Fara San Martino

Cantina: October 2011

2011-10-11T05:47:00.001-07:00

Summer Living Room in the basement. Finally it is finished!

Well, we got to work right away after our arrival on Saturday. Started painting on Sunday & touch-up on Monday morning. Then we unloaded the van & brought all the furniture in. Rudi installed the lamps & started putting the Ikea bed together... It was in a million pieces & we couldn't finish Monday night. So Tuesday afternoon we (actually Rudi) finished the daybed.... with one piece left over... We have decided that they gave us an extra piece rather than taking it apart & starting over! Then we hung the mirrors & the picture and spent the rest of the evening admiring our handiwork.

On Wednesday we took a day off and went to the beach... We had beautiful weather, around 28°C (80-85°F). Then we went to Orsogna to buy supply of wine for return trip. After all, we had an empty van for return!

Thursday we worked all day in the garden & cleaned, ready to close the house till next spring! Then we had a celebratory dinner to christen the new room with Giussy, Phillip, Giulia & Anabelle.

View from back to the front of the room...

Art deco buffet...

View to the door...

Vincenzo's wine bottles which we inherited and lovely weight scale we got from our friends Saskia & Guus...

The very cheap lamp we bought at 2nd hand shop:

2nd lamp...

The bathroom:

Bathroom mirror:

Lovely lamp we bought in Italy...

From front to back...

New lamp we bought in Beverwijk (Black Market):

Lovely old mirror with brushes we got from our friends, Guus & Saskia:

Living room with cave in the corner: that is the wine cellar...

The living/dining room upstairs (new mirror from Ikea):

Dining table we bought at 2nd hand shop...

DayBed: pulls out into a double bed with drawers underneath for bedlinnens...
Living/Dining room upstairs:

July 2011 Vacation

2011-08-22T03:10:00.001-07:00

This year's vacation was mid-July to 1st week of August. We spent a week with our friends, Regina & Bram Bonhof & their children Bart & Anne Sophie. We had a lot of laughs.

Aperitivo time!

Giardino! The work paid off, now we can relax in the garden...

Fiori

Our new bougainvillea: Rudi had to paint the fence first...

Bounty from the river & sea for our rock garden...

Koda at sea.... Throw the ball!!!Good boy! Ridin' the waves...

Excavation of monastery in the Gole (gorge): about 15 minutes' walk from our house....

Majella National Park

Roccascalegna castle Above: ghostchild in the attic of the castle "Anne Sophie"

Majella National Park:
Above: Cablecar to Grotte del Cavallone...

Then 300 more steps....

Goodnight: Via San Pietro Vico IX No. 3

Cantina & work in the garden June 2011

2011-06-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome!

The new doors....

The Bat Cave is finished! Only needs a coat of paint....

Koda's Kave!

the back of the Cantina

Our new Rock Garden.... Hard work but well worth it.

Yucca Yucca!

rosemary, lavender, mint...

2 palm trees & not sure what this purple plant is... maybe another type of yucca? oregano, sage....

The terrace...

back balcony

Oleander here!

We did take some time for relaxation!

above: at Roccascalegna

below: Lake Bomba

April 2011: Cantina & Garden

2011-06-06T10:44:00.000-07:00

Rudi went to Italy in April to work in the garden. This is the state of it....

The landscaping had to be leveled & the mulberry bush on the other side of the fence cleared away.

The bricks are saved for the rock garden.

The rock garden....

Renato suggested making a wall for us: Antonio did the work with Rudi's help (and a few beers!).

Then Antonio plastered it twice:

Rudi continued digging & leveling. Good thing we wanted a rock garden...

Voila! Start of the rock garden, wall, weeds gone, garden leveled!

After that, Rudi started a path from the house to the shed. Phillip found a local worker who will cement flagstones in.

This is our rock garden & wall:

Renato installed the outside light for the back garden.

Pathway:
Some of the extra earth went to the lower terrace (under the shed)-private landfill.

Renato also installed the light on the shed.

Cantina (daylight basement): this was done between March & Easter. Walls were plastered, but the lovely stones left exposed.

Ceiling also plastered, tiles placed and also baseboards.

This is the new tiled floor:

back room:

View from the back room to the front room with new stairs:

New stairs & door taken out, waiting for new double doors.

The new door should be in place by the time we come back in June, along with the flagstone path. So much to see on our return!

February 2011

2011-02-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

This is the start of the work in the Cantina:
We took out the old stairs & ramp because
they took up too much floor space.

Here are the blocks for the new stairs:

This is the result: platform in doorway and stairs going down to the left:

Here is the old niche which maybe held the Madonna?

Newly plastered ceiling!

Arch & ceiling:

August 2010 Vacation Time!

2010-09-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

Now that most of the work has been done, we can enjoy our vacation home: this time for 4 (say that again: F O U R) weeks. Three of those weeks Mom & Dad joined us. They saw our place for the first time. August is the fiesta time for Italy and most towns have some sort of festivities. Fara San Martino had 3 days: a carnival, music, lights, and of course food! Fireworks every night, but the highlight was on the last night where they shot the fireworks off in the gorge. What a spectacular sight with the fireworks reflecting on the mountain. We had front row seats on our balcony enjoying a glass of limoncello.

Welcome! But enter at your own risk..... you might get wiggled to death!

On guard at Via San Pietro Vico IX 3

Typical planters....

We put up a new porch cover..... with rain chain

Still life of Abruzzo fresh fruits

Rudi restored the front door & polished the brass

Part of our enamel collection hanging in the kitchen

more enamel.....

Nashoba's last portrait hanging in a place of honour (we still miss you)

Pretty bottles!

Our new clock

additional living room furnishings a 'la Ikea

Koda's Kave...

Relaxing in the garden

Coffee time!

Mom taking a picture of a Lounge Lizard

Aperativo time!

New picnic table a' la Rudi (made of old scaffolding planks found in the shed)

Coffee with Daddy

Fetch!

Keeping an eye on us from above

Our shed & house from the road below

Fara San Martino

Gorge San Martino

Fresh Figs!

Various pictures in Fara San Martino

the market

the church below our house built in 829

above the church door

a road less travelled

Did you bring the Lupo down from the mountain? (I was really asked that question)

Good night Fara San Martino

Trabochi on the coast

Roccascalegna Castle

Buon viaggio Mom & Dad! We miss you!

Last day at the beach with Koda

beach still life

The end of our vacation...... (sigh) Farewell!

July 2010

2010-07-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

We took a long weekend in July and flew with Ryanair from Thursday to Tuesday. Great connection for us! The mission set for ourselves: buy a Bar-B-Q for the summer.

Mission accomplished!

Our Oleander in full bloom!

Own feature: Oleander

Borrowed feature: Mountain

Me 'n my Olea

Ready for the Summer!

Guestroom floor

Guestroom floor: note the stencilwork

view from master bedroom to guestroom

view from the balcony

hmmmm, guess we need to do some gardening this summer.....

Mimosa trees down the cliff

dressing table: 2nd hand bargain, sanded & oiled

master bedroom

master bedroom view to the balcony

Gift from God: fig tree? Yummie!

Next project: window to the cantina. Renato will make it as big as possible

cantina window from the inside

cantina

This is the life! Le Dolce Vita

2010-05-03T13:57:00.000-07:00

April 2010

Unfortunately our camera broke during our last visit in September 2009, so no blogs were posted since March.

We did manage to get the lions share of work done to make the house habitable, so our next visit in April 2010 was finally a real vacation! In spite of the volcanic ash from Iceland that crippled the air industry, we did manage to fly out on the 22nd instead of the 20th, so only lost 2 days of vacation.

Rudi's mother Sien: in a guilded cage?

The kitchen

View from kitchen to the living room

kitchen view towards staircase (notice lovely new handrail!)

view from living room to kitchen

relaxing in living room

living room

guest bedroom (bless this guest!)

guest bedroom (new wardrobe & Rudi's handmade dressing table)

stairway looking down (look at the new handrail!)

upstairs landing (painted concrete & stenciled)

lovely new handrail for staircase

Renato fixed the balcony in February 2010 while Rudi was there working

Now that they cleared the hill you can see our shed from the road below

The waterfall below our house

NOW IT'S VACATION TIME!

War Memorial on Memorial Day in Fara San Martino

ME!

Memorial Day in Fara San Martino

March 2009 Work Done!

2009-03-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

Between 3 and 12 March we returned to settle accounts with the workers and check out the work done.

We especially want to thank Giussy and Phillip Carleton for all their help: Giussy for helping us find the property and set up all the details for the signing & sealing. And Phillip for all his help in translating, organising the work and letting the workers in, go-between, moral support, getting telephone numbers for restaurants, and even weather reports. Phillip and Giussy, you are worth your weight in gold!

Our beautiful view, where you can just see the snow-capped mountains!

The kitchen:

The new lamps and ceiling...

The new cupboard:

We even used the fireplace! It was nice and cozy.

The faucet that allows you to open the window: see how it bends?

The living room all painted and ready to relax!

We found this old cabinet in the shed. It only needed some TLC -cleaned and painted - it was just like new.

This is the lamp we bought in Guardiaregele - the town famous for their wrought-iron craftsmanship:

The Cantina: you can see now that it totally opens up the space here. Someday it will be our summer-time living room, where it will be nice to have a glass of wine during the hot summer days.

We have a washing machine now (we have the technology). We ordered new couches and they should arrive at the end of March - again, Thanx to Phillip for opening up!

All in all, we accomplished our mission! Now we can relax this summer!

2009-02-09T01:58:00.000-08:00

Work in progress!

Finally we have pictures of the work in progress!

Now we can have the kitchen installed; the walls are finished (except for painting-which we will do in March).

They opened up the wall between the two rooms in the Cantina with an archway...

We have a toilet and washing machine connection!

And a new window!

Here is the new water heater for the toilet in the Cantina and for the kitchen.

This is the cave where we will have our wine cellar! The electricity has been updated and light switches installed throughout the entire house.

Hopefully the kitchen will be installed before we fly to Fara San Martino on 3 March. Then we can start painting and decorating. Can't wait!

Nashoba

2009-01-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

1 September 1995
to
19 December 2008

I Remember

Little fluffball with tattoo green ears
We laughed so hard it brought us to tears.
You played and you ran
As fast as you can!

On the carpet you peed
Not such a bad deed.
So excited you were
You could not deter.

I Remember

Your fur changed one part at a time
First your back then the rest, what a crime!
You looked like a raggedy-man
But we were still your biggest fan.

For teething you used our remote.
You ate some gloves and other things of note.
We had muddy floors and muddy doors.
We had a muddy house – you used all fours!

I Remember

Teaching you to sit and to stay
To heel and to come – you would always obey.
For our daily walks you were always close-by.
Never far away – such a good guy!

Everyday to work - I gave you a treat
So you wouldn’t notice me leaving – that was the feat.
I’d say “Bye Nashoba – be a good boy”
And when I’d come home you were jumping with joy.

I Remember

For 13 years you were our PuppyBoy
But at the end you couldn’t play with a toy.
We loved you so much that we took such good care
But of course you had pain and it just wasn’t fair.

We saw you one last time on the table.
You were stiff and cold but we were still able
To give you one last hug and kiss for so long.
One last “Bye Nashoba – be a good boy” – then you were gone.

So now you are gone and we miss you so
But of course we had to let you go.
So watch over us from the Rainbow Bridge up there
And someday we’ll meet you again at the end of Heaven’s stair

I Remember

16 September-3 October 2008

2008-10-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Via San Pietro 3 in Fara San Martino: from Nashoba - Lupo

View of Fara San Martino from the Majella National Park

We started our project during the rainstorms in the first two weeks. It made the work easier looking out the window at the rain!

Kitchen ceiling before and after.

Peeling the years from the walls was much more difficult than we had anticipated and in the end we could not get all the paint from the walls. In some places there was concrete underneath which was impossible to scrape off. So now the builders will equalise the walls and as it turns out, they will also tile the kitchen (it was included in the quotes). So Rudi concentrated on the ceiling and we like the end result: colour-washed.

This is the plan for the kitchen. It should be in place before our next trip!

We did take time to stop and enjoy the view....

Some of us had time for a coffee break!

Rudi's mother Sien

We took some time off and hiked into the National Park to see the gorge. What a beautiful walk!

Back on Via San Pietro.

We didn't spend all our time working. We did some sightseeing (Sulmona, Chieti and a drive along the coast) and went to the markets for our groceries and even did some retail therapy in Chieti (there is a shopping mall)! Not to mention going out for dinner and cafe (capuccinos & espressos only 1 euro!)... and of course aperitivo! It was harvest time for the grapes in Abruzzo and our neighbours started making their wine in their cantina.

Well we managed to finish the tasks we set for ourselves. The kitchen is ready for the builders to start. They can begin digging the garden to place the sewage pipes next month. We spoke to the geometra and agreed on what we can afford to do this year; the rest can be done later. He will apply to the Commune for the building permits (we can take up to 5 years to complete the project before having to apply again). We spoke to the electrician about rewiring the kitchen and the cantina, plus possibly the spare bedroom. We picked out the tiles for the kitchen and toilet and bought the suspended toilet and sink for the cantina.

But now we have to say goodbye to Villa van de Putte. Nashoba had a wonderful time in his new garden.

Until next year in April!

August 6-15

2008-08-24T04:59:00.000-07:00

The goal was to fix-up the 2 bedrooms so we could use them in our September holdiday.

First stop after my arival in Rome was Ikea with a shopping list for household utilities. Knifes and forks, pans, bowls etc so i would be able to fix dinner. Ikea wasn't that difficult to find (my TomTom did ) and also in the direction i had to go anyway. With a carload of stuff i arived at Fara San Martino just before midnight.

Next day up early to buy a small refrigiator in Chieti about 45 minutes from the house. It was pretty hot 30-35 degrees (95 F ) so I realy needed one to keep food and drinks cold. The plan is to put it later in the cantina when the kitchen in installed. After carrying the refrigiator into the house I found out that we have about 3 kind of electric outlets in the house I couldnt find one in the kitchen to fit the plug so ended up putting it into the livingroom next to the bed. The perfect setup ofcourse cold beer and wine next to the bed!

We picked out a coulor for the bedrooms in Holland already so that afternoon i drove to Pescara to pick up the deed for the house at the airport office of the realestate company and to buy paint for the bedroom walls and ceiling. Both bedrooms will have a real light yellow sandy coulor.

The masterbedroom wasn't in a too bad condition the plaster was cracked in some places on the ceiling and the walls needed some reparing. Luckily the former owner of the house came by with a friend who turned out to be living in Pensylvania but was over in Fara San Martino for the holidays. His house, the one he was born in, was just about 4 houses down the road. Later that week he introduced me to some more relatives who were are all living in the same street. My italian is still limited to some words so it was handy to have him around. He told the former owner, Vincenzo, what I needed who took me to the local hardware store to buy the wallfiller and also to the ciyt hall to fill in some papers. Vincenzo has been a great help everytime we have seen him.

Because we dont have a kitchen yet I made the dinners on the campinggas they left and did the dishes in the barn in the garden in which we have a sink and water.

In september when we will be there for 3 weeks we will move the campinggas into the barn next to the sink and will do our cooking in there.

Table for one with a view !

After the masterbedroom was all fixed painted and cleaned up I drove by the furniture store to have them deliver the beds and wardrobe.

The second bedroom took some work. The paint was peeling of in a lot of places and it had some big holes in the plaster. Sanding down the whole room would have taken me a couple of days so I decided, since the floor was already what they call rustic, to show some of the plaster and the former layers of paint they had put on the walls over the years. Under the white I found blue and green and the plaster underneath was a real light sandy coulor.

After about 2 days this bedroom was also finished. For the time being I put in the 2 glass cupboards ,left in the house , in the room so we have at least a place to put in clothes when we are there in september.

The woodwork of the shutters and doors still need to be repainted but we will do that next month. The curtains they left turned out to be real nice, all washed and ironed they were ready to put up.

As planned the bedrooms are both ready.

A couple of evenings I started taking of some of the layers of paint in the kitchen, Thick layers of paint, probably from the last 50 years, are hanging loose and come of pretty easy. Underneath I found a real nice stucco, the colour will go real nice with vanilla kitchen we picked out.

This will be our september job. Taking off the layers of paint from the walls and ceiling and putting up tiles where the sink and the cooker will go.

So far all goes as planned, spending time out there and living in the village you realize how stressed our lives are. Its a different world, just going to the hardware store or the bank takes time! Everyone is very helpfull and if that means that the one behind you have to wait 10 minutes thats ok with them nobody gets iritated! Just sit down and enjoy the sun.

Just 3 weeks to go and our italian adventure will continue.

15 June 2008 the house is ours!

2008-07-20T05:07:00.000-07:00

Our Village: Fara San Martino

Our "castle" in Italy!

We bought a place in Fara San Martino, close to Lanciano, which is in the Abruzzo region. That region is opposite Rome, but on the Adriatic coast. Check out these links:

http://chieti.dal-satellite.it/Fara-San-Martino.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0f7t1NeE_Y&feature=related
http://www.abruzzoholidayinformation.com/

On the YouTube one, our village is parallel to Vasto. It is at the foot of the Majella Mountain (National Park) in a small village of about 1600 people. Not too high elevation and only 30 minutes from the Adriatic coast. The town has several bars and restaurants and even a few hotels, but it is not too touristic.

Our house has a wonderful view of the mountain from our back garden and since it is on the edge of the village, we can walk from our house into the park and supposedly to a gorge (didn’t have time yet to find it). There is a waterfall behind with clear drinking water. We wanted to find a place with a garden so that we can bring our dog Nashoba with us this coming summer (and after that our next dog).

This is the living room, which only needs painting. They left us the table and chairs, so we can save some money for renovations!

There’s not too much work to be done before we can start using it as a holiday home: painting and a kitchen has to be placed first. Then the rest we will do bit by bit. It has what they call a taverna on the ground floor, which is partially below ground with vaulted ceilings. We will finish these two rooms and that will become our living room. We will put a small toilet there so you won't have to go upstairs after a few glasses of wine. The washing machine will be there too.

Then there are two bedrooms upstairs and a very tiny bathroom/shower.

There is another building at the back of the garden which was a sort of barn/stall for goats & pig (2 storeys). But it is now cleaned up (spotless) and it can later be turned into a guest house where we can make 2 more bedrooms.

Eventually we will make a new bathroom in the second bedroom because the shower is basically above the toilet with the drain in the floor. No way to make it bigger, because it was built on later as an appendige to the back next to the balcony (see in picture below of the back of the house). We will probably do this after we make one of the bedrooms in the guesthouse. Well, we’ll see when that can get done. For now this will do...

There are two terraces:

Rudi is really looking forward to getting started. I think the realtor said the house was built in the 1920s and the walls are probably about 2 feet thick. The kitchen ceiling has brick with hooks for drying meat (underneath the plaster & paint) so we will chisel that off and expose the brick. We also think under the plaster on the outside walls is the old yellow-coloured stones. We will try to chisel some off in a hidden corner to see and then maybe expose some strategic spots so you can see the stones.

Rudi will start painting in August; starting with the two bedrooms. We ordered beds in June and they can be delivered as soon as he finishes the painting. We will go there together with his mother in September. And at least we will have a place to sleep. We can paint the kitchen and living/dining room while there and do some sightseeing and relax.

The kitchen won't be placed until Christmas, so we will be "camping". There is a propane camping stove there so at least we can make some simple meals. Since there is no sink, we will have to use the beautiful granite sink in the second building; that will be our temporary kitchen. Here is the fireplace in the kitchen...

Eventually, we will use this sink in one of the bathrooms. I just love it!

House from the back....