Getting close to Christmas in Lucca

In one way I love the summer time in Lucca, but being there around Christmas time and enjoy the atmosphere in November and December is something special. If we are lucky we have our house ready so we can enjoy that atmosphere in December 2016.

The shops in Lucca prepared themselves when I visited this month. Some of the restaurants were on vacation after a very busy long weekend with Lucca Comic Games. I remember back in 2002 when it was just a few tables with magazines and board games at Piazza St. Michele. This year a numbers of 400.000 people visited Lucca from Thursday to Sunday that week. Just on Sunday alone sold 100.000 tickets to the different arrangements. It is the second largest Comic Games Event worldwide.

(Phote: Lucca in Diretta)

One day I will be there and enjoy that as well, but I enjoy the quite walk in the streets lighted up by the shops windows.

When I have these short visits I always have dinner at my favorite restaurants (if they are not closed). So chicken served at Paris Boheme at Pizza Citadelle and rabbit at Baralla. The week I visited Lucca quite a few Chines was to see as well, obvious to make a movie. What it was about? I have no clue, just hope that by coincident I will one day see it.

Ended up with go to the shop and get Cheese and Prosciutto to bring back to Moscow. It needs to be local Tuscan and in the shop I normally go they vacuum packs it for me as well.

Now when I am back in Moscow I just wonder who else will participate in the Lucca Summer Festival other than Mark Knopfler July 22^nd.

Project meeting with Architect November 2014

We knew that the architect was spot on when he sent us the pictures of our expectation to the outside of the house. In addition we know that he have some challenges to understand our Scandinavian wishes to the inside.

Will the bathroom first floor look like this ??

So my trip to Lucca for a project meeting was needed. First of all due to we had come that far already that drawings almost was finished to send to the local commune for approvals, in addition to that Galileo, our architect, should soon finish the documentation for the inquiries on the different work needed in the house.

"Casa Di Amore" November 2014

They had made survey to find out about structure foundation as well what was needed to ensure that no moist should occur in our house for the next 30 years or so. It was nice and dry the day they were digging, but at our visit together and a few days of rain showed that it could be quite wet. Galileo had prepared suggestions for the floor foundation. Now I am waiting for the e-mail description so we could have this verified by our Norwegian architect. I am sure it looks like the right thing to do. To have another pair of professional eyes and experience to look at it just benefit us, in the long run.

Foundation Survey November 2014

Ground floor layout is almost there 100%, but first floor we have some communication of the layout on the fourth bedroom. Sounded that he had forgotten that we have 14 grandchildren, indicating that the need of bedrooms are there and not with double beds but with bunkbeds. The kids soon grow up and need their space so we need the flexibility, like boys room, girls room, parent and other visitors room.

Bunkbeds for the grand children

We have to focus on the inside even we already have drawing for a roof extension to our “hobby room” that will be across our outdoor kitchen too. Yep, a 25m2 outdoor kitchen with good cooking facility working space and room to dine outside with a lot of friends and family. Looking into the future we maybe also starting a wine tasting business for our wine producer friend in Montecarlo along with pairing local food tradition.

Our "Hobby room" November 2014

Outdoor kitchen location November 2014

The “Casa di Amore” outdoor area of 1 ¼ acer will have a lot of fruit trees, olive trees, vegetables, berries and grapes along with our herb garden. Today the remains of the sunflowers need to be taken away. Drawings and plans for the land needs to be done, but on this we have some time. No expectation to grow anything for the next year unless our good friend who have assisted us to keep the land around the house clean the last 4 months, Matteo, start to do some farming on his own.

Soon ready for farming

What will be the progress over the next 3 months?

We will submit our suggestions to what and how we want the interior, even we will do installation on a family get together summer of 2016. Galileo will submit the drawings to the commune of Montecarlo for approval in addition to get the prices for the different tasks needed. This indicates that we are ready to get our nice surprise of total refurbishing cost. If they are to live with we can sign contracts and start work early March. At the same time we look forward to see the baby due that time Matteo and Claudia is expecting.

Montecarlo

 

Not THAT Monte Carlo, but Montecarlo in Lucca Province of Tuscany are the commune we are located in. And we could not be happier to have this fantastic environment around us. The village of Montecarlo is located on the top of a hill and has history back to 13 – 14^th century.

 

 

For us Montecarlo is the tower on top of the hill, hard walk up, but with a refreshing lunch or dinner. It is the place to have a view to Lucca on one side and Montecatine Terme on the other along with the Lucca plain all around.

 

 

  

The feeling of the medieval small town you can enjoy as you walk along the streets. Montecarlo has the small shops, the tourist information with wine tasting, the old buildings and the wall around the town. How can we not look ahead and expect to enjoy our future local town and get to know the people at the restaurants, known and not known, the shopkeepers at the Alementari and souvenir shop as well those run the local tourist information.

 

 

 

The town of Montecarlo, located on the hill (163 mt above sea level) ridge separating Valdinievole ("Valley of the Clouds") and the Plain of Lucca, was built in 1333 in order to bring together, near the fort of Cerruglio, the inhabitants of the Community of Vivinaia (located where now is the village cemetery) and destroyed by the Florentines in 1331. The borough was named Montecarlo (the Mountain of Charles) in honour of Prince Charles, son of the King John of Bohemia, liberator of Lucca from occupation by Pisa.

 

At the beginning of its history, the land of Montecarlo was ruled by Lucca, and this state of affairs continued throughout the XIV century, with the sole parenthesis of the period from 1342 to 1369, when it was directly dependent on the Commune of Pisa. In 1437, during the war between Lucca and Florence, it fell definitively into the hands of the Florentines, in the district of which it remained until the Unity of Italy.

 

The history of the territory is intrinsically linked to the most important settlements of the territory: the Parish of S. Piero in Campo, one of the richest diocese of Lucca, whose wealth is due to its strategic position as an obligatory route between the Valdinievole and Lucca. Furthermore in ancient times the Via Cassia ran through the village, as did the Via Francigena during the Middle Ages. The other two important settlements were: the Castle of Cerruglio (the present day castle) used in 1325 as a military base by Castruccio Castracani, the Lucchesi Commander during the battle of Altopascio, and the Castle of Vivinaia, once the residence of Emperor Conrad II and Pope Benedict IX. 

 

That was the historic flare of our commune. Today the commune has an agricultural area with wine making and horticultural as the most important activities. Our 1,25 acre of land with sunflowers it will in 3 year time be changed with grapes and olives, fruit and berries, vegetables and herbs.

 

 

Before we bought this property we already had made relation with a local producer and exporter of wine. Assisting him in finding new markets like; Texas, Sweden, Norway and Russia, so living just a few km away gives us the expectations that we still will be involved in some interesting business along with being a farmer.

 

We missed out on the local Wine Festival this week, but I am sure we will make it in the future, and meet all these producers that I will assist in the future to find an international market for.

Piazza Cittadella

 

Is a quiet place in Lucca even in the worst tourist season. An attraction is the Giacomo Puccini statue, but other than that people seams to pass along the street and not noticed the beauty of the small piazza.

 

 

Some locals sit down to relax, the old lady who have a shoe store, still operate her business mostly for the local inhabitants compared to the shoe shops along Via Filungo.

 

Watching “the sisters” following the track to the statue from our table at Paris Bohème Bistrot and all the rest of activity here, we have noticed it is a convenient place to bring along children as they have space to move around, and in sight.  

 

Luisito have his charm on this Paris inspired restaurant in Lucca. He is one of the few that have manage to create something different for people to enjoy when they have had enough of the local cuisine.

 

 

For us who have the last 3 years staid 3 weeks at the time enjoy the variance in cuisine. We love his use of fruit and berries in the Erotic Salad, freshen up the tuna and swordfish carpatchio. Touch it up with a bottle of Rose just make our day in the shadow of Puccini.

Back Home

GIRASOLE

 

In one way we always know that vacation only are for a limited period of time, and we have to head home to where we live at present time. This time it was a bit different as we head home from home.  We live in Moscow, but during our 3 week vacation this year we signed of first and second milestone in our new life.

3 years from now our new home will be ready and we can move for the last time. A Rubicon, a change in life we look forward to, even we enjoy the stay in our present home and city.

This vacation was not as our last two vacations. Finished the chase of a new home as we already knew what we got, and could sign of the papers at the local notaries and get the key from the old owner.

Empty but clean

 

Have found a spot for TV room for kids

 

We still hope that this will be the kitchen

 

A lot of old stuff was left behind as well an interesting story about the people lived in the house. Some of the things we keep as it belong to the history of the house. We will also keep the integrity of the house so those who visit us will feel the Italian historic atmosphere.

That we are up for a challenge we knew, and one week of the vacation we had was spent in cleaning out what we did not want to keep, and place what we wanted to store in a “safe” place.

No yard sale this time

 

Friends assisted us in finding a company that could take our trash away. For some days we nicely placed our trash with plastic in one batch, metal in one, cables in one and wood in one. The company who collecting the trash this week was also a second time there to ensure that road was accessible for a larger truck. We had to go to the neighbor to have him cut some trees. He was nice and did it in a day and we are ready to roll.

Organize trash takeaway

 

The house was loved by us from the first day we visited it and even more we feel at home when we had cleaned it and made it ready for whoever will do the construction work and other work needed.

Milestone one was the signing of contract and get the key, milestone two was to make an agreement with an architect for the design work and communication with the local authorities to ensure we can do the changes we want inside and outside.

So what has become our friend over these three weeks, Galileo Menichini, is now in charge of the changes and will challenges us in our requirements when needed. Galileo and the company Gli Architetti Associati will handle it all, and we are pleased that we feel it is taken care of by professionals, and in addition our local Italian family.

Our local Italian family has expended over the years and so it did over the last three weeks. To explain this we can just give a short comment. Over 13 years I have known Samuele Cosentino who runs one of my favorite restaurants in Lucca, Gli Orti di Via Elise. I also have known his wife over all these years Silvia Pacini. Over the last 3 weeks new members of his family is included in our Italian family, his brother Gianluca Cosentino and his father Pasquale Cosentino. Nothing better for us that they can assist in making our new home to be what we want it to be, the last two works in construction and refurbishing old Italian houses. And if this was not enough we met a very good interpreter at the architect office, her name is Ruth, nothing better than that she is the daughter of the night watch at the Hotel Ilaria that I have known for the same 13 years. It looks like we keep it in the family in a good traditional Italian way.

Laila, Gianluca, Silvia, Galileo and me

 

The architect will have his challenges with us, but the good thing for both parties is that we have time to discuss before doing the work needed and wanted. It will be an interesting project for me to run from day to day and from month to month. There will be a lot of drawings back and forth, and for us to visual how it all will be.

Some preparation was done during our vacation. Floors and tiles, how it will look like on all the floors on the ground floor as well looking to tiles for bath rooms.

Black or Blue ??

 

Floors ???

 

I am sure it will be hard to understand for Galileo that we will use our “Norwegian” family members to involve in some of the work. Cutting cost we are not sure about, but we will feel that this house is ours and we have participated in finishing it as we are used to from “home”.

In Norway we have the word “Dugnad” so in two year time it is time for “Dugnad” or let us say volunteer work, even “Dugnad” have more commitment to it,  by visitors from Norway.

So now it is back home, the silence from Tuscany have been changed with traffic noise from Petrovka Street of Moscow. It is familiar noise, a noise that we feel home in, both listening inside, and as we walk along the streets in Moscow, and enjoy the beauty of the city.

Now it will be work from home and look forward to accomplish an adventure and challenge. Retirement in a Tuscan house in Tuscany is just 3 years down the road.

 

Saying good bye for this time