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My Blog is back so I can keep friends and others informed of La Dolce Vita. This first post is a post about some thoughts I have had since I arrived back in Europe now almost a month and a half ago.  I left with a strange yet familiar feeling of having come home from…

I read with great alarm the premiums and taxes one has to pay in order to buy a house in italy. If you are not buying a fixer-upper this can be a very substantial part of the purchase price from 25% all the way up to 40% for houses classed as luxury houses. Using this…

As I prepare for my November application to the Italian Consulate I am already assembling the documentation I have been requested to provide.  This will also help me from any last minute rush or at least mitigate such rush.  Reading other blogs and I thought I would a get a tabbed binder to assemble everything.…

I am now in full swing getting documents ready for the Visa Application. Among the requirements are letters of references from my banks and financial institutions. But they don’t write these things any more. Luckily , one of the banks is First Republic, one of the last old school banks where I am assigned a…

This is just a short post to let you know I made a video where I make 4 of the pasta’s I have eaten in my travels in 4 Trattoria’s. These dishes are extremely easy to make and I did the video with the help of Sarah, Jim and Larry. So if you have a…

After consulting a series of consulates I came up with a superset of 20 plus possible documents I needed to get. They were: US Passport National Visa application, signed in the presence of the Consular Office 2 Passport Photographs Letter from applicant explain reason and length of stay (some want it notarized) Documents of substantial…

Bologna has been decided. So what now? This blog is going to follow my Journey from innocent San Francisco denizen to harried and exhausted Bolognese. Here are the tasks that are awaiting me and I will take you through my trials a tribulations” Italian Language classes (refresher since my last Italian class was over 30…

This concludes my summer trip to Italy. It was a huge success. It was also a great moment of reuniting with Minne. By moving to Italy I will be spending much more time with my daughters and Minne has been very supportive in that. One strange thing is that everyone in the family firmly agreed…

My Last day in Italy for the summer! I will return in October/November to find my new home in Bologna. Early in the morning, Minne, Esther and I drove from Padua to Milano. Where I am staying at a very nice hotel. It took 3 hours to get there. Then Minne and Esther drove onwards…

The last day in Padua was a redeeming day for the city. We got to enjoy the city much more and no see it for what it wasn’t. It’s a charming and friendly city. We had a great time meeting with people and, in particular, talking with the owner of our dinner restaurant, Paulo from…