Merry Christmas everyone. This time of year, when the air is clear, we get some amazing sunrises and sunsets. Occasionally, we also get to see Corsica (160km away!) and the cost of Tuscany. It's Christmas, and we treated ourselves to dinner at our favourite restaurant Da u Titti in Lingueglietta, where we take most our guests, as it really is an extraordinary culinary experience
10.12.2023
It's December and in the garden the citrus are plentiful and ripe: orange, mandarine, lemon, lime and the giant cedro (that we don't use) are all ready to pick.
Indoors we have had our first traditional Danish Christmas lunch with marinated herrings, that we love. Bibi has also done some much appreciated baking this year
18.11.2023
You may have seen the pictures from when I demolished the old built-in stove. Now - just in time for the winter season - I have finished the installation of our new fireplace, an Aduro 9.3 Made in Denmark. I had to make some modifications to the chimney, straightening the flow and reducing the size from 200mm to 150mm. The rest was "just" plastering, sanding and painting the wall. It not only looks more sleek and modern, the new fireplace should be more efficient as well
08.10.2023
The main event for Mom's fall vist was a weekend trip to Gorges du Verdun, with an overnight stay in the charming little town of Moustiers-Sainte--Marie. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful and very warm so we also spend an afternoon on the boat and in the sea, and another afternoon in Sanremo sightseeing. As always we went out for dinner several times both locally, in Imperia and in Dolcedo, since Mom loves the Italian cuisine
07.04.2023
Heavily inspired by our friends Lars and Helle, we bought a sleek new modern Danish design free-standing fireplace. The existing build-in stove was not really to our taste; took up too much floorspace and was poorly constructed. But we love to have a fire going in the winter and it makes for a nice supplement to our heat pumps. I'll show you the new fireplace later, but for now I have just completed demolition of the old structure and removal of the stove, which will be sold on to live another life
29.03.2023
Fortunately the weather held for Mum's visit and we had a lovely week together. We took a trip to Rocchetta Nervina, explored the old town in Imperia and walked most of the new cycle path. Bibi and Mum also did the 7km hike to Lingueglietta and Cipressa on Friday while I worked. Mum loves to eat out so or course we visited some of our favourite restaurants, and made sure we had an ice cream every day!
11.03.2023
Only a few weeks ago it was freezing cold and snow as we went to Torino. This week it's tempting to say that spring is here, although we know from experience that March and April can be quite unpredictable. Even Olly the tortoise came out after 6month in hibernation. I haven't planted a lot this year, only seven bougainvillea along the fence against our parking. Once they have grown sufficiently, I will remove the split bamboo and the bougainvillea will form a beautiful and impenetrable thorny hedge
10.12.2022
My birthday dinner at "Da U Titti" was postponed to the weekend as they had a power cut on the day, but we had a great night as ever. Christmas is near and Bibi is leaving for Denmark next week, while I have another week of work. It will be great to see everyone this year; we haven't been "home" for Christmas for years
07.11.2022
It is olive season in Italy and this year we actually picked ours. The new tree in the backyard yielded 680g and the older tree 1.700g. Bibi then prepared the olives and drove out the bitterness by storing them in salt water, before putting them in jars topped up with oil. We also went to the Olive Festival in Imperia and bought a few things. The weather is still unseasonably warm and we have had some typical spectacular autumn night skies
30.09.2022
We persuaded Mom to move her fall visit a couple of weeks earlier, in the hope the weather would be better. It mostly worked, expect from Saturday, when we went to Genova to visit the Aquarium because the whale watching trip we had planned got cancelled. We also visited Santuario di Nostra Signora delle Grazie (church with a view), Badalucco (charming little town), Civezza (our neighbouring town) and Acquetico (to collect some local rose wine)
06.06.2022
May was relatively cold last year, but this year summer came a month early. Perfect timing for Nicolaj, Sofie, Aksel & Anker's visit, because the boys love the pool. They also love anything mechanical, so had to visit the basement to see my motorcycles and the Boxster. Perhaps there is hope for a future generation of petrolheads after all? Our delicious red apricots are ready, and even better with a piece of homemade brownie
09.05.2022
With the weather improving, we obviously spend more time outside, mostly in the garden, but occasionally at the seaside or on the motorbike. We also had Mikkel & Eli visiting first, followed by Birgit shortly after. With covid restrictions lifted I now work in the office every other week, so we're also going back to Torino. Here is a rather larger and somewhat random selection of pictures
27.02.2022
Over the last year we have planted 26 trees of various sizes in our back garden. I just finished the last batch of seven and - expect for watering them - it's now time to lean back and wait 5-10 years for them to grow. Hopefully they will not only look good but also provide some shade for us and shelter for all the little birds. I have included some landscape pictures from two different recent occasions where the visibility was exceptional and we could see for miles and miles
02.02.2022
We never used the bathtub in the master bathroom, so over the last couple of months I transformed the space into a walk-in shower, with the help of a few trusted tradesmen. Just removing the bathtub and the tiles on the walls was much more work than I anticipated. I knew I need help with the plumbing, but quickly realised that plastering was going to take me too long to do, so called in people for that as well. The tiling on the floor, painting the walls and putting up the glass screen I did myslef. We think it looks quite good. There are still a few things to do. The glass screen needs a seal at the bottom against the tiles, which strangely wasn't included. That's going to be a tricky job now, but as it is water leaks onto the floor. Then we just need a wire basket for shampoo etc and we're done
02.01.2022
Just before the holidays we bought nine more trees to plant in our back garden: apple, two cherries, two apricots, nectarine, pomegranate, lemon and olive. Fortunately, the ground was a lot softer than when we planted the last batch in April. In time this little crop of trees should provide a nice shaded area and some shelter for all the birds. Like most people, we were home for New Years but had a bonfire this year as the weather was 'cold' but quiet
20.12.2021
Merry Xmas & Happy New Year
It's been another strange and difficult year, so here's to hoping that 2022 will be better. We will spend the holidays in Costarainera again this year, keeping to ourselves to a large extend, as Liguria was just escalated to "yellow covid zone" again. We hope to see more of you in 2022, but for now stay safe and have a great holiday!
23.10.2021
We had our friends Helle & Lars visiting from Denmark last week. They drove their "new" Tesla 1.800km here and back. We had an awsome week: Hiking around Prela, sailing a rented boat from Imperia, driving the Boxster (Lars & Ken), cycling to Sanremo (Helle & Bibi), racing the Triumph vs. scooter (Lars & Ken) and visiting Monaco. In the evenings we of course enjoyed lots of Italian food and drink. We miss them already, but look forward to our summer holiday in 2022
07.09.2021
Bibi is still in Mallorca, but will be back on Friday. Meanwhile, I went to the classic yacht race (Vela d'Epoca) in Imperia late Saturday night with my digital camera and tripod to try and capture the atmosphere. I got some really nice pictures of super yachts and classic sailing yachts, while the fireworks was more challenging due to the dynamic nature of the event in low light conditions
23.08.2021
Our summer holiday is over and we had a great time. We did some work on the house and in the garden, went swimming in the ocean, took the sea kayak out once, relaxed and splashed round in the pool a lot. We also went to Acquetico to collect 24 bottles of the lovely local Sciac-tra rose wine and out for dinner a couple of times. We only used the eBikes for short trips as Bibi's still have some battery issues that restrict assisted range to less than 10km - I need to fix that before we venture further
17.08.2021
Bibi have painted all the doors/windows and I have sanded and oiled the slate door/window sills and cleaned the shutters, so now our main chores are done. We went to one of our favourite restaurants in Imperia Nero di Seppia [means "Cuttlefish ink"] - and it struck me how closely the ambiance resembles the wonderful Paul Smith Painting that hangs in our kitchen. The pool seems to be our default choice, but we did go snorkelling to look at some fish now the seawater is up at 25C (the pool is 29C!)
12.08.2021
It's the first week of our summer holiday and we're working in the garden and on the outside of the house. Candy and Olly have become good friends, she goes to visit him every day, takes a drink of his water and can send hours watching him and he's no longer scared of her. It's very hot - even for Italy in August - so we work in the shade and make good use of the pool. We also plan to get the kayak, which we haven't used in two years, out next week
19.07.2021
Tomorrow, 20th July 2021, it will be 5 years since we got the keys to our house. One of the best decisions we've ever made, and of course we got to enjoy it more than expected this last 18months. I decided to post some lovely summer pictures from around the house and garden to celebrate. The weather is close to perfect with daytime temperatures around 30-32C and between 20 and 25C at night - the pool is 26-28C and gets used a lot during the season (mid-June to mid-September)
09.07.2021
Meet Ulisse, or Olly as I call him. He is a 12 year old Horsfield's tortoise also know as Russian tortoise although his certificate says that he's actually from Uzbekistan. Due to change of circumstances, one of Bibi's girlfriends couldn't have him anymore, so we offered him a home in the back garden. Tortoises like to dig in the ground, but the foundations are deep on three sides, so we just had to add a cement block wall at the end
08.07.2021
The sixteenth-century Gallinaro Tower or Fortress is just 2km from our house and we often pass there walking. The views are absolutely amazing, and you will have seen pictures on this webpage before. Last night we decided to have a picnic up there to enjoy the sunset, so the picnic basket Bibi bought me many years ago - but for some bizarre reason we never used before - came out and off we went. It was a wonderful warm still evening and we will be back soon
16.06.2021
Summer is definitely here and temperatures are hovering just under 30C. So this weekend it was time to get the pool ready, and since the water reached 24C, we jumped right in. Lounging in the pool really feels like summer. We also put the sun shade sails up and it makes a remarkable difference when you "close off" the terrace like that. There are still few tourists around; it's early in the season and covid restrictions are only now lifting, but people have starting going to the beach and in the sea (21C)
02.06.2021
Italy is slowly relaxing covid restrictions and we have had our first shot of vaccine, so we feel a little safer now. We have been to Torino for work and to Sanremo and Imperia for fun. We're still waiting for proper summer weather, but the relatively mild and wet spring has been good for the garden - in fact it's never looked better. The trees we planted at Easter are thriving and we have picked 20 delicious apricots and more than 25 lemons
10.05.2021
The spring seems to stretch on and proper summer is still not in sight with temperatures hovering around 20C. I have bought a very nice new gas grill to replace to one we bought 13years ago in Denmark, as we now use it more and more and the old one had almost rusted through. It took me the best part of three hours to assemble and is really excellent. We also moved the bubble bath upstairs to make more room for the dining table and our sun loungers on the terrace
17.04.2021
When we go to Taggia it's to shop in the Carrefour supermarket or Self DIY-store. Today we took the scooter up to the old town of Taggia, where we had only visited the old Roman bridge (on our bikes back in September 2019). We were pleasantly surprised at how much there actually was to see. It's a small town, but with lots of little shops, churches and narrow streets. We bought some cheese and sausages and we also found three chilli plants to bring home
05.04.2021
We knew that Italy would be in lockdown during Easter, so in the weeks before we visited several garden centres to buy stuff to keep us busy. Four adult trees: lemon, cherry, apricot and pear, two smaller mandarin and orange trees and a bunch flower and herbs. And to go with it all 25 sack of soil at 45 liter each. I also bought some split bamboo screening online. Digging holes is our soil is hard work; it's mostly rock with some building waist mixed in, but it was nice to get some more plants in the garden
29.03.2021
Very occasionally - and usually in conjunction with a major change in the weather - we can see the island of Sardinia and the coast of Toscany approximately 160-190km away from our house. Most of the time the view is obscured by sea mist or clouds, so it's quite a treat when it's clear. We also had the traditional Milano-Sanremo bicycle race come through followed by two helicopters
26.02.2021
Thursday-Friday we had a rare and beautiful weather phenomena call inversion: cold air at sea level trapped by warmer air higher up (usually it's the other way around). In this case it was 19C at our house and only 12C at sea level. Combined with zero wind (also unusual) it created spectacular clouds over the sea. This is so rare the locals told Bibi they have only seen it twice in 30 years
13.02.2021
It's been wet, windy and cold lately (i.e normal winter), but not as cold as in Denmark where they recorded -16C and snow at my parents house this week! I have installed a Plexiglas storm/rain shield on the terrace door upstairs, made a shabby chic bathroom cabinet from recycled wood and installed two gas struts on the pool pump house to support the lid. I have also ordered the last few parts for the BSA, but the paperwork with the agency seems to have stalled
10.01.2021
The holidays are over, and we got most of what I hoped for done. The sofas look quite good with the glass fronted cupboards and the large Goodwood painting where the dining table used to be. We found a nice spot for the two other Paul Smith paintings that we love so much and for the television. The new gym in the basement is also complete and ready and looking good. Now I can get back to working on the BSA, that I hope to get registered on Italian plates by spring
03.01.2021
We're getting there .... all the boxes have been unpacked and most things have found a new home. Next Thursday 7th Jan the removal guys will arrive with the big and heavy stuff we had to leave behind in Torino. We have converted the first room on the right in the basement into a small gym in preparation for our elliptic trainer and 'new' exercise bike to arrive, and all the garden furniture has moved into the attic room accessible from the upstairs terrace. And there is still one week left of my holidays!
27.12.2020
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Just before Xmas there was a window of opportunity and we managed to move almost all our things from Torino over one long and very exhausting weekend. The professionals will handle the rest (sofas, bed, and exercise machines) first week of January. Now we're busy finding room for everything and rearranging the furniture, but take time out to celebrate Xmas and open a nice surprise from our dear friends Kinga & Witek
05.12.2020
Looks like the covid situation in Italy is getting worse unfortunately, so collecting our furniture in Torino is still not possible. Meanwhile, we're getting the house ready, tidying up, selling stuff we don't need and making more storage space for the things we want to keep. Since the workshop is now done, I have started going over my 1967 BSA Lightning to get it ready for spring. There are quite a number of smaller issues that need attention - now 15 years after the complete restoration
02.11.2020
Effective 1st January 2021 we will end the lease on our appartment in Torino. We will empty out the apartment in Torino over the next two months, starting with the first van load next weekend (6-7 Nov). Meanwhile work continues on the house. I'm currently painting the floor in the motorcycle workshop, which is a massive job with all the preparation needed. We have also applied an oil/water sealer to the travertine on the roof terrace
26.08.2020
Like most other people, we spent our summer holiday mostly around the house this year. We did take a daytrip in the Boxster - the first trip of the year - along the coast and up the mountain roads in France and Italy. Other than that, we did small jobs and enjoyed the sun, sea, pool, weather and food in Liguria. We also started going to the local bar every Sunday to watch the MotoGP motorcycle races. I will take the rest of my holidays for our trip to Denmark by car in October
13.08.2020
Sometime before we bought the house, the local 11th century church that gives its name to our street (Sant'Antonio) was badly damaged by lightning. Now, 5 years later the renovation is complete and the scaffolding has come down. Also slightly late due to covid19 was the Milano-Sanremo bicycle race that comes right by our house followed by police and camera helicopters. Since it's our summer holiday I have brought out the Nikon Coolpix for some underwater pictures
06.08.2020
It's been kind of quiet lately. I have been working from home while nursing my broken wrist. The cast came off 30th July, so now I'm starting the training to get it back to normal strength and flexibility. We converted "Birgit's room" (the single bedroom) into an office, since I expect to work more from here even after Covid. Our two week summer holiday starts Friday and we're going to stay around the house - perhaps take a trip to Provence in the Porsche
04.07.2020
Because of Bibi's back we haven't used our bikes for a while. Last Sunday we decided to take the lovely 50km bike path along the sea to Ospedaletti and back. Unfortunately, I fell off my bike in San Remo on the way back and broke my left arm. Quite badly it turned out, so this week I had to go to the hospital for two days for a 3hour operation. I'm back at home and at work now (working from home anyway) and the arm is better every day
13.06.2020
In case you're wondering what cats do during a lock-down, the answer is: the same as always - nothing much. Candy and Shade are masters at doing absolutely nothing. They do enjoy an occasional stroll in the garden. Shade is a bit timid and doesn't stray far, which is nice, but she can't make up her mind if she wants to go out or come in. Candy is more brave (stupid) and doesn't want to stay in our garden at all, so she are only allowed out with an escort (Bibi)
09.06.2020
When the covid-19 lockdown started 13 weeks ago, we were in Costarainera and had the cats with us. Unfortunately, I left my personal laptop in Torino and that's why there haven't been any updates. We have been mostly isolated and only left the house for shopping. Since the weather has mostly been nice, we got a few things done around the house and in the garden. All the events we had planned were cancelled and so was Birgit's visit and Bibi's trip to Denmark to see our new grandson
09.06.2020
Work on the terrace was obviously also interrupted and the tradesmen only came back last week. They have now re-fitted the fence, hung the new copper gutters and laid the travertine tiles including the compass rose that I bought on ebay. There are still some travertine borders to fit, then the whole thing needs grouting and sealing, but it's coming along nicely and the change from the dull grey tiles to travertine really makes a huge difference
25.02.2020
Our upstairs terrace is a lovely place to be, but unfortunately it seems it wasn't constructed correctly and leaks water down into our kitchen-diner. To rectify this, the entire foundation needs to be redone. The builders have now removed the old tiles and 8cm of concrete, laid the first of two waterproof membranes and cast 8cm of new concrete. Once this is dry, the second waterproof membrane can be laid and then the new tiles. We have chosen travertine (marble) in Opus Romano pattern
01.01.2020
Sometime ago I bought a bar table with the idea of adding a mosaic top. The inspiration is from Pelforth Blonde, a French beer with a pelican in their logo, and is even older and originates from our travels in Provence. Many years ago I brought home a beer coater from France! The table top is 60cm in diameter and contains nearly 3.000 glass mosaic pieces (1x1cm or smaller), so it took quite some time, but I think the end result was worth it
31.12.2019
Happy New Year to all our family and friends from Costarainera! Thank you to all of you whom we shared happy moments with in 2019 and apologies to those whom we missed - we'll try to do better in 2020. Right now we're enjoying the holidays and the lovely weather as you can see from the pictures. We have been lucky to have Mikkel visit for a few days over Xmas, which was really nice. In Italy the offices are closed all the way to Epiphany on 6th of January, so we had 17days off in total
13.12.2019
We had Bibi's mother Alma visit us for a few days and we spend most of them in the house in Costarainera that Alma hadn't seen yet. The sun was out and Liguria looked as good as ever. I almost finished our shabby chic shoe rack; it just needs a cushion on top. It's made from wood recycled from a box my Dad made for our grandfather clock that was shipped to Torino earlier this year
06.11.2019
Birgit timed her visit well and got the very best of the otherwise unreliable October weather. We took the opportunity to visit Dolceacqua, host to a medieval castle ruin with beautiful views over the valley and a bridge featured on several Monet paintings. It was even warm enough for Birgit to be tempted to try out our new hot tub and of course have an icecream
16.09.2019
The idea of a hot tub to use in the off-season really appealed to us, but the price of a wooden (+1.200 euro) or fibreglass (+2.500 euro) hot tub made us question if we would use it enough. So when I spotted this inflatable tub in unused and sealed condition on a 2nd hand website at a much more reasonable price (300 euro), we decided to go ahead. So far it's been really easy to set up and very enjoyable, but the real test will come when the temperatures drop
09.09.2019
As predicted we went to Imperia to see the wonderful sailing yachts that could be seen even from our house. We spend the rest of the weekend tidying up and putting stuff away, since it's now towards the end of summer and Bibi is returning to Torino. Some weeks ago we went to see a roman bridge (Google map) in nearby Taggia that somehow escaped our attention
02.09.2019
It's the end of my summer holiday and the last weekend was a little more "lying around" that we would like, but I haven't been feeling that great lately. We did manage a revisit to the artist/hippie town Bussana Vecchia (which btw seems more and more deserted) and a visit to a new-to-us seaside seafood restaurant. The weather is still very nice and the pool actually reached 31C this week. Next weekend we plan to go to a classic yacht event Vele d'Epoca in Imperia
19.08.2019
We spend most of our summer holiday relaxing on the terrace by the pool, working in the garden or snorkeling in the ocean. But recently we visited two medieval cities: Dolcedo (on the scooter) and Pietrabruna (on our ebikes). Both are fairly unremarkable small towns, but interesting to visit none the less because of their originality. The towns have clearly grown organically, the streets are extremely narrow and the houses quirky
28.07.2019
We've had Nicolaj, Sofie and Aksel visiting followed the week after by Mikkel and Nat. It was great to see them all and we have a good time. Luckily the weather was very nice, so there were opportunities to go swimming both in the sea and in the pool. In respect of Aksel's privacy and considering he's too young to give consent, we don't share pictures of him on-line
02.04.2019
This time we decided to do something new for Moms visit, so we went to a wine tasting at Ceretto in Langhe on Thursday and to Monaco and the Oceanographic Museum on Friday. We were really lucky with the weather so of course there was time to relax, enjoy the sun and have an ice cream ... and for Mom to work in the garden which she loves. As always we went out for dinner every night and generally had a lovely time
25.02.2019
It definitely feels like spring and even more so in Liguria - hopefully summer will come early this year (last year it was late). We're enjoying the sun and finishing up the last winter jobs from this season: the tiling in the hallway and the floors in the basement. I bought myself an electric MTB so I can join Bibi in exploring the area. It's a nice economy class bike with 28 gears, 48v 10Ah battery (250w motor as all of them), disc brakes and front suspension
02.01.2019
Happy New Year! We've been in Costarainera since we came back from Denmark on the 27th. We are busy installing the matt white 10x30cm skirting board tiles I bought more than a year ago (90meters in total). It's a big job, but we've completed the kitchen-dinner and it really does make a difference. The weather is very nice, clear blue skies and 13-17C, so we can take our lunch-breaks outside. Also, it prompted us to the first - but certainly not the last - ice-cream purchases of 2019
19.12.2018
The weather has been really nice in the run up to Xmas, the new grass is showing and we had to cut the lawns for the first time. Now it's getting cold and our focus shifts indoors. We continue to clean, dustproof and paint the floors in the basement and take the opportunity to add storage and tidy up to create a nice work environment. We have also installed the IKEA cabinet on the back of the shabby-chic bookcase towards the utility room
24.11.2018
Mom's visit came just after the big storm so the weather was wet and windy. Nothing can keep Mom out of the garden though so she still managed to level all the soil around the parking space. I had to support our two year old pine trees, but also managed to start on the floors in the basement. I want to make the rear basement room into a woodshop, and Mom & Dad kindly gave me a nice new circular saw for my birthday/Xmas. Mom loves Italian restraurants so we went out for dinner every single night
22.10.2018
I have finished the shabby chic bookcase/room divider and it looks pretty good - at least now the strange little passage behind the stairs has been closed off. We now need to go to IKEA and buy the cupboard for the utility side to finish off the job. But the weather is too good for that right now, so we went for a hike to neighbouring Lingueglietta instead. Hopefully the nice autumn conditions will last a few more week so that Birgit can enjoy them as well
11.10.2018
Autumn has come to Italy, so we decided to get the stairwell and the narrow passageway between utility and kitchen-dinner painted. In the passageway we're going to install a home-made shabby-chick bookcase and a cupboard on the utility side to block it off. We had dinner in the last restaurant in San Lorenzo al mare we hadn't visited yet: a charming little pizzaria called Torre Saracena, named after a small tower just off the coast (which we visited in the sea kayak this summer)
10.09.2018
We had better luck this time on Whale Watch Liguria, and saw a medium-size pod of dolphins. Amazing animals and just wonderful to see them play completely naturally 20-25km off the coast in their habitat. Bibi had even better luck on her trip two weeks earlier, and saw two species of dolphins, fin-whales and a sea turtle, so I have added a few pictures from her trip. At home the beautiful bee-eaters are back and I managed to get a picture this year
23.08.2018
We spend the summer holiday in the house doing a little bit of everything. I bought a sea-kayak off eBay, we planted some lavenders in the front garden, got the chorine system installed in the pool (and added 36kg of salt to make it work!), and dust-proofed the floors in the garage and workshop. But mostly we just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves this year. The cats - Candy & Shade - are obviously masters at doing nothing!
23.07.2018
Mikkel and Nat came to visit us again this year and they spend most of the week at our house in Costarainera. We went whale watching, and had a great hot day on the sea although we actually didn't see any whales - only a short glimpse of three dolphins. Later Bibi took them cycling to San Remo. At the end of the week Mikkel and Nat, overlapped with Kasper and Maria at the apartment in Torino, while we went off on the motorbike to meet Lars and Helle
18.06.2018
The week before last we weren't at the house, because we had my colleagues over on Friday night, went hiking (17km, 4.5 hour) around Sciolze on Saturday, and to the annual car show in Parco Valentino on Sunday. This week Bibi is in Denmark and I went alone. I got the pool pump and filter working and the water quality adjusted - so finally it was time to test the pool, and it-is-great! I also bought and installed an automatic watering system for our plants on the upstairs terrace, now that summer at last seems to have come to Italy.
04.06.2018
I'm still working on the pool, fitting the stairs and the winter cover and constructing a house for the pump and filter installation. I also made an outdoor shower platform for our new solar shower - which has 36liter capacity as opposed to just 6liter in the "portable" solar shower we had. Meanwhile our parking space has been finished off with a weed-proof membrane and a layer of large gravel stone. Since the weather in Torino is still terrible for this time of year, we really enjoy the sun in Liguria!
07.05.2018
We have had lots of visitors lately starting with Nicolaj, Sofie & Aksel, then my mom Birgit and finally our friends Henrik, Tilde and Alvin. I managed to get all the wood construction on our pool completed over the long weekend and filled with water the weekend after; now it's time for plumbing and then electrics. Bibi have sorted most of the landscaping after the fence went up, and with combined effort we got the parking lot ready for the gravel
15.04.2018
The fence is finished at last, but the parking lot still needs some kind of surfacing - most likely gravel. It's amazing what sense of privacy such a simple thing as a fence can provide. The plot feels much more complete and private. There is still plenty of landscaping to do, and lots of soil to distribute and level. But now I will focus on getting the pool up and ready for summer
09.04.2018
There has been little progress on the fence this past two weeks. The parking has been leveled and will be covered in gravel. Bibi and I got the first round of landscaping around the pool area done. The levels and slopes are almost correct, but the soil needs additional raking before we're ready to sow the grass. We also need to finish the small foundation for the pump and filter (you can see the pipes sticking out of the ground)
26.03.2018
After two weeks the builder has completed the footings for the fence and the foundation for the pool, and the property looks transformed already. Where you see green poles we will have green chicken-wire fence. In front of the house we will have proper black metal fence and gate (which unfortunately was to expensive to do all around). Bibi and I started on the landscaping around the pool foundation, but it's hard work so will require a few weekends
12.03.2018
In both the last two weekends we had one day of torrential rain in Costarainera (something like 50mm on Sunday alone), so we're indoors most of the time. We moved the wine fridge from Torino and created a little Danish/Italian "hygge" corner. Today Monday 12th the builders are - at last - due to start on our fence, parking and the foundation for the wooden pool. Since I'm going to Detroit next week, we will have to wait and see how it turns out, but we're well exited
15.01.2018
Nothing much has happened. The pool is ready for assembly, but we're waiting for planning permissions for the fence so we can get the pool foundation laid at the same time. Meanwhile we continue with various small projects, and we took a walk in our small local marina (we have two larger marinas either side of San Lorenzo al Mare). Our friends Kinga and Witek sent us a really nice surprise: a year's worth of English cheddar!
15.01.2018
Taking full advantage of the heat pumps keeping the house cozy and warm this winter, we enjoy almost every weekend in Costarainera. When the weather allows, we obviously try to spend as much time as possible outdoors. Indoors, we have a long list of projects, but at the moment we're just decorating and relaxing. We're waiting for planning permission to put a fence up along the road, and at the same time Marco (the builder) will make the foundations for the above-ground wooden pool
06.01.2018
Around Savona we saw a huge number of broken or uprooted trees caused by the storm Eleanor, but fortunately our house was left undamaged. The storm did deposit a large amount of debris on our local beach, so we scavenged four large bags of assorted driftwood for future projects. The sun was out, so we made our first stop of the year by ice-cream bar on the way home. At home Bibi decorated the hallway, while I framed and hung some more pictures.
16.12.2017
This year it seems we are going to get some proper winter in northern Italy. December has been cold and there is already snow in the mountains. In Costarainera we have seen 4C which combined with 17m/s wind felt freezing cold. In preparation for summer, the blacksmith have put up 5 poles to support our sun shade sails on the two terraces. This will be the last update in 2017, so we wish you all a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year
20.11.2017
We never got around to hanging much on the walls in our house in Costarainera, but this weekend we really made an effort. Some things are "old friends" from Torino (or much older), and some things were acquired for the house. Bibi gave me a metal fish wall decoration for my birthday, so that went up first. Saturday was a bit gray and windy, but perfect for a walk along the seaside and a visit to a small recently re-opened local park.
20.11.2017
Autumn has come to Italy and we had our first day of rain in ages, so I decided to fit the glass mosaic tiles I bought for our kitchen splash back. It was a relatively straight forward job, and I'm pleased that the gaps seem very even so you can't spot the joints. We have also severely cut back the bushes and trees on the other side of the road to improve our sea view for the front porch and kitchen.
02.11.2017
It's been an eventful week with Birgit visiting us, an extra long weekend to bridge a national Italian holiday, our 10 year wedding anniversary on 27th October and then Nicolaj and Sofie's son was born on 1st November. Birgit is now safely home after a lovely week blessed with sunny weather, and Bibi is planning to go to Denmark next week to see our first grandchild.
03.10.2017
The large yachts are returning to Imperia for the winter, and it's a good opportunity to see some amazing boats. Bibi have picked all our homegrown olives which we hope to eat; and we continue sanding and oiling the doors (5 more left to go now). I have made two solar-battery-powered garden lanterns from green wine carboys found in the basement
26.09.2017
The pool has arrived, but we have decided to postpone the groundwork to January, so we can get the fence done at the same time (more about this later). The wooden pool has been laid out to dry and will be protected by a dark brown stain before installation. Meanwhile we continue sanding and oiling the windows and doors; and I bought a new terracotta table for the terrace
04.09.2017
Preparations for the 2017 Invitation Only International Petanque Tournament, to take place in Costarainera 1st November 2017 have begun. The volunteers have cleared the terrain (track), new equipment has been ordered in from the United Kingdom, and on Sunday the first players began practicing
04.09.2017
We have realised that it will be years before we can afford a proper pool, so have decided to purchase a good quality above-ground wooden pool. The chosen location is right next to the terrace, where the pool is comfortably close but doesn't obstruct the views. Unfortunately we had to clear some plants to make way for the concrete foundations to be laid later this month
21.08.2017
Bussana Vecchia was destroyed by an earthquake in 1887 and left as a ghost town until 1959, when a group of artists moved in. Over the years most of the city has been made habitable, but it still has a wonderful medieval look and feel. Access is quite difficult, but with the scooter it's a short 30min ride away. We bought two geckos (surprise!) and a silly, funny little caricature tableaux of the Ligurian cost.
16.08.2017
Well, it hasen't all been about storage. We decided to install a 5x5x5m sun shade sail on the terrace, and it really is great - much better than any parasol. The front overhangs by the kitchen and basement stairwell needed painting, and there was a little bit or iron railing left to paint. After some windy days the sea has calmed down again and visibility is great ... so you get a few more pictures of fish!
14.08.2017
Storage. That's the best word to describe what we have been doing the first part of our holiday. We bought a large sliding door IKEA wardrobe for the master bedroom, and a slimmer but similar one for the single guest room. In addition we decided to put in two tall cupboards in the utility room. Of course there was also time to go to the beach every day, and out for dinner on a couple of occasions.
31.07.2017
It was lovely to have first Nicolaj and Sofie, and later Mikkel and Nathasja, visiting us. This time of year we can pretty much guarantee good weather - something Denmark hasn't seen this summer! I have also made two decorative items for the house: a big metal gecko for outside and a driftwood background for the ceramic fish we bought last year in Sicily. Next weekend our new IKEA wardrobes and extra cupboards for the utility room arrives, just in time for the summer holiday (9-23 August)
06.06.2017
We had a great time with Kinga, Witek and the kids, and as you can see from Witek's pictures they look like they enjoyed themselves. We have painted the black metal fences. Bibi and Witek cleared the front lawn that we want to lay to grass. I have cleaned up our two hardwood sun loungers. The glass mosaic tiles for our kitchen splash-back have arrived. It's been warm enough to go swimming, and even the Internet now works! So I could replace the old stereo with the Sonos Bibi gave me for Xmas
01.05.2017
Helle & Lars weren't that lucky with the weather, but we still had a great weekend, and hopefully they will be back. Birgit was slightly more fortunate in the week she was here. As you can see we've started painting the railings around the house and oiling the window frames, while the blacksmith has installed the two cages for the a/c units, to prevent them being stolen. I have also made a big heavy parasol base in situ - not to save money - but to save my back carrying it up on the roof terrasse.
05.03.2017
Finally some progress. The plumbers have installed the two heats pumps, and the four internal units, ready for the electrician to connect. Very nice job, with no pipes on internal walls, and only a fairly discreet copper duct on the outside. They also connect the water under the new kitchen sink, so we could finish the cabinet underneath and move the dishwasher in, which in turn made room for the washer in the utility room. As if that wasn't enough the gardener planted our line of thuja trees on Friday, and Marco not only made us a new cement entrance walkway (to be paved later), but also ran three new pipes into the house for ENEL the electric company and TIM the Internet guys ... none of whom have kept their appointments recently!
31.01.2017
The kitchen is almost finished. We got the last drawers in, put up the oven and the microwave. I fitted all the handles ... and then Bibi was ready to move in. We still the plumber to connect the water and drainage before we can move the dishwasher, and the electrician to finish the connection for the ceiling light, but it looks and feel like a kitchen now. We even had dinner at our new 'breakfast bar' area.
22.01.2017
The electrician finished his work this week, so I could get on with the kitchen. Some of the drawers (still without handles) on the island went in, so did our clever little socket. Then I installed the elements against the wall, including the worktop and the induction cooker. Bibi painted the utility wall, where the old water-heaters were, and around our 'new' front door, amd she assembled our new IKEA coffee table/footstool.
15.01.2017
Bibi decided she was going to paint the guest bedroom this weekend, while I continued with the kitchen. We were able to get the worktop on the kitchen island - although it was quite heavy. That meant I could get the sink installed. This week the electrician should do his bit, and then I can finish the kitchen. We also had time to try a new restaurant down in San Lorenzo al Mare, which was okay.
07.01.2017
After a lovely and cosy Xmas with Ken's parents and all four of the kids in Barlose, Mikkel and Nat joined us in Costarainera for New Years. It was nice to have them around and they helped in the garden as well (to keep warm, I suppose). Towards the end of the holiday the plumber turned up, and installed our new water heater in the basement, and the extractor with external motor. That meant we could eliminate the two water heaters in the utility room, and that I could fix the kitchen island cabinets in place.
11.12.2016
Last weekend Dana & Mike went with us to Costarainera; and we visited Imperia. The tradesmen had installed our new green/white front door and the three black doors in the basement. This week the blacksmith had put up the bars for the basement windows and upstairs terrace door. Now the house is secure and we can get our things out of storage (soon).
30.11.2016
There is a pattern emerging here: I work on the kitchen, while Bibi continues to clear the rest of the garden. We both made progress last weekend. The plumber also came by to look at the jobs we have for him and prepare a quote. The electrician didn't show, but promises to come on Saturday. This week the front door and the three doors in the basement should be replaced, so we're looking forward to that. Next weekend Dana & Mike are coming with us ... I think they miss their furniture already!
20.11.2016
Our new shutters has finally arrived, and they look great. We have gone for aluminium, as the wooden shutters survived less than 5 year in the harsh climate, but we kept the same traditional green colour. Bibi cleared the rest of the rear garden, while I got started on the kitchen.There is something like 33 drawers to assemble, and I got 16 done this weekend. Now the final position of the cabinets has been tested, it's time to call the plumber and electrician.
15.11.2016
We managed to clear the entire rear garden this weekend. It wasn't as difficult as the front garden, which was full of rubbish and building debris, but still hard work. The garden has now been cleared on three sides, and the only patch left is behind the house. On Monday our IKEA kitchen arrived, and I had time to put a couple of cabinets together; the rest will follow over the next weekends. As we left Costarainera, we spotted a van with our new shutters heading for the house!
04.11.2016
Birgit was obviously keen to see our new house, and choose a good week to visit. First because there were two Italian bank holidays so we had a long weekend in Costarainera, and second because the weather was really nice. Birgit and Bibi cleared a lot of stones from the front garden, and levelled the banking off the driveway. Ken's back was playing up again, so he had to stick to light work; moving the lawn and sanding and painting our pizza table. There was also time to visit the beach and local restaurant.
24.10.2016
Our friends Dana & Mike are going back to Texas end of the year, and sold us most of their furniture. It's getting chilly at night - although temperatures are still 23C during the day - so it's nice to have a comfortable sofa in front of the fireplace. Over two wekends we managed to clear another good part of the garden, it's hard work as it's obviously unkept and full of building debris. Saturday night we walked over to the local pizzeria in Cipressa.
24.10.2016
With the ramp down to the garage we now have vehicle access. Next step was to take down the wall between the garage and the workshop to allow me to get my motorcycle in. Unfortunately the foundation was full of reinforcement steel, which wasn't structurally save to remove, so we ended up with an indoor bike ramp between the garage and the workshop. We are now waiting for the new doors, and the iron bars to go in front of the windows, before we think it's safe to take all our stuff - including my four classic bikes- out of storage.
04.10.2016
Equipped with a new lawnmower and wood chipper - both from Stiga - we have started clearing the garden. Bibi trimmed all the bushes and trees, while I moved the "lawn" which I had previously cleared with a bush trimmer. Not only does it now look better, the views form all the bedrooms improved as well. I also got a bit further on the utility room, which I hope to finish next weekend, if only I could find the parts that I need - the hardware shops in Liguria seems to be completely out of stock!
22.09.2016
Week before last we got the driveway down to the garage laid, and it looks great. Bibi and I decided to paint our bedroom and the kitchen-diner in preparation for the arrival of our furniture and kitchen. We bought a load of furniture from some American friends, who are returning to Texas. The kitchen is in the final stages of planning and we hope to have it in by Xmas. Most of the whitegoods already arrived including: fridge, freezer, dishwasher, washer and dryer.
14.09.2016
Nicolaj and Sofie came to visit for Bibi's birthday, and to see our new house in Costarainera. The weather was nice - as usual - so we did a few little things around the house and then went snorkling to enjoy the fish. Of course we also went out for dinner in Cipressa our neighbouring town, as there are no restaurants in Costarainera
05.09.2016
We didn't check out the beaches in Costarainera before we bought the house, but we have been pleasantly surprised to find the best snorkeling beach we have ever been to (not counting Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt). Costarainera has two sandy beaches and then further south a rock beach. This is where the water is clear (no sand to whirl up) and where the fish are. It's absolutely amazing snorkeling, as you can see from these pictures, taken with my new Nikon Coolpix S33
05.09.2016
We spend a few days of our summer holiday in our house clearing the rest of the junk, which took four 2m3 skips. Next on the improvements agenda is the driveway down to the garage, which hopefully will get done by a local contractor this week. Then in October our new aluminum shutters, to replace to rotten wooden shutters, should arrive. In the meantime we will start on the kitchen, which will be located in the L-shaped room at the front of the house, to create a large kitchen-diner
03.08.2016
In our second weekend, we managed to clear the rest of the house of the previous owner's possessions. The garage is full of junk from the house, and we still need to clear the basement, but we're getting there. We also made our first visits to our local beach, which was really nice; not crowded at all, with a cafe on the promenade and lovely warm seawater for a swim. There was even time to clear a bit more of the front garden and to try our new solar-heated shower.
25.07.2016
After 3.5 months, we finally got the keys to our house on Wednesday 20th July. Mikkel and Nathasja were in Tornio visiting, so I took the Friday off, and we had a lovely long weekend in Costarainera. It was wonderful to be back, and having two extra set of hands meant that we cleared all the ground floor rooms of the previous owners junk, and got the house nicer and cleaner. It now
looks - and smells - a lot better. We even got the front garden cleared a bit; removing a few plants and cutting the long grass.
02.04.2016
Ever since we met, Bibi and I have talked about living on the Mediterranean coast when we retire. Last fall we started looking for a house, and now we just had an offer accepted!
The property is in Costrainera, a small community of 800 people, in the province of Imperia in Liguria, located about 9 kilometres southwest of Imperia. On this map our house is the neighbour to the east (right) of the red pin
The plot in around 1.000sqm and is 1.1km from the sea as the crow flies - 2.2km following the roads. The previous owner died before he could finish the house, so there is a bit of work to be done, which is perfect for us. The house is around 140sqm, with a 55sqm attic, and a full 140sqm basement plus a 45sqm underground garage. In addition there is a great big 45sqm roof terrace, with a beautiful sea view, see picture above
It will be another 2-3 months before we get the keys, property deals are never quick, and in Italy it's certainly no less bureaucratic ... they love paperwork. Doesn't really matter, this is a long-term project anyway, and we have the next 10+ years to get the house sorted before we are actually going to live there full time. Here are some unsorted pictures