Then we found her, Villa Rosita, just outside the village of Santa Maria a Monte (Santa Mara by the mountains). There is our house, we shouted in unison, one October evening, when we sat and looked at houses again after a long corona break. Per and I have long dreamed of the good life in Italy. You could say it is a phrase, but Italy has always attracted both of us and perhaps most of all Tuscany with its soft hills that are a bit like Norway's Tuscany, Hadeland, where we have lived for the last 22 years.
"Pack your suitcase and jump on the plene" I said to Per.
I'm staying home in case something happens to Dad, you are traveling ... A couple of days later he was on the plane down to Rome, from there it was only a three hour drive to the house where the broker was waiting. With a critic's glasses
After staying in a cozy, local hotel, L'osteria del Poeta, Per took a tour in local area to get a feeling of the place. The next day there was a tour and the night before a few glasses of wine went down to dull the excitement. Then the day was there, I was ready with WattsApp to be able to follow, but Per is not exactly known for beeing on the phone all the time. It lasted and lasted and I became more and more nervous. So finally there was news!
What a strange house says Per, no square rooms, everything is on different levels and the taps in the bathroom are old-fashioned.
Wonderful I say! There are no right angles and the house is huge!
Wonderful I say! And the greenhouse has broken glass and lots of children's needles on the roof!
Wonderful I say - we can fix that! There is a smell of mold in the basement and the garden is completely overgrown and it is pouring rain!
You fix it I say! And so it went , Per who is otherwise a really positive type, and who loves everything that is a little unusual had put on the critic glasses. Here he should not buy the cat in the bag. While I was sitting at home watching via WhatsApp and fell more and more in love. Luckily he made another visit a few days later and then he noticed the art deco furniture, the nice view, the cave under the fantastic terrace, the rose bushes outside the living room windows and the little house in the garden that we do not know what contains since no one had the key. We take it, he says - and so it we did. We made an offer and then just waited for a response. Well back we recieved the answer - the offer was accepted and then we started the process. First we had to find a Norwegian broker in Italy and we were so lucky to find EliAnne Tangen who runs Case in Piemonte. She is an invaluable help and support and has contributed to all the strange things that have happened since we submitted the bid. It has been an emotional roller coaster. One day everything has been in order, a few days later the owner will not sell to us because he must have the house himself. Then he has become corona sick, and fortunately healthy again. So now we sit and wait, waiting for the transfer date and for the vaccine so we can travel down and feel safe.
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