Some people live dull, predictable lives. Probably most people. I do, anyway. But then there are those who suddenly break up from it all and do crazy stuff, and that is certainly true for my friends Sissel and Tage who own the house I am currently staying in.
These two were living in Tromsø, a city north in Norway. They both had ordinary, good jobs and a normal life. But then, in 2002, they sold their house, got rid of whatever could not fit in the car, drove to Italy and bought an old house in the little medieval village of Montemagno near Pisa in Tuscany. The house was all but a ruin, and the oldest part was 900 years old. They spent the next two years fixing it and ended up with a beautiful house with two extra apartments that they started renting out to tourists. This was the start of their company SiToscana (
http://www.sitoscana.com/intro_eng.htm).
Today they run their small, but thriving business renting out the two apartments in their own house plus another small house they have bought just up the road. In addition they have access to lots of other rental apartments and villas all over Tuscany. They also arrange excursions and events showcasing Italian food and wine, walks in the mountains, MC excursions etc. and they draw on all the experience they have gained for the past 12 years to provide their guests with personalised and tailored experiences in Tuscany. It is almost like having personal friends there to organise your stay to whom you can come for assistance with almost everything. And they will serve you a glass of Prosecco or a Dry Martini while helping you. They are just fabulous.
So for the next days I will be enjoying their hospitality while helping them with small jobs and learning more about Italian food. And first and foremost, we will be figuring out how to make the perfect pizza in the newly built stone oven out on the terrace, but more on that later.
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