in Greve. It was a pretty place. Not too big. We had reserved online but they didn’t seem to have our reservation. The staff was super friendly. They set a table for us outside with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. They were all very friendly and seemed genuinely to enjoy chatting, asking where we were from and telling us all about the winery and the wines.

We enjoyed a plate of three types of bruschetta, a plate of charcuteries, and a risotto made from their red wine. We tasted a rosè, and three Chianti Classicos of ascending quality. There is no white wine made in the Chianti district. At the end we had a taste of the one Merlot, which is not a DOC wine. And then the one called Mio which was made by the Swiss owner. Both of these had productions of 1200 liters only. I loved the top Chianti we tasted as well as the one just down from it. The rose was also quite nice and much more complex than any other rosè I have had. We bought a a case of wine.

We then went into the town of Greve. Chock full of tourists. We had a dinner reservation there that night. On we went to find our BnB called Selvabella in Chianti. It was down a tiny little gravel road about 2 kilometers. Thank god we didn’t meet any other cars. We parked and were greeted by Marta, the Ceramicist, and three resident dogs. She was super nice. We toured her studio and I got to see my ceramics.

The top two are the two fish platters. Then my favorite, the bird plate with a European Robin, a European blackbird, and a Hoopoe. The last being a favorite bird. Then two nice sized bowls with a snail and a hoopoe. They are a size I was lacking. Big enough for a big serving of whatever side or salad I made.

We were kind of out in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t want to negotiate the narrow road out and drive after eating and drinking. We asked if they could prepare dinner for us and they said they could. We had a nice dish of pasta and a pretty dessert. Both delicious. There was another American couple there from South Carolina and they also enjoyed the same dinner as we did. Bernardo, the proprietor was a good chef. He loved to experiment so had a lot of ingredients that were unusual. For the pasta we had a goat and pork ragu. On top was a pulverized bay leaf powder. The dessert (pictured) a panna cotta, was topped with a pulverized fig leaf. We talked a long time about cooking.

Next morning we packed up and headed home. Took a southerly route which was much better. We can do the trip in just over two hours. I love the Tuscan wine areas. They are also popular with tourists and the whole area is pretty much booked for the season.

Buona domenica a tutti!

Schengen Shuffle

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Ligurian coast

I have to admit I spend a good bit of time reading the Facebook groups that are set up for immigrants to Italy — Retired in Italy, Americans Living in Italy, Ultimate Italy, Affordable Italy, etc. I answer a lot of questions. There are a lot of people who want to move here. I think there are a combination of reasons. The Baby Boomers are all retiring right now. People are tired of the strife in US politics, the anger that seems to permeate society now. Prices are high in the U.S.. There are many descendants of the Italian immigrants who migrated to other countries over the last hundred years who are eligible for Italian citizenship.

I actually enjoy helping people with this…most of the time. Thing is, so many people don’t do the slightest bit of research before asking a very basic question. So many young people want to come and that can be very difficult. There are very few Visas for them. For retirees, it is easier. There is a Visa called the Elective Residency Visa. It is for people with enough passive income to qualify, who don’t need to work…i.e., retirees. Or smart young people who made their pile early and can qualify. But no work allowed.

Night view

Some facts about coming to live here. If you are not an EU citizen, you will need a Visa to come. Buying property is easy but it doesn’t confer permission to stay past the normal 90 day tourist visa. After you receive the Visa, you must apply for a Permesso di Soggiorno (permit to stay) within a week of arrival. Then you apply for residency. (Fact – you can’t buy a car unless a resident). Also, one of the biggest hurdles to living in Italy is obtaining your driving license. Test in Italian. Must be taken within a year of residency. Once you become a resident you will be liable to pay Italy taxes on your worldwide income and investments.

It is this last bit that seems to make people balk at moving full-time to Italy. It is a pet peeve of mine that so many people try to find a way to get out of paying taxes here but still want to be able to live here and enjoy all the things that the taxes pay for. Enter the Schengen Shuffle. Americans, Canadians and many other non-EU countries have an automatic 90 day tourist visa to come to any Schengen country — most of Europe is in The Schengen Zone. So a person can come to Italy (for example) and stay 90 days, then they must exit the Schengen zone for 90 days. They can repeat as often as they want. They never become residents. They never pay taxes. They use things taxes pay for, like museums, monuments, parks, historical sites, beaches, schools, universities, libraries, hospitals, public transportation.

Historical site… Paestum Greek temples

To exit the Schengen zone and stay in Europe there are only a few possibilities. The United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Albania. Turkey. Or you can go back to your home country.

Now, from my personal perspective, the taxes are not all that bad. The tax rates are higher, yes. There is a tax treaty between the U.S. and Italy to protect against double taxation. We pay no tax in the U.S. now. We don’t pay any property taxes on our home here — we used to pay $10K+ a year in the U.S., a big savings. We don’t pay state tax, another ~$8K saved. Now that we have become permanent residents our health care is free in Umbria. [Other regions may vary.] You can apply for the long term residency at the five year mark. The cost to enroll in the system before you become a permanent resident is capped at €2,700 a person annually, but could be less. It is income based. €2K minimum cost. This is cheap by US standards. Cost of living here in Umbria is less than half what people pay in the U.S. and for some of the best, safest and most tasty food anywhere. To me, it is about a wash. Not all that much more in taxes and so worth it to us to live in this beautiful and tranquil country. 🇮🇹

La Dolce Vita 💕

Living here is not perfect by a long shot. There are a lot of hurdles people must leap. The bureaucracy is horrible. One must negotiate everyday life in a foreign language. One must abide by their rules. It is nothing like the U.S. One will get homesick. One will miss things from home. For us, the challenges are part of the draw. It keeps your mind working overtime. All normal, everyday things are now a challenge, or an adventure, depending on how you look at it. We are happy to be living here. Frankly, after ten years here, it is now our home. 🙂

Back from Ospidale

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This past week we were invited to a birthday party for a young woman turning 18. Her parents threw a big party with a full five course dinner for seventy of her friends. They are our adopted Italian family. Vera and Graziano. I really enjoyed watching the young people. Beautiful in the flush of youth. Wearing all kinds of things… much flesh exposed! The meal was good, a lot of food but fortunately you could turn down a course if you wanted, and I did! Pictures with captions next.

Birthday girl. She has the most amazing red hair. Really sets her apart. She is pretty, AND super smart.
Vera and Graziano, mom and dad.
The adult table
The kids
Kids

~~~~~~~
Then the dread intervento happened on Thursday. I went to the hospital early, around eight. They immediately rushed me in and I changed into the hospital clothes. They covered me with a shiny blanket and I was wheeled to the surgery floor.

I gotta say, all the people (nurses, anesthesiologist, medics) were so nice and friendly. Happy to talk about where I was from, to tell me about their families who lived in the U.S. One, a nurse with raccoon eyes she had on so much makeup, told me, upon learning I was from near Washington DC, that her daughter lived in Walla Walla and did I know it. The explanation that it was Washington State and not DC which were on different coasts was hilarious. So I was well entertained while I waited. I will add, no one spoke any English. The norm for hospitals here.

All went well and when I woke I had a real scare because my throat closed up and I couldn’t breath. Probably because of the removal of the tubes. It subsided with oxygen. Whew. Back in my room I slept. The doctor came later to explain the findings. I had two different infections. One fungal in my cheek area and one bacterial behind my eye. The issue in my lower sinus in the cheek was a “fungal ball”. Like it has colonized and rearranged the furniture in there to make itself at home… but this also enabled a bacterial infection to get in the cavity which is right behind my left eye. He said that was more dangerous because it could have affected my eye or gone into my brain. So I am glad I got it done.

I have some pictures of my room. It was for two but it was all mine. It also had another whole room with a sofa. The nurse who brought me in said it was my “suite”. After procedures which was painless I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything hot. Nor was I allowed a hot shower on my head. So dinner came and it was puréed vegetable soup. They told me I couldn’t eat anything hot but this soup was piping hot. I asked if it was a mistake. No. I just needed to let it get cold. 🙄 OK then. It wasn’t very good cold. But I was famished so I ate it. Next morning breakfast. I had a choice of tea or milk. I decided on tea. But of course it was very hot. Another wait for it to cool. Sigh.

My room
The “suite”
Cold, but meant to be hot, soup. Horrible.

Back home on Friday and return Sunday then again next Thursday to find out the lab results and future treatments if any. Following instructions. Still not eating anything warm. I miss my coffee.
~~~~~~~~
Saturday we went to a celebration of life for a friend here in Umbertide. John Littlewood. An artist and illustrator with a rich and full life. He was British and his wife is American. They started their own businesses and lived all over the world. In the end Umbertide welcomed him. He was an old world gentleman. Friends with all. My memory of him in the piazza always walking to Bar Mary for his caffè will endure. The celebration was in his small gallery in town. It was packed. He was well loved and will be missed. I plan to buy some of his art as I never have and I do like it a lot.

Next big thing is the kitchen comes on Monday and will be installed Monday and Tuesday, All the players will be here, electrician, plumber, carpenters, work crew. It should be finished and usable this week. Exciting.

The weather is summery. Highs about 80. Really nice. There is a street food fest in town on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Looks good. And here is a picture of a park near the Rocca.

Stay tuned for the KITCHEN!!