The Outside Bathroom and Its Demise
Our outside bathroom Italy adventure was a reminder that old houses have a way of showing you just how modern our modern conveniences really are. When you walk through an old Italian house and find a bathroom neatly incorporated into the interior, with proper plumbing disappearing invisibly into floors and walls, somebody probably paid for […]
Iceland by Campervan, Part 2: Hot Water, Broken Windows and the Areola Borealis
After days of driving, hiking, glaciers, black beaches, questionable dirt roads and enough time behind the wheel to begin considering the RV a permanent address, Iceland Ring Road Part 2 brought us to Vök Baths in East Iceland. This was exactly what we needed. The geothermal pools stretched toward the lake, the cold Icelandic air […]
Iceland by Campervan, Part 1: Apparently We Were Staying Too Long
Our Iceland Ring Road campervan trip gave us its first warning before we had technically even arrived in Iceland. Flying from Canada toward Keflavík took us over the lower edge of Greenland, and from the airplane window it looked less like somewhere people lived and more like an uninhabitable moon. High peaks broke through the […]
The Bread Oven Saga, Part 3: Hopefully, the Last One
Restoring our old Italian bread oven involved limestone, brickwork, vintage ceramic wiring, a melted electrical box, and one final visit from the Blue Monster.
The Lifeline of Capestrano: Discovering the Ofenium Spring
Ofenium Spring Capestrano is the source of something more precious to this small Abruzzo town than almost anything else: its drinking water. Drawn from the pristine Ofenium Spring, this vital lifeline shapes not just the health but also the very spirit of the community. In this blog post, we dive into the journey of Capestrano’s […]
The Bread Oven Saga Part 2: 15% Knowledge, 85% Hold My Beer
From Boat Ramps to Bread Ovens: A Percentile Philosophy A couple of years ago, our life revolved around boating adventures. I was the navigator, the trailer-back-upper, and, apparently, the family’s resident magician when it came to backing the boat down ramps without making it look like an amateur YouTube blooper. Dana, ever the cheerleader, once […]
Mission Impossible: Activating Utilities in Our Newly Bought Italian Fixer-Upper
Italian Fixer-Upper Utilities: The Phone Fiasco Our Italian fixer-upper utilities adventure started with something that should have been simple: acquiring a phone number, which, as it turns out, is as crucial as an espresso machine in an Italian household. You might think snagging a SIM card is no biggie, right? Wrong again! An Italian phone […]
Why We Named Our House “Casa Transumanza”: An Ode to Our Nomadic Hearts
Casa Transumanza is the name we chose for our old house in Italy, inspired by our nomadic hearts and the ancient tradition of transhumance. In such places, houses aren’t just buildings; they’re characters in the ongoing soap opera of village life, known for their peculiarities and the stories they shelter. So, here we were, my […]
The Tale of the Tirino River and Capo d’Acqua: Embracing Italy’s Pristine Wilderness
The Tirino River and Capo d’Acqua lie in the heart of Abruzzo, Italy, sorrounded by some of the clearest water and wildest landscapes we encountered in the region. The Tirino River is no ordinary river, it’s a place where time stands still, where nature flourishes in its purest form, and where families and friends come […]
The Heart of Our Town: Life in the Piazza
The Capestrano piazza is the heart of our town, a central square where the rhythms of everyday life unfold from morning until night. It’s where locals gather, stories are swapped, and routines are created. Our piazza might not be the grandest among the neighboring towns, but it’s full of life. With three restaurants, two bars, […]