Our Experience buying a house and learning a new life in Umbria, Italy
Casale Gelsomino, now renamed Casale Giulietta, has great structural bones but needs some updates, a few more critical than others.
This site is designed to share our experience across the home buying process, including taking ownership, renovations, and making friends.
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Termiti, Scorpions & Topi, Part 2 – Focus on Termiti
In May 2023, I was feeling fairly confident in my ability to manage this new life in Italy. Projects were getting done, new projects were being planned, and life felt good. Andrew’s parents came…
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Senior Enrico!
In January 2023, the radiators on the main floor were putting out minimal heat but the ones in the bedrooms were not. The house was REALLY cold. So Federica found a plumber in Fabro,…
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Il Giardino – Time for Clean-up and Redesign
October 2022 The garden on the day we viewed the house for the first time in June 2021 was a hot mess, but you could see the potential. To make it better, many dead…
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We Opened the Wall
Summer 2022 When we viewed the house in June 2021, the kitchen was in the southeast corner of the house, where the traditional Umbrian fireplace lived. It’s beautiful and a showpiece. I asked the…
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Our Year while Andrew was Serving our Country
2021 The pandemic was a very crazy time and it was easy to lose time of what the actual month or year was. I remember traveling for work in the first quarter of 2020…
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Cantine Aperte
Memorial Day Weekend – Sunday, May 29, 2022 The last Sunday of May is always Cantine Aperte in Umbria. Dozens of wineries are open for tours and wine tastings. Visit just one or as…
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Termiti, Scorpions & Topi
Let me just preface this with the true fact that I HATE spiders. The only thing that might freak me out more are snakes. I didn’t know that Italy had scorpions, and there are…
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Tree Removal Day!
May 18, 2022 Today was a big day in the garden at Casale Giulietta. We finally have permesso to remove the leaning tree blocking the view from the balcony, as well as thin and…
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Painting & Decorating Rooms
April 2022 While the bones of the house are great, the rooms need some updating. The structure of the house is a giant square and on the 2nd floor there are 4 bedrooms with…
Italian Adventures - We Bought a House in Italy! 