Early spring in Italy: this year our friend Stefano, an expert in the world of plants and trees, taught me the time-honored art of pruning olive trees. What’s the big deal?, you might ask. Well, actually, we’re talking about the heART of the Tuscan culture, and not just a simple snip, snip, snip, and you’re […]
Welcome to The Secret Place—A special location for Stories and Songs that have been hidden away for awhile—brought out into the light again, dusted off and placed on the table for you to enjoy. Every week or so they’ll be changed out with other Musical Stories you might find interesting. So, whenever you’re walking by […]
Grace and forgiveness. Emerson has recently come to realize that in this lifetime he wants to focus on forgiveness, for both himself and others. Basically, that means releasing blame and resentment by choosing the path of forgiveness as the ultimate solution. Although the idea seems rather simple, it’s not so easy in practice. At this […]
Espresso. Simple. Rich. Satisfying. But how and why? We accepted the invitation to delve into the mystery. We typically begin our day in a coffee bar—specifically, Pasticceria Lorenzo in the little town of Pian di Mugnone,Italy, just north of Florence. The coffee is quick and hot, and balances perfectly with a fresh pastry. When we’re […]
Place Sathonay, Lyon After he returned from 3 weeks in Lyon, France, Emerson offered me his journal to read. As I read, I wondered about the whys of his ways. He chatted with Marina on the first day. He struck up a conversation with Rosina and Stephan at dinner. He accompanied Romain to his workshop. Talked with Sid and Jean Pierre in the park—just to name a few […]
Our friend Sergio has a dream tucked beneath layers of rust in a salvage yard. anything iron Whenever we need an old unique piece made of iron, we go to see Sergio. He’s been tirelessly collecting everything iron for decades now, and his collection is indeed impressive. He has meticulously gathered everything from enormous iron […]
“St. Anthony, St. Anthony, please come down Something is lost and can’t be found” Saint Anthony We have a great friend, Zia. We’ve worked with her for years on various projects, and whenever we needed something that seemed to be lost, she recited this little prayer to Saint Anthony. Miraculously, it always seemed to work. […]
High in the Appenine mountains of Tuscany, in the middle of a dense forest of fir and beech trees, rests the majestic Benedictine Monastery of Vallombrosa, founded in 1038. It is a magical tribute to the power of spirit to move mankind. After many changes over the centuries, the current form remains to this day […]
workaway in France? A few months ago, we came across a program called “Workaway.” It’s an online organization that allows people who need help to find those people who want to help. Or conversely, people who want to help, can find someone with an engaging project. The idea is simple. If you want to spend […]
Today we begin the process of writing, blogging and filming! Here we go on this wild adventure of writing our book (working title: Under the Tuscan Thumb—10 years of trying to live in Italy as true Italians). As usual, one of us begins a story then the other rewrites it any way they think might […]
