Florence is such a beautiful city with surprises around every corner. It’s great to come across a lemon, orange or pomegranate tree. Every door features a beautiful knob or knocker and the shops are all interesting. Not to mention, you have access to the greatest art collections, museums and architecture on the planet. Today we [...]

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If you only have two hours in Pisa, you need to go see the Tower, right? After a late breakfast we sprinted up to the Tower and had the opportunity to see a great show of vestments in the Baptistry. It’s trains for the rest of the trip and it was an easy one hour [...]

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Late arrival from Dublin into Pisa. The Hotel Bologna appears to be a winner, and our triple is practically a suite with what appears to be a balcony overlooking a garden. We’ll see if there is a picturesque view in the morning. We’re only staying the evening and catching a train tomorrow to Florence. The [...]

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It’s beginning to feel like winter. The temperatures have been in the thirties and we have had some sleet and freezing rain. Snow is something of a rarity over here and the damp cuts right through you. Clearing the perimeter of the property has become a bit of a heathy obsession. You can now see [...]

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Lisa had a successful pre-planning meeting regarding her studio, and even though we need to obtain planning permission (5-8 weeks), things should be moving ahead smoothly. There is an interesting mortgage available through the National Irish Bank (actually owned by Danske Bank) called Loan to Value. Essentially, they will give you a mortgage based on [...]

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