Hi everyone,
I´am new on this forum. I´am Natasja an Interior designer from Holland living in the smallest municipality of Italy `Olmo Gentile`.

Four years ago we where in Piemonte Italy for a holiday and driving through the beautiful scenery we found the remains of an old Borgo and instantly fell in love. Since then we sold everything in Holland and moved to Italy, the last three years we´ve been renovating the property piece by piece creating a special B&B which we are going to open this year. And in our spare time we´ve been exploring this special region and making it our home. Now that the first part is almost finished I would love to contribute on this forum helping people with any questions about Italy and Piemonte.

....and she's my friend.
....and she's mother to Max's brother and sister
....and she can do EVERYTHING. When she says they have been renovating, she means THEY have been renovating. They do it all...from plumbing to electrical wiring to in-floor heating to painting to plastering (sigh).
...and WE almost bought the property they bought before they bought that one and we bought this one.
... and we are very friendly competitors!!! Well, colleagues. Some days we help each other survive on our respective hills when we've been lifting stones or exhausting ourselves too much. We talk sense into eachother some times.
... and her place is beyond beautiful.
Welcome, Natasja, dear.

Hello Natasja,

A friend of Diana's is a friend of mine! Welcome. What is it with Piedmont that attracts such enterprising people? And you did so much of it by yourselves. Congratulations.

Do you send "smoke signals"to each other from your respective hills? How far away are you from each other?

Now I have another reason to finally get up to Piedmont - to meet you also.

Good luck with your new B&B.

Mary

Welcome Natasja,

Any relative of Max's family is a friend of mine too!. We were lucky to experience the wonders of Piemonte two years ago at Diana and Micha's. We are returning in September for more of the magic. Your place looks lovely so far! I also wish you a warm Slow Travel welcome and much satisfaction and success with Borgo Vallone!

We are about 40 minutes by car away from each other, unless Natasja is driving in which case we are 25 minutes away from each other.

Olmo Gentile is in the higher foothills between Acqui Terme and Alba, near to Roccaverano.

Smoke signals would be a very good idea. We will have to get Ed, Natasja's husband, working on a massive bonfire immediately.

Hi Diana, mary and Palma (and ofcourse everyone else)

We live just 25 km from each other and luckily I´am finally connected to the modern world by a telephone line but before we indeed used smoke signals from the towers of the surrounding villages like they used to in old times
(and Diana, I know you´re living in de country for a long time but maybe it helps when you take the car instead of the tractor thats really much quicker)


Piemonte is indeed a region with a lot of enterprising and creative people. I fell for it because its so diverse.I love a million different things, and Piemonte offers even so many .
for example: I can go back in time in one of the small villages, or enjoy modern times in a big city.
Walk through the forest and enjoy the silence of nature, or explore the vineyards created by men. The food is fantastic, Piemonte is covered with history, we can go skiing, shopping, enjoy the close by ocean and so on.
And its still pure, the people are so friendly and really interested and helpful.

quote:

(and Diana, I know you´re living in de country for a long time but maybe it helps when you take the car instead of the tractor thats really much quicker)

beats the donkey I was riding before I met you.

sure, but that one was better for your garden.

Hello and welcome!!!!

Hi everyone,
just want to share something, this because Diana did introduce our Labrador Diva to the forum. Our property is in the white truffel area (and the black truffle)and we are so proud "our Diva just found a huge huge white Truffle!!"

Hi Natasja,
Thanks for sharing this exciting, "highly scented" news. How wonderful! How are things going with your fast approaching opening? Are you working on getting those smoke signals going with Diana?

We are busily preparing for the early Easter opening. Lots of good wishes...and congratulations to Diva!
Mary

Welcome Natasja

We are very excited to be visiting Italy in June, and will be staying with Diana - so who knows maybe we get to meet you - well done for making the life changing decision we all wish we had the stength to do.............

Hi everyone,

We had a delicious diner yesterday with our guest from holland who arrived just in time for a wonderful self made pasta topped with our very special with truffel

In fact Diana and I now send dust signals which are rising because we're both working like crazy to finish up.
We are now in the fase of furnishing and decorating the rooms, and will finish the facade of the main guest house the coming two weeks so I'am really excited about this.

Calzan, want to wish you a wonderful time here in Piedmont, I love June its a really beautiful period because of the wonderfull coloring of the landscape with al those beautiful fresh greens.
And ofcourse staying at Diana's will be notting less then fantastic.

Geez. All Max ever finds is rabbits that are way too fast for him. Buon appitito my friend.

Gee, Natasja, you mean you like buying furnishings and decorations? I never would have known....

(coughing on dust signals as I write)

Hello and Welcome Natasja.

We have met and known many from Holland and have loved each and every one. They have all been interesting, friendly and once a true conversation has been started friends for ever.

Good luck with your new home, business and life. I look forward to reading and talking with you, and hearing about your new life in Olmo Gentile.

Wendy (and Rob)
And what a good dog!!! Are the other two good at sniffing out the gold in the ground?

what a nice words about us Dutch, most of us are indeed really interested in everyone & everything and really easy going.

Its only our female dog who finds this gold of Piedmont. Although maybe my male dog also knows where they are but he will make sure they are finished before we see it. And I don't think there are truffels at Diana's place so Max can just keep on playing with his rabbits, like my dog is doing with the dears.

And we are indeed furnishing, hanging up the new curtains, testing our wonderful bath products, coloring the last walls, decorating and something I'am really looking forward to: painting the facade of the main guesthouse and installing the new shutters. And put water in our pool!!!! after looking at our pool all summer last year without water this will almost be the most exciting thing to do.

quote:

And I don't think there are truffels at Diana's place so Max can just keep on playing with his rabbits, like my dog is doing with the dears.

Oh yes there are, well at least over at Franco's, next door, last year we bought 30 grams of white from the truffle hunter, whose dog, by the way, is named Diana, which explains her talents.

I'am so Sorry Diana but you never told me about them.

In fact female dogs are the best for finding truffels because they are attracted by this special smell of the fresh truffels what for them smells like a wild animal in heat.
But it might also be just in the name so Diana so your always welcome to sniff arround at our place together with my Diva it just might be the perfect "trifulau" team.