Castagneto Carducci, two farmhouses and the countryside

Another gloomy day in this chaotic big city. I look out of my office window and I can’t stand any more of all these buildings, concrete and gray everywhere.

My consultant yesterday gave me wonderful news. 14 months at the long-awaited retirement and so in the afternoon with my husband I will visit the house in Tuscany that we have been dreaming of for years, precisely in Castagneto Carducci.

Last night, looking at the pictures, I started to imagine our lives there and this was enough for me to smell the fresh bread that floods the porch in the morning while my husband lazily reads the newspaper and drinks his first and finally only coffee. Yes, because at the pace we have now, coffee is finally just a pleasure to taste, not a constant stimulus to stay awake.

This is the house you have dreamed of for a lifetime, all on the ground floor, without a lift that breaks and endless flights of stairs, a large kitchen where you can gather your family at Christmas or Easter, welcome friends on beautiful spring days and when indulge in all the recipes I have gathered over years and that I have never had time to try. Even the living room that overlooks the portico, with pictures of children and grandchildren on the fireplace, smells of tea and a good book. Two bedrooms, not one more I wanted, for not having to have the days busy cleaning the house but to have the right space for us surrounded by the charm of the Tuscan tuff walls.

What made me choose this house, though, I think is the presence of even a smaller adjoining farmhouse, the living area, two bedrooms, the bathroom and a wonderful veranda. I do not know yet if we will use it to accommodate children and friends (without having to divide our apartment and adapt our habits to others, even if for short periods) or to rent for a secure income.

And then the greenery all around is our garden. Finally my husband can do his botanical experiments in the vegetable garden instead of in small plastic boxes, while I dedicate myself to plants and flowers in every season. I think of our balcony in the center that requires a lot of care not to show us the cement and all those neighbors in the buildings around us.

Now finally … the silence, peace and serenity we have longed for while in the car we ran from one side of the city to the other to bring children, to meet customers, to take a plane.

Once through the gate of the house, our driveway lined with cypress trees will welcome us, our plants, our nest in which to live in serenity surrounded by the green of olive trees and vines and the blue sea which is only a few minutes away.

Unfortunately this is a dream for me, I am still in town running between one building and another of concrete, but someone has received the wonderful news … and can live my dream.