We Have Found the Perfect Home

The front gate of Villa Verde

So, for those of you who have been keeping track, you may know that we have been having some trouble finding an apartment because of a combination of our lack of language skills and everyone in Rome being on vacation. Thankfully, the bad luck has ended and we have found the greatest place to live EVER. It is a little outside of Rome (a short train ride takes us to the central Rome train station), and it feels like decades away from the city life.

Charles at the plum tree

First of all, our landlord is named Dante, he is a man in his late 50s, and he speaks Italian, Spanish, and English. On his beautiful villa we are renting a private cottage with all the amenities of home (tv, internet, etc). On his sprawling estate we have a tennis court, a gorgeous swimming pool, and a peaceful garden.

The gorgeous swimming pool

Now for the clencher. Dante has a small vineyard and has been harvesting and making his own wine for about three years now. Not only that, but he has olive trees and plans to press his own olive oil for the first time this year. Does this sound like a fantasy to anyone else but us??

The property

So, of course, we had to rent this place, despite the commute we will face, because we are going to follow him around like lost puppies and learn the arts of wine making and olive oil pressing. It's like our Italian fantasy world, it's unbelievable. In addition to this, he rents rooms out of his beautiful home, so when you (that's all of you) come to visit us you can easily stay in a private room right near our cottage. Va bene!

Some of Dante's grapes