What a treat today.
I drive to Signa, outside of Firenze, to meet with a prospective partner. In addition to representing homes for rent and for sale
in the area, they have a cooking school in a family-owned villa, arrange tours, wine tastings, chef services, many of the amenities that Carrara's fractional ownership clients want.
I am treated to a five-course
lunch, prepared by the chef and two American students, and their cookbook so that I can replicate the mouthwatering Spring Vegetable Rissotto and tiramisu made with Vin Santo at home. Something tells me cooking with Vin Santo would be a very Julia Child-like experience, or as my Scottish mother says when she makes haggis...one shot of scotch in the pot, one down the pipe! But it was heavenly, that tiramisu.
After lunch, we take a tour of the villa as we discuss our synergistic businesses and clients. There is so much overlap that I leave with not only a full stomach but exciting partnership concepts to be considered. We agree to follow up next week.
Driving back, I take a wrong turn (or rather miss the right turn) on the Firenze autostrada, finding myself on the way to Bologna. Hm mm. Isn't this where Elizabeth Gilbert found the great food in her book, "Eat, Pray, Love"? Tempting, but I'm getting seriously off my map. Taking the nearest exit, I explain to the attendant in the toll booth, who charges me 3 Euro to turn around, does not give me a receipt, so that when I finally exit to return to Chianti, I am charged 5 Euro for making the mistake and am given a ticket for 51 Euro for "Altro"...meaning "other". Ah, scusa? I do not discover this until back in the hotel room, alas and gulp.
Once back on "familiar" turf, I stop at a few more agencies and find my way past Poggibonsi (the tourism office should pay me a royalty), past the fields of sunflowers and towards to my temporary home (have I shown you the hotel?). At this point I know all the popular tunes on R-Italia, but none of the artists. There are 10 popular tunes on R-Italia, cycled over and over again, and I sing them all. Badly but with great enthusiasm.
I spend the early evening revising contracts (yawn) and working on Carrara's Facebook account. Mas che caldo! It's been a long hot day. I take the plunge and expose my Celtic skin at the pool to cool off.
Tomorrow, off to Roma and a flight home. But tonight belongs to me. A breeze has cooled things off, and the moon promises to be full and bright. Maybe a final walk through the surrounding olive groves before packing.
Question for the day: Does anyone out there know how I can move the photos around on the page in my blog composition? It has me stymied. What's up with that, as my kids would say...G'nite.
About Carrara, LLC
Carrara partners with owners of luxury vacation homes in Italy, managing the conversion and marketing of these beautiful homes to fractional, shared ownership vacation properties. We also represent buyers seeking the lifestyle of a European home and the convenience of a professionally managed, shared investment.
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