How it began!

 

In 2019, we met. In that year, we found out that we share the same dream:

 

+++ Living in Italy +++

With Marga there had been a desire for years to run a B&B there, with Kees it was more along the lines of first a second home and in "old age" permanently moving to Italy, a B&B was not directly his dream. Fortunately it became a joint dream, which grew into starting a Bed & Breakfast + Motorhome + Glamping!

 

Plans were made for a vacation Italy, first traveling around and seeing where we then wanted to live in Italy. Real estate sites were checked weekly, we were already looking forward to it. The dot on the horizon was also set: the end of 2023! That's when we're going that way, we're just going to DO it!

 

Only the Corona pandemic (2020-2021) intervened and vacation plans for summer 2020 were temporarily put on hold. But nothing stopped us from continuing to plan and prepare for:

"living our best life". In September 2021, Europe "opened up" again and we were able to go on vacation to Italy.

 

Meanwhile, through The Andiamoworld, contact was made with a real estate agent in Tuscany; Tuscanary Real Estate Agency ( both, see link at the bottom of the page) and we were given the opportunity to look at 5 locations in Tuscany during our vacation. Just orientation, see what is for sale and what do we pay for it. That was the intention.

 

And so we stood on that sunny day in September 2021, with the broker, on the 3rd location of that day. A typical Tuscan farmhouse from the late 1800s, with 5 acres of land, 80 olive trees, a vegetable garden and a large fruit orchard, 2 natural springs..... in Santa Fiora.

And as we stood there, having seen the house, the peace, the surroundings, our dream before our eyes, all together, we looked at each other and we just knew:

 

THIS IS IT! THIS IS OUR PLACE! THIS IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR!

 

That it would go so fast, we were not quite prepared for, so after evenings of calculation and thinking, weighing options against each other, discussing pros and cons, contacting real estate agents with our wish list and whether everything is possible and allowed, architectural report, permits, etc. etc., we came to the conclusion that it was time to buy. We came to the conclusion that it all seemed to fit, and we took the decision:

 

WE ARE GOING TO DO IT!!!

 

We buy the farm, Kees quits his job, Marga stays in the Netherlands for a while (2023 was the planning). So we did, the house in the Netherlands was sold, the farm was bought and on March 31, 2022 we drove to Santa Fiora, in possession of the key.