Lola Chasing a squirrell in the snow

Charlie in the snow for the 1st time










Fontelunga woke up with snow all around Feb 2012

Snow at Fontelunga Feb 2012
What a difference !This morning I woke up and open the french window to the olive grove and found it all white . it snowed all night and Fontelunga look quite magical!
Charlie and Lola had a great time in the snow , while lucy preferred to stay in bed under the duvet



1st Feb 2012
Ok today it is freezing cold! and I am pretty sure it might snow later on during the evening.
I m going to put the fire on in the house !

24th Jan 2012
Hello to all and Happy New Year! We are back in Tuscany and usual we are redecorating Fontelunga.
we have put in place new gates at the front of the villa and they look great painted in the same light blu of the shutters. all bathrooms have been redone as well, painted in a different colour , new Bisazza tiles in the showers and baths and some new floor tiles as well .
All rooms a repainted as well and the antihall of Avorio and Oro look amazing .
So we are busy, busy, busy.
Have a good week end

Paolo and Philip Holiday snap Jan 2012
"
This year we decided to stay closer to home and for our winter break we choose Spain.
After Xmas at home in rome we went to see our friends Eric in barcelona and had New Year Eve in Madrid : in both cities as usual we had a fab time.
For the first time we went to Gran Canaria and overall we had a good time . Definately Maspalomas is a zillion time better than Playa del Ingles ( and we stayed in Playa del Ingles close to tha monstruosity known as the Jumbo center)

16th October 2011
All to all, season 2011 is now over and the villas are closed atthe moment for few remodelling , painting etc.
At fontelunga philip designed new gats for the car park heading to the Villa, they look great! Off to London today to see family and friends for a week and than Xmas in rome .
i wish all our guests new and old fantastic festive season and lets hope for a better 2012 for everybody .
ciao Paolo

8th October 2011
Sorry for such a large gap in my blog but we had a superbusy Sept and litte time to write. The weather is has been and is still fantastic , warm and sunny and it seems that autumn doesnt wat to cme this season.
Please check our special offer for October, you can find some great deals.

5th September 2011
An August as well is gone ! Still very hot and sunny weather. Had a great wedding , James and Maris , last week at Fontelunga . On sunday Philip and myself took the day off and went to Padova to see a girlfriend for dinner. had a great time , thank you Alberta !

21st August 2011
Massimo and Oliver arrived from PAris to sepnd few days with us in Tuscany, I m so happy! Went to visit La Foce's gardens in Chianchiano Terme , really beatiful Italian formal gardens.They do a tour of the garden every wendsday in the afternoon from 15.00 to 18.00.
After that a quick drink in Pienza looking at the sun set and dinner in Bagno Vignoni, overall a great day !

19th August 2011
SOOOO HOT !!! even the air con cannot cope with this heat wave but we love it and our guests as well.

16th August 2011
Rob is arrived at the Villa already 2 weeks ago and he is a fab manager! philip and myself took 2 days off and went to Rome for Ferragosto to the beach with our pack of dogs.
I love Rome in the summer , no traffic at all !
Went to Ostia and chilled on the beach both days and had dinner at the Mediterranea restaurant , great meal with giant kinf prawns, and tuna steak ! Hotel and Villas full with lovely guests! Natasha and Stef it was great to meet you and we hope to see you soon back in Tuscany

3rd August 2011
We are already in August ! Time fly by far too fast! Having great weather, sunny and hot and lovely guests.
Arnold & Eirik over to see us from Norway for the week end before they head to Barcelona for their summer holiday.
Bushes of blackberry are out and before my neighbour will steal all of them i will go to pick them up


Summer in Tuscany


The fileds of sunflowers are in full bloom , a sea of yellow in the Tuscan countryside. Jack , my nephew iperactive Jack Russel is now with us for two weeks holiday. A pack of 5 dogs is quite an handfull






Coco 5 MONTHS


Charlie 5 MONTHS

28th July and 5 months birthday for the pups: they are growing so fast! Sari last day in Tuscany, tomorrow she is going back to Filand . she is has been fantastic and a great asset for the season 2011. over the last 3 months I had the previlege to get to know an incredible young woman , very professional and always willing to learn something new . I will miss her very much!




26th July 2011
Very long week end and very wet, we had so much rain and the temperature dropped 10 degrees! back to normal today so the guests will be happy.
Last week to lovely guests went to Cortona and did the Roman walk: once back Lucy and Abi told us that they had a close encounters with wolves! quite scary ! It was towards the end of the day , really on top of the hill close to the forest and at one point they heard some ruffling and low groawling in the bushes... Quite scary! So please if you would like to take the walk take extra care !
Love to all Paolo
21st July 2011
Glourious sunny day , already at 7.30 very warm , it will be very hot today.
Philip off to London in a little while and me holding the fort this time. We have a house pipe ban for the first time since we moved to Tuscany: i cannot water the garden anymore (or at least as much as i would like to keep the lawn green). Pups is big trouble: they found on my new trainers and decided it was a good game to rip it apart...


20th July 2011
Sorry if I didnt write for a while but life has been not too easy and sometimes guests can be really not very pleasant , lets leave at that .
Sari , our fantastic intership from Filand left after 3 months trainig and I will miss her very much . She as been fantastic. Charlie and Coco are now 4 months old and supernaughty but really adorable. The season is progressing well , always with a challenge around the corner. lovely guests lately (love them)
Philip is off tomorrow to London and Ines has arrived back for 2 weeks

9th July 2011
Saturday and we have a total change of guests today.
Superbusy day and everything that could go wrong went wrong : the joy of owning an hopsitaity business in Tuscany ! Our fiends Axel is over from Hamburg and he is taking fulladvantage of the Lovely sunny and hot days here at Fontelunga . In the evening , after this horrible day( at least for me and philip ) we went to La lodola for dinner: we had a table outside and with a bottle of Prosecco and Avignonesi we had a great meal and spend hours chatting and laughing before I literally colapsed drunk on the table !

3rd July 2011
Very busy week with both hotel and villas full : great guests as well! Today I went on foot to Scannagallo and all the fields of sunflowers are up and glorious : one more weeks and the fields will be a sea of yellow.As well the lavander is in full bloom and the smell and the colour are fantastic. The weather is hot and sunny and last night after lots of tapas in Barcelona went back to a lovely Pizza in Lucignano , eating outside in the main square under the loggia.
Love to all

28th June 2011
Just come back from a great week end in Barcelona and as usual had a fantastic time with Eric. Unfortunately Philip had to stay in tuscany to hold the fort.
Shame that it went so quickly! Cant wait togo back in Sept

21st June 2011
Happy Summer day to all! lovely sunny and hot 21st June 2011. Coco not too well since last week : she had a small cut on the side of her face that went full of puss and now she is on antibiotics feeling very sorry for herself.
Had quite a difficult week with all sort of crap landing on my feet , from no water from the local authority , ice machine broke down, and some interesting and challenging guests( apparentely our ice cubes are not good or cold enough!)Missing my mum , she went back to Rome and off to Ischia with some friends for 2 weeks.
I really have to start to write a detailed diary of life at Fontelunga: maybe iin the future somebody will publish it!
Anyway fantastic guests in all the villas ( we are full ) and tonight our mid week dinner party with a full house.
The Palio in Siena is only few days away , 2nd July at 19.00
Again happy summer to all

14th June 2011
back from Rome where we had a good laugh with our friends from all over the world! lady Gaga at Circo Massimo in Rome was quite amazing and Euro Gay Pride was a big success.
Feeling a bit fragile today but sun is shining and having lovely guests makes life very nice indeed

11th June 2011
finally we have some sun! we had a very wet week, kind of tropical weather , sunny in the morning and torrential rain in the afternoon. back to normal today.
Pups are growing fast and are very naughty indeed.
Off to Rome for the week end , Euro gay pride : it will be fun .
have a good week end to all

2nd June 2011
we had a massive thunder storm last night and today it is much fresher. family from Rome and London and over to Fontelunga to celebrate Philip and Ines birthday this Sunday 5th June. Hotel and Villas full with really lovely guests and makes my file so much better.
love to all

30th May 2011
Long week and long week end . Philip was away on business in Holland and whatever could go wrong at the Villa went wrong ... I m sooooo tired today ! at least the weather is really sunny and super hot ! Pups are now 8 weeks and ver naughty but always adorables. As well today is Lola birthday , she is 7 yers old .

20th May 2011
Week end is starting and we have a full house ! Mum and Dad fly in today and will stay with us for few weeks. Pups are growing very fast and Charlie is a real furball.
Yesterday tried one of mum's recepe for a morning cake , very easy to make and quite delicious to have with your cappuccino. Here is the recepe:

Ciambellone

300 gr Flour
300 gr sugar
3 eggs
1 glass of olive oil
1 glass of single cream or milk
1 packet of baking powder
Start to mix sugar and egggs , add flour , olive oil , milk and the rest and keep mixing until nice and fluid .
bake at 175 degrees for 40 minutes on a midium tray.
If you want you can add 2 apples thinly sliced. Yammy !!

Tiramisu with strawberries

Ingredients:
5 eggs
600 gr of Strawberry
5 large table spoon of sugar
500 gr of Mascarpone
2 packets of Pavesini biscuits (thin sponge biscuits or similar)
1 rectangular dish 30cm x 15 cm and 5cm deep

Cut the strawberry in very small pieces and add some lemon and sugar and leave to marinate.Split the egg yolks from the whites and put in separate mixing bowls. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the sugar to the yolks and beat until the colour turns light yellow and the sugar is well amalgamated.
In a separate bowl beat the Mascarpone and gradually add the Mascarpone to the egg and sugar beating all the time.
After this fold the egg white into this mixture with a spatula.
At this point do a layer of Pavesini in the dish and spoon on strawberry and the juice you obtain from them.
A thin layer of the mixture on top of the pavesini and repeat this for 3 layers .
Keep in the fridge for a least 6 hours before serving.
Serves 8/10 people (big portion) or up to 16

Charlie at 6 weeks
hello my friends and greetings from a lovely sunny and warm Tuscany. here are the first photos of the pups at 6 weeks: they are really adorable and start developing their own personality. Charlie was the runt of the litter but know is the bigger one even if most of his size is fur.
And this is Coco our new little girl! she is already super affectionate. We will keep two of them, Charlie and Coco , while the third pup Chico will go and live with Simon and Carmelo.













10th May 2011: Sunny , sunny , sunny !
Hello people,greetings from sunny Tuscany. May is here and so far we are having great warm weather. The most important festival that takes place in Lucignano is without question the May Festival. It is an annual village festa in the spirit of the best rural Tuscan tradition, a sort of reconfirmation of the ancient celebrations for the new spring and summer seasons after the long winter period, almost a propitiatory rite in the belief of an abundant crop. And today, as in centuries past, the Festival has a very precise interrelationships in which the dominant role is represented by the celebration of our memories of the past: the parade is a procession of symbolic allegorical floats adorned with flowers with the participation of musical and folk groups that come from all over Italy and also from abroad. From the 24th to the 31st May .
ciao Paolo
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8th May 2011
I know , I know it has been ages since my last entry and I deeply apologies for it. Life has been pretty hectic and very happy and at hte same time very sad.
Lola and the puppies are great and growing fast and of course totally adorable .
the sad news is that Oliver passed away and went to doggy heaven. Both Philip and myself are very sad. Oliver was only 8 yeras old but since he was attacked by the big alsatian 2 years ago , his breathing got worst and worst.
I suppose life goes on and the new generation does remind me of him when he was a 10 weeks old pup and came to live with us at Fontelunga .
Love to all P

1st April 2011
Hello friends , finally some glorious sunny weather, spring is fantastic the only down side are my allergies that are off scale this year ! Zirtec is the only thing that works for me and doesnt make me feel sleepy.
Today we are reopening the swimming pools(even if I suppose they are a bit on the cold side) Lola and the puppies are doing well : she is a very good mum and she hasnt moved from the den at all just licking and feeding them non stop.

28th March 2011
HAd a great week end with lots of our friends for Connie's 40th birthday bash! happy birthday again Mrs Eng , we love you. Another fantastic news is that Lola yesterday at 17.30 had a C section and she delivered 3 adorable puppies , 2 boys and a girl! so far monther and little monsters are well and lets keep our fingers cross for the next 48 hours.
Season 2011 officially started today(with torrential rain)
ciao to all , Paolo

23trd March 2011
Finally we are having some excellent weather here in Tuscany. Yesterday the temperature reached 18 degrees and it was really sunny, makes such a difference!
Especially from last week when I was in Paris for some marketing and the weather was wet and grey for the whole week.
Nethertheless I had a fab week end : after work I was out and about with my friends and doing what I cant do in the middle of the countryside in Tuscany.
Marais , this is where my friend Massimo lives is a great place with lots of designer shops , cafe and restaurants.
Back in tuscany now and looking for the week end.
Lots of our freinds will be around for Connie's 40th birthday bash !!
Have a good week , Paolo
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13th March 2011
Lovely week end with my friends from Rome ,Venice, London and San Paulo. Arezzo during the day and Cortona for dinner at La Loggetta , great food , wine and company. Unfortunately today is pisssing down with rain so after a very late breakfast we are all realxing in the villa reading and watching a movie. Sweet do nothing

Smeraldo room 7th March 2011
Hello my friends and greetings from a very sunny bur very cold Tuscany. Had a lovely relaxing week end with Philip and doggies here at home doing very litttle. On sunday went to Monte san Savino and bought a bit of delicious Porchetta from a great shop right in the main square called Le delizie di Aldo. As you can see from the hpoto we have changed the look of the smeraldo room, painted the wall behind the headboard, and introduced a duvet on the bed and new bed spread and cushions. Now philip is redoing the Tormalina room and the last one to be redone before opening will be the Ametista room . Have a good week !

5th March 2011
first week end in March, gloomy day overcast and coldish , quite depressing really ! good new sis that lat night we found out that Lola is pregnant again and she may have 2 or 3 puppies and she should deliverby the end og the month. i really hope this time everything will go OK !!
have a good week end
2nd March 2011
Enough is enough , I had enough of winter, in much need of some warm spring days!We are already in March!! time fly by far too quickly and we are not getting any younger!!
Wet and gray today: Oliver and Lola are asleep in their beds and dont fancy to go out for a walk and Lucy is sitting on my lap making it quite tricky to type.Weather is quite mild but there is this low pressure over Italy for the next few days so more rain on our front strp.

27th Feb 2011
Bitterly cold this morning but again supersunny : we woke up and it was -2 degrees , very cold for us here in Tuscany. The mountains range all around us are white with snow, stunningly beautifull !
Happy carnival week to all : today we will go to Foiano and spend the afternoon watching the parade of the floats.
Paolo

21st Feb 2011
Had a lovely week end at home. the weather was very good , cold but really sunny! Met some friends in Florence for dinner on saturday and on Sunday just took it easy , cooked Roast lunch for Philip and myself and went to Foiano to see the Carnival floats: they are very impressive ! Sorry no photos , my battery was down !

8th Feb 2011
New great initiative for Arezzo and Cortona: guided tour in both cities for individuals or groups.From April to October in Cortona every Monday from 11.00 to 13.00 price Euro 10 per person. In Arezzo every Thursday from 10.30 to 12.30 price Euro 10 per person.
Special rate for small groups: 4 people and 1 is free of charge!

6th Feb 2011
My dear friends , greetings from a very sunny but cold Tuscany. We are back from our winter break in Cape Town , where as usual we had a fantastic holiday! Back at the ranch and so far we have been very lucky with the weather. it is cold but high pressure all over Italy assure us lovely sunny and crispy days. Both Philip and myself look forward to reopen the season 2011 in mid March. At the moment we are doinf paperwork and the sual update around all the villas. there are some special offer on the webpage for early bookings for April and May 2011 .
Ciao ciao

Jan 2011 Cape Town
We are having a great holidayin Cape Town as usual.A great restaurant in Kalk Bay , The Harbour house , definatly a must !











Jan 2011 Cape Town

Jan 2011 Cape Town









5th Nov 2010
My dear friends , greetings from Tuscany. Today we have officially closed the season 2010 and this week end we will celebrate our 20th year anniversary since Philip and myself met in London at Simon's house. Few friends and family arrived from all over the world and we had a brilliant time ! Villa Fontelunga as hotel is now closed until next March but the independent Villas are all open for business.
Have a good winter and I will keep you posted by time to time .
Paolo

8th Oct 2010
Still amazing weather : this October so far is fantastic.
Truffle and Porcini mushroom season is started and last night e had some great home made pasta , fettuccine with Porcini.

30th Sept 2010
Today Philip and myself are off to Barcelona to celebrate our 20th Anniversary together! time fly by when you are having fun!

19th Sept 2010
This week end is Lucy birthday : she is already one year old.
All our villas are fully with lovely guets for the wedding of Tim and Louise. Summer is still here with us and I hope it will carry on for few more weeks.

7th Sept 2010
I am achy all over ! Cycling is more difficult than I thought but quite good: will go back again for some more! Villa Fontelunga is full with lovely guests at the moment and please note that this year all our villas will stay open until the first week in January.
Check Special rate here on line for Nov and Dec
For Christmas/New Year 10/11 we will keep our villas at Scannagallo open .
Xmas week from the 20th December for 1 week
New Year from the 27th December for 1 week

4th Sept 2010:
Feel a bit tired today: woke up early due to the fact that the hunting season for "tortore" (sort of wild pigeon)is started, apparentely only for 1 day! So I was up at 4.30 with Lola , Lucy and Oliver in toal panick attack!
Later today I will go to my first bike ride class cross country and i will give you a full report tomorrow .
ciao Paolo

28th August-Napoli

28th August

Went to wonderful napoli for the week end and had a great time: the city is really beautiful , full of treasures.
The Royal palace of Capodimonte with its lovely gardens was a great escape from the busy city on Sunday pm

20th August

20th August

great BBQ!








20th August

Gelato at villa Fontelunga for the BBQ night the day after the formal wedding.





19th August



Lovely wedding : cerimony at Villa Fontelunga and lovely reception with dinner At Villa Scannagallo. perfect weather.
The gardens ware full of lanterns and candles, very romantic

19th August
What a great wedding we had for the last few days T fontelunga ! Congratulation Alison and Michael !!


17th August
Hello to all from sunny Tuscany. Summer time is still with us and we have a full hotel and all the villas are very busy as well. Another week and Italy will start working again: at the moment as you might know the whole country is on holiday!

4th August

Back in Tuscany after our fantastic mini holiday. Weather still sunny and hot, we are very lucky this year the season is lovely.as you can see from the photos i m eating a pizza: this is the first pizza since the 10th Feb when I started my diet with no Carbs. i never tasted anything so delicious. VIVA LA PIZZA !!



3rd August


After a long walk on the beach Oliver, Lola and Lucy are having a nap under the brolly. Lucy is not too sure about the water and the waves while Oliver and Lola any excuse is good to be in the water and cool off a bit


2nd August

This is Gaeta , a small town on the coast half way betwwen Rome and Napols. we simply love it.
One night we went to this great restaurant called Masaniello, in the old town.(Piazza Commestibili 6, Gaeta 040249 tel 0771 462296. i had fried calamari , followed by sword fish steak with grilled veggy: super delicious.
After dinner we went close by to this cool bar called La Francese and we had too many drinks! of course on the way home we could not have a gelato at Il Molo before going back to our hotel overlooking the port called Gajeta http://www.gajeta.com.

1st August


1st August

Holiday is all about resting, food and wine! and in Gaeta the choice of places to eat is enormous!
Last night we went to Mediterraneo al porto. the owner is Roberto , very friendly and charming man.

30th July

Last week Philip and myself took a mini break from Tuscany and went to the beach, south of Rome to Gaeta and Sperlonga.
Of course Oliver,Lola and Lucy came with us.We simply loved it and highly reccomend it! One day we went to the beach in Sabaudia and the beach was paradise , with very few people on it .

25th July

Sunday morning : my two boys are still asleep!
Quite Sunday , just one arrival. Went to a great winery between us and Siena , called Felsina in Castelnuovo Berardenga. www.felsina.it Tel + 39 0577 355117
Ines cooked lunch as usual and did stuffed Tomatoes and I would like to share the recepe with you:
Pomodori al Riso
Ingredients :
8 ripe medium sized round tomatoes
8 medium potatoes
8 serving spoons of Arborio rice
garlic clove, fresh parsley, basil
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

- Cut the tops off the tomatoes, remove the insides and put in a bowl and reserve to one side.
- Keep the tops also.
- Sprinkle salt over the insides of the tomatoes and put them top side down to drain the water
- peel and cut the potatoes and put in salted water and bring to boil for 5 minutes.
- Chop the garlic with the chopped parsley and basil and add salt and pepper.
- Mix the inside of the tomatoes with the chopped herbs and olive oil(5 tablespoons)
- Add the uncooked rice to the tomatoes and let it stand for 30 minutes to get the flavour.
- Fill the empty tomatoes with the mixture and cover with the top of the tomatoes and lay in an a large and low oven proof dish.
- Between the tomatoes put the potatoes
- Drizzle some olive oil over the tomatoes and potatoes , and add salt and pepper on the top.
- Bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 180


24th July
hello friends , another sunny day here in Tuscany . I have to say since the middle of June the weather has been fantastic. July is nearly over and Italy from next week will go on holiday . It is quite amazing that the whole country stop in August and go on holiday !! Philip and myself will join the rest of the country & will go down south for 4 days in Sperlonga. the little town on the coast between Rome and Napoles is fantastic , the many beaches very beatifull and the water cryatll clear. We will take the doggies as well and will do very little apart from going to the beach ,swimming , reading and of course eating some good food.
love to all
Paolo

20th July
Happy to say that we now have WiFi upstairs in the rooms at Villa Fontelunga so guests can be connected all the time!
Ines is here in Tuscany for 2 weeks and she is cooking like crazy all sort of things like jams , lasagne , peperonata , limoncello ! Lucy is growing very fast and she is very affectionate and loyal to me , and Olly and lola now accept her , no problem!

19th July
for our week end off we went to Mirano , close to Venice , to visit our friend Alberta. it has been the hottest week end on record in Italy! apart from sweetings like pigs we had a great time relaxing , eating with friends and doing very little.
I want to share with you a very refreshing drink called "Alberta". Fresh mint , slices of lemon , tonic water and sparkling water , lots of ice. Delicious!
Last night when we arrived back at the Villa we were having early drinks on the terrace and i was so excited to spot again this season in the lavander bush two Humming bird!! Actually I fund out that it is not an hummingbird but a hummingbird moth: still they are super pretty and I am so glad that we have them all over the garden.
love to all

15th July
Our lovwly guests and friends Sean and Kyra are back at the Villa.The heatwave is still on and the weather is glorious!

8th July
Hot Hot Hot !!! we are in full summer , super hot and sunny.As usual a have a summer cold due to the air con but I cannot leave without now ! my friends from Cape Town , Chris and various Peters are visiting at the moment: off to Cortona to La Loggetta for a lovly dinner al Fresco.
Love to all P

2nd July


This photo is a must in Madrid and each year we take one at the Osito. Since they have done the works in Plaza de Sol, the statue has been moved on the far side of the square , close to the Tio Pepe bill board !


2nd July

Me and Philip just outside the Prado museum in Madrid.
Finally went to see Goya and Valazquez. Quite hot here as well but we had lots of rain in the morning as well. Great lunch near Plaza S.Ana. i love Madrid !


1st July

Dinner time for Lola, Lucy & Oliver. I have to say that Lucy is been accepted quite well from the 2 older dogs , especially Lola. They are quite jelous of each others so if a stroke one i have emmediately do the same to the others.
Heat wave in Tuscany , lovely hot and sunny and tomnorrow i wilòl join Philip ,Dean and Eric in madrid for the Orgullo week end ! besos a tods !

27th June

They got married at 4 pm and after many photos were taken with friends and family they had dinner on the terrace with a catering company from Cortona called Preludio



27th June

What a lovely week end ! on saturday hayley and Rob got married at the Villa with a private blessing. As you can see from the photo they look lovely and in Love !



24th June
Today has been a difficult and stressfull day. We had a very difficult and arrogant guest, no manners at all , very rude and impolite to a point that i have asked him to leave the Villa. It upset me very much but life is too short and I dont need this kind of behavier at the Villa upsetting other guests as well. I cant wait to read his review on trip adviser !! better laugh about it


22nd June

hello to All , I m very pleased to introduce you to Lucy, our new member of the family , just arrived from Barcelona !Lola and oliver still not to sure about her but on the other hand they are not horrible to her. She is totally adorable



21sth June

21sth June

Even if the week end was really wet it was great to see Axel . the rian did not stopp us and we went to visit S.Giminiamo. The villa ge is fantastic , shame about all the crappy little tourist shops that nowdays are everywhere !


19th June
I was in london for a very quick sales and marketing trip. always good to go home especially when the waether was so warm and sunny! work was pretty busy but still managed to have dinne with friends in Soho one night. Our week end off and our friends Axel is over from Hamburg. what a shame that the weather for this week end is very wet!
but still doing somesightseeing and going to S.Giminiano today ( we have brollies )

14th June
Still lovely weather and very sunny and hot week end! Lola is at the higest of her season and we have ALL the local male dogs outside our bedroom door! Oliver is frantic and between chasing the other dogs away and trying to be with Lola is going bonkers! Put the trellis up for the vine outside our house, actually philip did but it was my serious nagging for 2 years, so my job was done.
Off to London Tomorrow for some marketinng but will be back for the week end.
love to all

6th June

And here it is our 10th year anniversary celebration cake , home made by Elena! 10 years! thank you to all our friends and guests that in all those years believed in us and supported us! SMACK !



6th June











6th June

It's a family affair! All of us together, a really lovely day , mum was over the moon to have us all in Tuscany




6th June
The Surprise party for Ines was a great success! She arrived at the Villa from Rome at Lunch time and all her friends were already here. we had a great day with family and close friends and we celebrate Philip's birthday and out 10th year anniversary

5th June

The jasmin outside our bedroom door is in full bllom and the smell is intoxicating, really fantastic!
Today is a lovely sunny and hot day and our week end off. it is Philip birthday and Ines as well and tomorrow we are having a surprise birthday party for her 80th birthday here at the Villa.
Mum and dad , carolyne and Lynne flew in from London , we organize a bus with all here friends from Rome and of course my brother and sister and all the nephews and nice.
I will post some photos next week.

5th June


After breakfast Philip and the other went to Arezzo antique market while I stayed at Villa pottering around and taking it easy( basically I wen to the pool for a while and soaked the sun ) off to La lodola to celebrate Philip's birthday tonight. Still have to give him his new Apple MacPro :I will tomorrow when the rest of the family will be here.Have a good week end ,warm kisses to all


31st May

The garden at Fontelunga is in full bloom! the Iceberg roses look incredible and will keep flowering all season.
Lavander bushes around the pool are growing fast and soon they will be a lovely purple and a lovely smell from this fantastic plant will invade the pool area.
I cannot believe we are already in June 2010. In 5 days time it will be Fontelunga 10th Anniversary: have a look at our special offers .
Love to all , Paolo

24th May
Ciao to all from a very sunny and hot Tuscany! this week end 29th & 30th May in our local villagge , Pozzo della Chiana there will be the historic re enaction of the Scannagallo battle. The valley of Scannagallo wa the turning point of the whole conflict with the final victory of the Florentines over the Sienese( they surrended in 1555)
At this poit the Medicean took control of the whole of Tuscany! there will be people in period costums, typical food and local beer , a great day stepping back in time .
ciao to all,
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22nd May

22nd May

Fantastic weather finally , hot and sunny how it should be! Our first pic nic of the season and it went very well!



19th May

Offers will be available seperately or in conjunction with Villa Fontelunga for a two centre holiday in Liguria by the sea side and in Tuscany in the country side




19th May

Casa Colleverde - Opening offer 2011
From 2011 you will be able to book our sister property Casa Colleverde, an all Suites Bed and Breakfast in the colline del sole in Liguria (SP) opening 1st April 2011
www.casacolleverde.com

17th May
Went to Padova for our week end off. Ines came with as as well. My mum is from Padova and went to see some old friends for the week end while Philip and myself stayed at Alberta in Mirano. Shame for the crappy weather but overall the we was fantastic and Padova is such a beautiful city, with amazing churches and art from Giotto.
We love as well cocktail hour in Padova with Spritz drink :
Ingredients
5/6 Prosecco, 1/6 Aperol, 2 squirts of soda water, a slice of orange .
Preparation
Mix direct in the glass , make sure that all the ingredients are very cold!

10th May
busy week end On. Villa is full with great guests, lovely mix of people from all over the world. Did our first cooking class in the new kitchen and it works much better!
Angela and James we have now put on the kitchen wall your present. thank you again !

6th May
Sorry I did not write for a while but we have been busy as usual and the Volcanic ash does not make our life any easier. Weather as been pretty awfull , wet and grey . we MISS the sun so much. For bank holiday May went to Barcelona to see Eric and had lots of rain there as well: it seems that the sun will arrive soon!

26th April
Our week end off went very quickly. Suturday was a lovely sunny and warm spring day and spend it all day out and about doing very little with Oliver & Lola. In the evening went to see the new movie of Ozpetek mine vaganti ( in UK and USA just come out as well with the title loose cannons)Brilliant movie! Sunday Philip and myself went for lunch in Siena: another lovely day we had lunch in piazza del campo , watching the world passing by. on the way back home we stopped to see our friends Massimo & Luca in Castelnuovo Berardenga. This village is very pretty and advise all of you to go have a drink at Enoteca Bengodi in Via della società operaria tel 0577 355116. Great selection of wines from all over the best winery around Tuscany.
We finish the day in another small , gorgeous hamlet called San Gusme'. The hamlet/village is well restored and very weel kept Here we had dinner is the famous place called Sira & Remina www.siraeremina.com tel 0577 358060.
overall a fantastic week end off

17th April


Hello people! I m pleased to present you Jack. Philip and myself bought it for our nephew Luca for his 14th birthday.
Jack is 5 weeks old and will be able to join his new family in another 5 to 7 weeks! Isnt he adorable ?

15th April


Finally the pool is finished and full of water! we are very happy with the final result . it looks great! Still a bit cold for a dip but visually is fantastic.



12th April

Good morning to all , A bit chilly todaqy but it should warm up for lunch time. Great initiative in Arezzo: guided tours in english for individuals every Thursday from 10.30 to 12.30. Tickets Euro 10.00 per person, children under 12 yro free. Groups 4 people , 1 free. Departure from the turist office in Piazza della Repubblica.
As well Cortona is doing something similar: guided tours in english for individuals every Monday from 11.00 to 13.00. Tickets Euro 10.00 per person including entrance to the Eruscan museum.
Have a good week


9th April

Sunny Sunny Sunny ! today is sooooo nice at 24 degrees.The new kitchen is a great success.The space is used 100% now and it works much better for breakfast, early evening drinks as a bar etc etc.
We serve dinner ( a light dinner ) every night now, apart from Saturday (arrival day at the villas) when the kitchen is closed . Light dinner are served from 19.00 and 21.00 and guests have to book it at breakfast time.
The dinner parties are still on Tue and Fri with the same formula : Prosecco with fried vegetable and crostini + a 4 course meal including water, 1 bottle of wine per couple and coffee. Off to Rome for our week end off and really look forward to it.
Have a good week end , Paolo

8th April
As you can see we are still short of a gallon of water or two! I m sure in 2 days the pool will be full and for the more adventurous one ready for a swim





7th April
Easter has come and gone and our house is back to normal, children free! Glorious sunny day and quite warm at 23 degrees. Pool still filling with the hose from the local authority: our bill will be so huge !
Mum and dad are going back to London tomorrow and Philip, Ines and myself will be in Rome for the week end: we have not been in Rome for few weeks and will be nice to see our friends.
6th April
Wet , wet , wet!! Bloody weather : it has been the wettest Easter on record . we had to do the easter eggs hunt with brollies, but the children had a good time anyway!

1st April
Our friends Angela and James are arriving for Easter week and we are happy for them to be back again at the Villa.
Our families as well are arriving from Rome and London ( our house will be full!), many little children will be here running around ( I m already stressed).This week end there is the antique fair in Arezzo: i hope the weather will be OK !

26th March
We have bought the lovely puppy for Luca , our nephew in Rome that will be 14 years old in May. A little Jack Russel , white with a brown head, at the moment only 5 weeks old. I cant wait to see his face when we will give him to him !

24th March

Phase one & two(take off the old mosaic tiles and replaster the entire pool area)completed: now we have to wait for the plaster to dry off completely and do the final phase , 2 coats of special coloured resin and surely fill the pool with water!
Off to Siena this afternoon to have a look at a Jack Russel puppy that Philip and myself are buyng for our nephew birthday. Considereing that JR can be quite viivacious we want to see the mum and dad before making the final decision to buy him or not. I will keep you posted.
Happy week end to all Paolo

24th March

Different angle same new kitchen. We will have more space to do our cooking classes and enjoy a glass of wine with our guests!




24th March

This is the first photos of our new kitchen at Villa Fontelunga. philip did a fab job again and personally I love the new space! i took the photos so not really the best.
Happy Spring to all.


20th March
The work on the pool is started and we said goodbye to the old mosaic tiles: they will be replaced with a smooth cement surface with a resin finish in the same colour as before. The kitchen is nearly finished : just waiting for the marble top to be delivered week.

16th March
Here we are again back in Tuscany after a our sting in London last week. we drove to London via Brussels (I know , not really on the way but we went to see some good friends for the week end). Tiem is London , was great , frantic , emotional ,cold ,expensive , exausting , in other word we had a good time seeing our friends and family. If you ever in Angel area in Upper Street go to have lunch at the Afghan kitchen, the chicken with yougurt is delicious.
we drove back in two days and we stopped in France ( again a bit off our direct route home )to see Philip's aunt Sue and his cousin Caroline. They bought a beatiful farm ( in need of LOTS of teder care and attention9 : once restored it will be another fantastic palce in the french country side.

4th March
just one more thing for today.I was playing around with Google Maps and I found out that our exact location is LAT 43,289037 and LON 11,806226. Quite amazing what technology can do !
ciao PAolo
4th March
Forget what I said few days ago, crap weather again wet wet wet! We are doing some rennovation work at Villa Fontelunga: Philip redesigned the kitchen and we builders doing it at the moment: it will be a fantastic new room! as well this year we are resurficing the pool a sort of facelift (as expensive as well). Philip and myself are off later today for the week end in Brussels and on Sunday we will take the ferry to go to London for the week. yes we are going with the car for 2 reasons : 1) we need to take with us the Prop for our stand at La Dolce Vita exibition in islington at the Design Center (have a look at the following web page http://www.ladolcevitaevent.co.uk/2010 and if you fancy it come over to have a look and say hi to us ) our olive oil and wine.2) Philip's mum is thretening to burn all of Philip's architectual books that have been in her garage and attic for te last 10 years!
So we are driving over to London , a little adventure that we have not done since we moved to Tuscany.
Love to All
1st March
Had a great week end at Fontelunga: finally mild weather , quite sunny.We spent time in the garden, Philip actually doing some gardening and myself chatting to him.
Good news for our olive grove: it survived this terrible winter,the snow and the really cold weather.Today went to the market in Foiano and bought lots of Herb plants, Thyme,sage,lavander,rosemary. we will plant them in the herbs garden when we are back from London in 10 days time.
ciao Paolo

27th Feb
Finally a lovely sunny and warm day after the torrential rain of the last few days. Took Oliver and Lola for a walk into the village(this ona is the twon hall sqaure)and had breakfast al fresco.Today we have the day off from the builders: yes we are doing some rennovation works at villa Fontelunga and in our cottage , but this is going to be another entry. happy sunny week end to all.
Paolo



20th Feb
We went to Paris for the week end to visit our friend Massimo(in the photo with myself).As usual weather was crap , cold and wet but Paris always beautiful. We did many turist things that we have not done for ages and met some interesting people.Sad to go back But Massimo you can be sure we will be back in few months.
Paolo




15th Feb
Finally some sun so yesterday we went to Todi for lunch with some friends.
Please please if you are ever in the area go for lunch at la Mulinella , just outside Todi in Umbria. We had homemade fettucine with Goose ragu , follwed by pork fillet with mushroom! Delicious!
paolo

14th Feb
Hello my friends , we are back in Tuscany after a fantastic Holiday in Mexico. we went all over from Yucatan to Quintana Roo and Jalisco. Went to visit many Mayan Temples and finished our holiday in Puerto Vallarta.
I m busy in the office sorting out my mail while Philip is supervising few decorating jobs we are doing at Fontelunga: we will have a new kitchen this year !
Weather today was lovely and sunny but since we arrived back last week we had lots of rain and snow at the week end.
Happy San Valentine
ciao Paolo