Meeting Point Gelateria Belvedere

Those days you can find us at the 'Gelateria Belvedere' in La Piazza Repubblica in Pizzo. This is our personal favorite, a gelateria that runs since 1901 in the forth generation. Here, we catch up with the architect and meet with potential workers. La Gelateria is our office, our meeting room. The best you can imagine. Our top four orders are:


- Il Tartufo Nero, invented in Pizzo: a half chocolate, half hazelnut ice cream ball filled with dark liquid chocolate - to die for! - also affogato, with hot espresso on top. (This picture shows half tartufo, cut in the middle, no coffee -> half calories)

- La Torta Belvedere (a piece of cake of hazelnut and cream ice cream, a temptation as big as the tartufo) here affogato, with espresso coffee on top.

- Caffe Shakerato (I have to check the spelling)- it is a shake of espresso coffee and hazelnut ice cream served in a prosecco glass.

Or
- una Granita - smashed ice mixed with berries from the forest or lemon - very refreshing and maybe a little less calories.

And if we do not have a meeting there we still go for an aperitivo before lunch or after dinner for desert.

more news

There is something magic about the house. It has calm and peaceful vibrations.

I was answering comments of my last post, but then decided to write the answer in a new post.

This afternoon we were on site again with the architect and a signore that took measures for the windows in order to make an offer. There are certain restrictions for the renovation of an old house in the historical center of Pizzo. For example the window frames should be brown or wooden colour. Not everybody in the neighbourhood was following these rules, but I think it makes sense and will look good in our case (althoug we had white colour in mind).

I was standing on the balcony and watching the sea. The view is so peaceful and calm. I was wondering about myself how calm I am regarding the time and money involved. I was joking that we might need FIVE YEARS to finish the house... but I hope that we can use some part of the house earlier, maybe next summer. I am happy as long as I can stand on that balcony and watch the sea. The colour of the window frames and even the colour of the outside walls seem secondary. I am sure that the result of the renovation will be beautiful. The house and its view will always play the main role.

News from the Site

Finally some news from the site. We are here since last Sunday. First inpressing thing was the journey itself. Calabria seemed so far from Germany. By car it would be a two day trip at least. Or a day trip via airplane with change of plane in Turino, Milano or Roma, delays and loss of luggage. Not this time! We had a direct flight from Stuttgart to Lamezia that took one hour and 50 minutes - 110 minutes only! Everything perfect. It was a total different feeling. We arrived in Calabria for breakfast, fresh, save and sound. A new experience of a shrinking world. Although convenient, somehow strange, there was no time to adapt, it did not feel far away anymore.

In the afternoon we went to see the house. I did not expect it looking worse than last year. More windows were broken. Probably from stone throwing children. The doors had more graffitis and inside the house plants were growing in almost every room.

We spoke to the architect who had not finished the layouts yet. That was not a problem because apparently, he had not received my drawings via email and so our ideas were not considered in his layouts. However, they will soon these days.

On Monday was the day of the 'Madonna del Carmine'. The church next to our house is named after her and every year, on July 16th, the Church is open and the statue of the Madonna is taken out for a procession through the village. After that there is a party in front of the church, our house respectively. I am happy to have been in Pizzo that day.

Yesterday, we looked around in some 'house remodelling shops' that sell doors, windows, tiles etc. in Vibo Valentia. And today, we took a wooden door from one of the windows of the house back to Vibo Marina (where we actually stay). My father in law worked on door, took off the old paint to see if we can re-use it and keep it natural.

Unfortunately our internet access here is very, very slow. And the pictures I took are not on the laptop I am able to connect with the internet. I hope, I can blog actual pictures someday later.

Another Renovation Story

Last summer I read 'The Reluctant Tuscan' by Phil Doran. Doran is an American author and script writer (originally) based in Hollywood. The book tells his own true story and starts with a phone call from his wife... She just bought an old, unlivable 'rustico' in Tuscany, Italy.

Their adventure of renovating this property is a light and funny summer reading - interesting for everybody dreaming about settling down in Italy.

Italian Kitchen Talk

Actually, there is no kitchen in the house. And the area where the kitchen used to be is a bit small, at least for Italians which spend half of their lives in the kitchen...

So we opt for taking out another wall in favour of a spacious and open family kitchen.

My argument for an open kitchen: if you have guests and do not have an open kitchen, you miss half of the conversation.

Here are some dreamy solutions:





The last kitchen is from Boloni, a Chinese-Italian joint-venture in Beijing, China. Boloni's website seems inactive at the moment (www.boloni.com.cn). But I can tell you that Boloni is known for its high standard kitchens that are produced in Beijing since 2001. They are developed and designed with the support of German and Italian designers - and with the Chinese talent of copying new technologies of the west for less money.

As we still live in Beijing, it is an option to buy a kitchen here and then ship to Italy.