Soon after I took ownership of the flat, I woke up to the smell of fire!  I jumped out of bed but couldn't detect where it was coming from.   I frantically called my real estate broker who arrived in moments to my rescue.  We followed our noses to the neighbor's flat. We figured it must have been a residual fire in their fireplace. Luckily the structures were made of stone so the danger of anything burning down was impossible.    

Later that day, I found the door to my neighbor's flat was open and they were busy inside stoking the fire in an antique wood burning bread oven. But this time the smells were sweet and garlicky as they were cooking a rich tomato sauce.  They beckoned me in to watch as the woman put the rich red sauce into large ceramic bowls as her husband carefully placed them in the oven with a wooden plank.   She showed me the garlic which was hanging to dry on the stairwell and the fragrant basil which she grew in her garden.   It was all so simple and authentic and my heart felt so nurtured from this experience.  She invited me to taste the sauce with my little finger.  The flavors were tantalizing. The tangy, sweet tomatoes balanced with just the right amount of garlic and basil.   In my broken Italian I told them how glad I was to find them making tomato sauce and not burning down the house.  Later that day, a jar of the thickened sauce arrived on my doorstop.  It was delicious over some hot pasta. 

Fast forward a year, the couple had asked me if I wanted to purchase their small apartment with the antique pizza oven.  It was another dream come true and we spent days making pizza and bread.  Next I want to learn to make biscotti and even roast a chicken in there.  For more information about travel, accommodations and purchasing a home, please email: abccpa@sbcglobal.net