Ciao from Italy : House Hunting Part Two

Yesterday I decided to show Frank a new bike route. Frank bikes a ton while he's here in Italy, everyone bikes in fact. I am about to buy a bike with baskets and fenders and everything! Frank rides one of those fancy italian jobs built for speed, but I want a clunker... something vintage with lots of personality (to be continued).In anycase we tooled around in the countryside in our new little baby : our Cinque Cento (Fiat 500). She's so cute... all white and shiny with a black and white houndstooth interior. She's pretty darn racy. As you may remember we are in the process of finding a new home in Italy (read part one here). We are putting our beloved flat on the market. The area I wanted to show Frank also has a tiny little village with restored houses in the mountains behind our house. I stumbled upon them in April and thought, "wow these are gorgeous, I have to bring Frank back and explore."We parked the Fiat (we've named her LOLA btw), and started wandering the grounds. This Medieval Village was renovated in 2005 by an Italian architect and is a cluster of the most meticulously manicured homes. This place is where perfection and imperfection intersect in the most harmonious way I have see in ages.We took lots of photos and documented the beautifully crafted touches all over the grounds. Although this community is not ideal for us, it was the perfect place to find inspiration for our renovation project in the future, the idea that one can take a crumbled stone village and manage to perfectly reconstruct it while maintaining the original integrity of the structure is inspiring.There's even a little Mini Market in the village. Can you believe how cute the sign is?The village streets meander and wind around original rock formations.Italy is such an inspiration, I walk away inspired in so many ways.Stay tuned for more househunting adventures all summer long.Ciao xx