Arriving in Lamezia

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Lamezia Terme (SUF) is the international airport of Calabria. The greatest thing is that Lamezia is only a 20 minutes drive from our home in Pizzo AND it is an 2 hours only DIRECT flight from Stuttgart - and many other European cities.

However, arriving at Lamezia airport, always feels a bit funny to me. It's probably one of the smallest airports in Europe that gets international traffic. And during the peak season in July and August, there are often 3 or 4 flights arriving at the same time and all luggage is announced to be delivered on one of the two conveyor belts. As in other countries, you already get an impression of Calabria in the arrival hall.
You need patience to wait for your luggage although the plane stands a stone throw away. Be happy when it arrives and nothing is lost or forgotten. The trolleys to transport your suitcases are the oldest and most waggly, but they are for free. Remember, Calabria is said to be one of the poorest region in Europe*), but also one of the most unspoiled.
I am not sure how a tourist thinks of Calabria when arriving for the first time.
When I arrived for the first time in Calabria, it was around 15 years ago by car, after 11 hours of driving from Venice. I thought something like: all that way for this? Okay, I was tired and it was hot, it's also dry and it's a bit shabby down here.
Today, it is still like this. And still people keep clean only the inside of their houses but not the environment. Garbage and plastic bottles still litter the streets and beautiful landscape.

I still need a moment to adjust.
It is a different world down here in the deep South of Italy.
But when you let it happen, the slowing down, the charm of the past, the taste of local food, the siesta in the afternoon ... you can experience a different life style.

A fresh tomato salad with onions from Tropea, or a delicious taruffo nero in piazza helps you to adjust in no time!

However, it is prettier in spring, when flowers are blooming. It's less hot and less crowded. Locals seem more relaxed and friendlier. If you can, avoid the month of August, especially the 15th, Ferragosto, when all Italians are holidaying.

But now I am here, in the peak season, for the first time after 2 years of spring and winter visits.

Yesterday, we arrived with Air Berlin, in an airbus full of tourists. After the plane landed there was a brief and strong breaking... and then, surprise, up we went again.... over the sea and the beaches, for another round over Catanzaro, the many fields of olive trees and the Ionic coast.... The captain (a female voice) explained that the runway here is quiet short and we came in too high and therefore she decided to go for a second landing attempt. Maybe her first time in Lamezia Terme (SUF)?

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*) update:
My father-in-law does not agree with the saying, that Calabria is one of the poorest region of Europe. He sees enough big cars driving around here. Many people tent to not pay taxes regularly like in other regions, maybe, and they do not care as much about the environment. This is probably why villages appear to be poor because they are not well taken care of. - And that some few families down here are the richest from Italy is another subject ...

Pavement and Fountain for the Garden

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Angelo and Tonino are working out the pavement for the garden. We have some large black stones that used to be in the piazza of Pizzo years ago. But not enough... The fountain (in the back on the right) was positioned after some email discussion around the world between Angelo in Pizzo, CC in London and me in Bangkok. Since the electricians marked widely their territory along the right side of the wall to the church, we did not have many options left. But it seems the garden area works out nicely. I am looking forward to see everythingin real on Wednesday!!!

Progress in June

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After many birthday parties and many visitors for many days in our home base in Bangkok and election days in Italy, I can finally report some further progress in our summer home.

The interior renovation work is almost completed!

While you did not see anything on this blog...

... the main kitchen was deliverd and installed

The inox hood is coming soon and will be mounted in the niche. This is the only kitchen picture I have. I am a bit scared to see all, I am afraid that the overhead cabinets (on the right) are too bulky and the island (in front)too small...

... the entrance room was coloured and illuminated

... the original walls in the basement were restored and doors delivered and mounted

The colourful glas for the doors is still missing and the parquet will be installed soon. This is the last floor where interior work needs still to be done.

... the pavement of the garden is in progress 

... and the new little harbour is coming along

For those families who will spent their holidays with us this summer I have good news: Angelo has ordered matresses and they will be delivered on time! Although I do not know yet the beds that were delivered from Northern Italy, I am happy that our guests will be able to stay with us (and not have to sleep in the new boutique hotel next door) ;-)

Do not underestimate the impact of radiators to your interior!

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Do not underestimate the impact of radiators to the harmony of your interior!

After a long period of great results and beautiful surprises, after smooth progressings and contenting solutions, has come a moment, unfortunately, we face some less funny facts. I am not going to file them silently under "Now I have to live with this". I am sharing them like the rest, in order to help others to avoid the same mistakes.

I know, it does not make a big difference, if you are 9,000 km away from your construction or away just for half an hour, when electricians and plumbers are at work, you better do not move from their side at all! They do what they think is most convenient for them and they do not communicate with each other, unless you are the interpretor. - Unfortunately, I have proof for it - see below:

plumber and electrician "marking" their territories on a wall in the dining area

Nothing is symmetric on this wall! - The good thing, I am saving money, because we will not buy the chest that was supposed to be at this wall to squeeze it inbetween these radiators.

kids room wall space wasted

And with the electrician already generously positioning their switches and pluggs far from the edge of the wall, the plumber had to go even further into the room. - A nice wall of over three meters, just gone! Where do I place now a wardrobe or a guest bed, please?! - My porposal: to order a new and higher radiatore that has 4 columns and ends in line with the switch. We might save 50% of its length. (Also not enough for furniture. I think we choose the wrong place for the radiator in this room, it should have been between door and window, as this wall is difficult to use.)

 symmetry ?

This heater is 5 rows too long !

To compare: a good sample

In order to match the wall size the radiator above was ordered with 4 columns instead only 3 and it is also higher (until switch) than all the others.


But now to our even more special cases in the bathrooms:

squeezed too near the door and too high!

Angelo sent me a 2nd picture from a different angel - there is not mucht to do, although I do not understand why the space between radiator and tiles must be bigger than to the door.

oups !

These pictures do really hurt!

Angelo defends all radiator placements (he claims we have choosen them and have seen the red crosses on the walls for the positioning), however, with this one he agrees to distroy his spatulato wall to correct the position. But we made a compromise: he is not moving it further right, but just further down so it is at least in line with the finish line of the tiles of the shower. - Later, I will buy 2-3 hooks for towels, and fix them between radiator and shower, so I do not need a 2 meter arm to catch a towel.

Now I have to live with this... (tubes are installed behind the wall and wall is tiled)

How could this all happen?

When we were "positioning" the radiators for our house we went through all rooms with the plumber and he had a red spray can in his hand. At that time the house was in bare shell state. I think, I had in mind how doors would open and maybe also our indoor window shutters, probably possible furniture placing as well. At that time, it was said, that the radiators are included in the plumber's "package". Of course we checked what kind of models we would get and if an "upgrade" would be necessary. My husband choose some normal okay looking radiators from the catalogue and the plumber apparently agreed on our choice. Anyway, everything seemed to run smootlhly.

Of course, the plumber would calculate the size of the radiator necessary to heat each room appropriately.

Attention: here was our mistake! Don't copy that!

Did the plumber exagerated with the heaters size? Yes, in the bathrooms, we should have discussed and determined the size before. For under windows or in niches a more exact size should have been choosen.

In other cases, especially in the kids room and dinig area our mistake was to choose "slim" radiators. Only 3 "columns" deep. So, in order to have the same heating power the radiator has to be 40% longer than a radiator with 4 columns. Someone should have consulted us about the impact of the choice of radiators.

Maybe it has also happened because during the last 13 years we had not to deal with this kind of radiators. Over half of the time we lived in Asia with built-in ceiling airconditioning - and the rest in Germany with an overhead radiation heating. It is not common at all in Germany, but in Swiss terrace condominums. Although the ceiling heating has some disadvantages, I really really enjoyed the radiator free walls very very much !!!