Buying La Torretta Day 1

Buying La Torretta Day 1 - Monday

Papiano from Casa Girasole

After a cold night - we seemed to have arrived in Umbria in the middle of a short chilly burst - we awoke in the lovely B and B Casa Girasole, and were treated to a glorious view of the bell tower and the tiny borgo of Papiano, shrouded in beautiful crisp white frost, the kind that makes the world seem clean again.

We spent a few minutes talking to Aafke and Roberto, who own the B and B, whilst caught in that limbo state when meeting someone. Are they coming to me? Am I going to them? After about 10 minutes I had to break the silence and yes, of course, we were supposed to be with them about 15 minutes ago! So, in the car and off to the next village, Castello della Forme, and - how exciting - our first glimpse of La Torretta from the road. We only had time for a slow drive-by, but that was enough to lift the heart.

Next stop Perugia, for our Codice Fiscale. As usual, a nondescript government building, you take a ticket, sit in the chairs, wait your turn. We only had about a 20 minutes wait, which by all accounts is pretty good! And really they should hand then out like toffees, as it is a number to allow you to pay tax. Then on to the bank in Marsciano - 2 hours to open an account, and that's after having spent several days in the UK emailing across everything from utility bills, letter of introductions and by bronze swimming certificate (well, not the last one..). Still, at least when we arrived, they knew who we were, which probably saved about an hour of introductions. There was a hairy moment when we noticed that the manager had typed my name in as Jhon...this then led to much wringing of hands, lengthy phone calls to a number of departments - and then finally, an amendment as it was their fault. Phew! Lunch beckoned in a charming local restaurant. Great food for €15 per head. I'm liking this area...

In the afternoon we re-visited La Torretta with the geometra who oversaw the building - a charming chap called Roberto, who enjoyed bounding around the land and talking wildly. Everything you would expect!

So, after all that excitement, we still hadn't signed the paperwork, though we had paid the money! very strange..

Off to dinner and then the preparation for the next day.

Comments

miles 20.64; Bike Miles 0; Units probably too many!

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miles 30.46; Bike miles 0; Units 27

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Miles 33.84; Units 27

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