It happens when I drive up the hill towards our farmhouse in the Tuscan countryside: butterflies bubble up in my stomach and I look around at the majestic mountains – making me think of Jurassic park sometimes – and I’m just in awe. I live here. I actually live here. This is so many people’s […]

Italy is a weird place; it’s full of contradictions, things don’t really work and there’s a lot of chaos. Yet, so many people absolutely LOVE it. Me included. Italy does one thing that many very organised countries don’t really know how to do: it makes you feel alive. Yes, there’s chaos, yes, there’s disorganisation and […]

I knew I was in for a ride; I knew life would be different; I knew I’d had to be flexible and adapt. I didn’t know EVERYTHING would be new. From exciting transportation, to a different sleep schedule, from new eating habits to a change in quantity of quality time, from the different temperatures to […]

You know how they say: “when one door closes, another one opens”? That’s exactly what will happen for me by closing the door to my dream home in Florence and opening my heart for a life with my dream man in the Tuscan countryside. In order to grow you must leave the old behind and […]

I’m afraid I’ve become a little too Italian after eight years of living in Florence, Italy. I’m Dutch and we’re known for being fun, yet cold, extremely practical and straightforward (read: blunt). Italians are known for being warm, creative (a positive way to describe disorganised) with a great sense for aesthetics (they like fare una […]

Life in Italy is not for everyone. It requires a lot of psychological flexibility, perseverance and adaptation abilities. On the other hand, if you’re a woman on a mission and are willing to do whatever it takes to make your dream of living in Italy come true, then nothing can get in your way, right? […]

So, you’ve finally admitted it to yourself: you want to move to Italy and start afresh there. It’s a place that lights you up like no other. You just feel happier there and can’t even explain why. You just feel good, really good. Bene. Now what? Well, let me share how I did it in […]