Hello!
Thanks for taking the time to visit our website and find out more about us.
We are Scott and Monika and we welcome you to VILLA TRAMONTALBA, our little piece of heaven in Tuscany.
In December 2022, after a few years of planning and many many years working and saving-up intensively, we moved to Italy to start a new exciting chapter of our lives in our favourite part of the world.
Like many, we often talked about living in a warmer country, changing the pace of life, moving away from the typical '9 to 5' routine . A place with wonderful weather, food, drink. A place with great travel opportunities left, right and centre. Somewhere rich in culture and with wonderful people all around us. In short, we want to live our best lives. But not just for us - also for our family, our friends and others. Life's too short and we are determined to create the best life possible for us and those around us, and being here in Tuscany is a key part of that.
We believe in living the dream, not just dreaming it. We believe actions speak louder than words and we didn't want to get to retirement age or beyond and still be dreaming of a better life. So we decided to create it now - and that's why we are here.
BLOG Update - June 2024 - THE INFINITY POOL IS READY
After all the hard work of the last months, we are delighted to announce that the infinity pool is well and truly finished and we must admit it is pretty darn spectacular.
It really has exceeded our own very high expectations.
The views, the water, the swimming, the cooling down on a sunny Tuscan day, the wow factor – it really has it all
As soon as it was completed, I found myself swimming every morning and evening, 50 laps a time, trying to get back to old fitness levels when I used to swim years ago. Whilst swimming, I was often taken aback by how unreal and yet very real it was / is to be swimming in our very own infinity pool in this little piece of Tuscan heaven. Monika has bought an inflatable chair and loves passing the hours doing Duolingo whilst floating around in the pool. In the first weeks it was hilarious as every courier delivery was accompanied by a request from the courier to have a look at the new pool and we heard plenty of praise for the amazing transformation we have made at the house and gardens. So rewarding to be having such a positive impact. Our guests are loving the pool too, which makes us so happy.
As well as the pool, we have put a lot of work into the garden area around the pool. Using mainly typical Tuscan plant species, and plenty of local herbs, we planted well over a thousand plants which will further transform the area in the next year or so. Given the weather-related delays to the pool we ended up planting later than we originally planned, which makes it difficult for all the plants to root before the summer heat. That said, most of them are quite hardy and seem to be doing well. Others may need replacing or regenerating in the autumn and winter. We know from the lavender which we planted in early 2023, which has already developed into huge bushes lining the driveway, that by next year the new garden will look spectacular too.
Check out the amazing infinity pool!
So why do we call it Villa Tramontalba?
Did you know?
The name of our villa celebrates our move to this wonderful part of the world.
TRAMONTALBA is a made-up name we created ourselves deriving from two Italian words. The first for Sunset (Tramonto) - celebrates the amazing sunsets we see here from the villa, and the second Sunrise (Alba) which signifies the new chapter we are starting here in our life here in Tuscany.
We invite you to Villa TRAMONTALBA to experience the sunset, the sunrise, and so much more, for yourself
BLOG UPDATE - Mar'24 - Pool Progress report
We are nearing the infinity pool completion now, and are fully on track to have it ready well in time for the rental season, so it’s nice to look back at the preparation and early stages of this major investment:
“What better way to take full advantage of the spectacular views at Villa Tramontalba than building an infinity pool?” we thought. And so we did. But it wasn’t always so simple.
We first started planning the pool even before the house had been signed for, so in late 2022. “Sure, it can be ready by the summer”. “It will probably only cost 30-50k”. Promises, promises.
15 months later, and with the actual spend multiple times higher than the original numbers being thrown around, we are now nearing completion of our dream pool. And it was 100% all worth it.
The core design elements have always been clear:
– spectacular infinity pool to allow us to take in the best of the panoramic view
– long enough pool to make swimming lengths enjoyable (we settled for 11.5m)
– close enough to the house to make it convenient for all and safe for watching the kids
– a lovely solarium area for chilling on sun loungers, in a hammock, or however we like, whatever the time of day. Pure relaxation.
As you can see from the picture blog from start to date, the pool really has taken shape in the last months and we are now approaching the final push.
Reinforced concrete has just been poured for the solarium / patio area. Pump station and water tank will be installed in the next days and then we are almost ready with the pool itself.
In fact the last stage before final completion is the fitting of the pool liner which needs warmer temperatures, so that will take place some time in April when it’s that bit warmer than now. So we are ready well in advance of that. So now, in the meantime, we are focusing on completing the patio / solarium area, laying the natural stone paving, gravel and starting the planting in the recreational areas. Add to that the fitting of a new outdoor shower, lighting and finishing touches, there is certainly still a lot do be done, but at our own pace.
We can’t wait to be able to set out the sun loungers and hammocks, pour ourselves a well-deserved glass of white (or red) and soak in a few hours of Tuscan sun at the side of our new pool. Heaven.
Fancy joining us? Of course you do . . .
BLOG UPDATE - OCT 2023 - OUR FIRST OLIVE HARVEST
A key appeal of moving into Villa Tramontalba was to change our lifestyle, live the Tuscan dream and also take the opportunity to become olive farmers – albeit on a relatively small scale. The idea of a producing and consuming our own olive oil is so exciting.
First things first we had to prune the olives, and get them back in shape for the future. Most had overgrown meaning they were too difficult to harvest (too tall), and as such too much energy is also spent by the tree to nourish excess branches and leaves rather than grow olives. A heavy prune was due . . . little did we know how much work this involved.
Luca, the local olive pruner (and Bill Clinton lookalike) set to work and did an amazing job at giving the olives the ‘vase-like’ shape they need. Apparently a bird should be able to freely fly through between the olive branches, meaning enough sunlight can hit all of the branches which have been left. That left me and Monika with a lot of cut branches to dispose of. We were advised to burn them (quickest and easiest option) but it seemed like such a waste of really useful ‘material’. So instead we bought a wood chipper and spent a good couple of weeks, long after Luca had left, collecting and chipping all of the olives branches which he had pruned. They made a wonderful mulch which we used on the garden borders and also at the base of the olive trees themselves as fertiliser for the year to come.
Pruning done, now we had to wait for the harvest
Having asked everyone and anyone when and if we need to spray the olives to protect them from any flies or other disease and always having been told ’no’, by August most of the local olive trees including our own had been struck by a fly attack (later some of the same people telling me not to spray were asking me why I didn’t). Anyway, we lost around 75% of the olives, but some trees were remarkably untouched. Always ones to look on the bright side, this was quite fortuitous for us as it left us with around 30 trees which we could harvest ourselves – not too big a job that would have been too daunting for the inexperienced. 150-180 would have been way too many for our first time.
And we did it. We bought an olive harvester (like a motorised pitch fork which knocks the olives off the branches), nets to catch the falling olives in and crates to transport them to the local olive oil press in. My brother, his wife and son flew over and we all spent a lovely day in the Tuscan sun harvesting olives, drinking wine and relaxing (it was actually a bit harder than it sounds here, but great memories none the less).
The next morning we took the olives to the press and that same evening had our very own olive oil at home. Never has olive oil tasted so good. Our first harvest was complete.
p.s. My brother and family have already booked to come over again next harvest to do the same again. Maybe you want to join us?
BLOG UPDATE - Aug 2023 - BIG CHANGES IN THE GARDEN
On taking over the keys to our new dream home, the previous owner gave me a friendly warning to be careful how many tasks I take on in the house and gardens as being such a big property they can be endless. And he was so right.
But one area where wanted to have immediate impact was the garden. We have 2.2 hectares of wonderful garden which includes 180 olive trees, orchard, parkland and dense woodland near the church.
Much of the garden, including the orchard and olive grove, had been neglected for years so we knew that lots of work was needed but that it would also be rewarding. Pixie was also keen to give a helping hand.
First things first: improve the driveway.
When we bought the house, the driveway to the house was relatively dark and the thick bushes which lined the driveway blocked the spectacular view into the Val di Cecina. They had to go. My Dad and his friend Brian – both in their 70s – got to work and did a fantastic job removing them. We then replaced them with beautiful cypress tress, inter-planted with lavender bushes, both of which are much more fitting with the Tuscan landscape and a much nicer welcome to Villa Tramontalba.
The cypresses have settled well and the lavender has grown from the tiniest of clumps into lovely bushes already.
What a difference it has made – I love looking to the left as I enter the driveway to the house, admiring the amazing view. Come and see for yourself!
Next: Building a vegetable patch.
We’ve always had a veg patch and love growing our own vegetable wherever possible. We were particularly excited about growing our own Italian tomatoes – and we weren’t to be disappointed. Never would we expect it to be so problem-free and that they would produce an abundance of amazingly tasty tomatoes, and that the growing season would be so long.
We also grew the usual veg – carrots, potatoes, radish etc and various herbs – but also experimented with growing aubergine (wow!), chilli peppers (hot hot hot!) and our favourite kind of miniature pumpkin (which the deer seemed to like eating too, so we won’t be let them hang down the fence next year!). We had no problems at all, everything thrived. Think we’ll be experimenting even more next year.
The raised vegetable beds which I built really do make it easier to manage the veg patch – but that didn’t stop the local wildlife eating their fair share of the veg, so I had to eventual fence everything in and try to stop the boar digging under the fence. I think this will be an endless battle. When we occasionally do see the boar they always give me a look as if to say ‘what do you think you are you doing in our garden?’ They are so right.
Finally, rejuvenate the orchard and making our own preserves. We are also trying to rejuvenate the old orchard, some of which is in great shape and some not. Heavy pruning, fertilising and even replacement of some of the fruit trees has started. We still managed to have a great harvest of cherries, plums, figs (wow! unbelievable). This fruit harvest, along with vegetables, has resulted in a wonderful supply of jams, chutneys, pasatas, all of which were a joy to make and experiment with. I even made a spicy plum vodka which went down well with guests – even the extra hot variety.
Next year will bring even more experiments and an even bigger harvest too, we hope.
Watch this space! Or even better, come and try for yourself!
BLOG UPDATE - Mar 2023 - Our First Months in Italy
Having taken the plunge and bought our dream home in Italy it was time to move in.
Having moved house several times over the years, we were used to packing and then unpacking all our possessions into our new home.
But this time was special. We weren’t moving to the next assignment, the next job. This change was for us. Our dream move.
We were filled with excitement and that definitely helped as we entered a world of the unknown, a world of wonderful Italian bureaucracy.
We quickly registered our residency in the local ‘comune’ and set up our state health care.
That was all relatively quick and painless. Our car, on the other hand, was much more problematic.
Transferring it to Italian plates took 8 months in the end due to various administrative errors – but we got there in the end.
One of the most important conscious decisions we made in the first weeks, which really helped us to adapt quickly, was to immerse ourselves into our new life.
We frequently visited the local restaurants and bars, sampling the wonderful food and drink, supporting local businesses, and also trying to be visible in our new community.
We also frequently visited the beach – a luxury we never had when we lived in Germany and Poland. Any excuse just to pop to the beach – Out shopping? Let’s hit the beach for an hour. Need petrol? Let’s fill up on the way to the beach. Being just 15-20 minutes away by car is amazing and something we both treasure and take full advantage of.
We also started taking Italian classes with Babbel – we have their app and also bought a year’s subscription to Babbel Live classes. The classes really are wonderful and helped us quickly learn survival Italian – so I mean we quickly mastered ordering pizza, pasta and wine 🙂
As for our dog – little Pixie absolutely loves it here in Italy.
We once moved to Germany, concerned about how our teenage daughters would adapt, not giving a second thought to the impact on our little four-legged friend.
Two to four weeks later she was behaving really badly and simply didn’t like it in the new apartment. She doesn’t speak German – maybe that’s it.
Anyway, now in Italy, she loves nothing more than sitting in the garden seemingly admiring the amazing view (she’s half blind, so who knows what’s she’s really doing) and couldn’t be happier
All in all, the first weeks and months have been great and we must say that a key determinant of that were the Italians and others we met here.
We’ve always loved how friendly and welcoming the Italians are, but they really have gone beyond anything we could have hoped for.
We have loved Italy for years and are now falling deeper in love with it every week and month.
Viva La Dolce Vita!
