MORE EXPLORING

Giacomo and Belinda spent this past weekend house-hunting with a friend. The friend lives in Rome and wants a small house in Umbria where she can get away from the stress and noise of the city. Amazingly, she found a house, made and offer and had it accepted! Welcome to the neighborhood!

Belinda told us all about the house and also raved about the scenic drive to the small village where the house is located. Camerata is just south of Todi, past Fiore, past medieval castles and atop a hill with 360º views.

We had planned to go with Belinda and Giacomo to see the house and admire the views, but the realtor wasn’t in the office to give us the key. They were going to drive to Orvieto to pick up a friend from the strain station, so Art and I decided to take the drive to Camerata anyway. I was hoping to take some pictures, but the sun was getting higher in the sky….andiamo!

As promised the scenery was spectacular, and I wish we’d seen this road when the sunflowers were in full bloom. Several medieval castles were under renovation, and although the scaffolding and cranes aren’t exactly scenic, I’m always glad to see that someone is preserving these gems. If I had a boatload of money I can’t imagine a better cause than to restore my very own castle, especially if it had killer views of Todi.

As we were searching for the house Belinda's friend had just bought, we asked various people if they knew where a house for sale was located. We knew there was some sort of electrical tower near the house and I felt sure we'd know it if we saw it. Cammerata is a teeny tiny little place with maybe fifty people...how hard could it be?

Eventually we found a woman who knew the house we were looking for and we followed her down the street. Yes! This was definitely it, and the tower Belinda had referred to wasn't nearly as large or as ugly as I had feared, it was merely a large brick tower.

As in previous towns, a woman asked if we'd like to see the inside and of course we said yes. As soon as the door opened I recognized everything Belinda had described, from the huge open fireplace to the spiral staircase in the corner. It was cute and livable, and at the edge of town with fantastic views.

Just as we were starting to look around, who should show up but Belinda, Giacomo and their friend David! The girl who was buying the house had pleaded with Belinda to have one last look before the deposit check was written, and although they knew they wouldn't be able to get in, they planned to take a look around. Imagine their surprise when not only was the house open, but that WE were inside!