Italy
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Possible opening for July, early to mid August .... Tuscany
We are an eclectic British family who have been living in Tuscany for over 20 years. We have a huge property with a large house and grounds. We grow our own vegetables and fruit. We have a small vineyard and a large garden and pool. We have a dog and children.
We love to share!
Gardening
Building
Babysitting / child care
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Help in the house
Animal care
Language practice
Art project
Help with Computers / internet
Teaching
We are an English speaking family, (although my daughter and I are bilingual Italian).
We have a very healthy approach to food - as little of processed as we possibly can, and lots of local, seasonal produce. We totally embrace the local cuisine.
Our property and the surrounding area is literally packed with history. We would be delighted to share that with you over dinner and a glass of wine.
It has taken us a long time (and we are still learning!) about making produce from the land we live on, and we would love to share that knowledge with you. And Indeed learn from you if you have experience.
We often entertain, dinners, BBQs, whatever, and we would love you to join in.
Are you stuck in Italy in the these strangely weird times?
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Three generations live in this huge Tuscan property. Grandparents and myself plus daughter.
We have a large house, big garden with a large pool and about 30 olive trees, an orchard, vegetable gardens and a small vineyard (700 vines). There is always something that needs doing. Living in a property this size means that something somewhere needs some tender loving care!
We sometimes have people stay such as friends and relatives staying, so help with this might be on the agenda.
Our vineyard has over 700 vines that are only six years old and need some extra love! Harvest in September
We only have about 30 olive trees, but they still need taking care of. Harvest in November.
We have two small vegetable gardens that yield tons of amazing fresh veggies each year provided that they are cared for.
We have a young orchard with pear, apple, apricot, plum, fig, cob nut, walnut, persimmon and cherry trees.
We already have full-time help with the housework, but sometimes there are extra-jobs to do that need some focused attention, or help whilst our housekeeper is on holiday, or as happened recently, when she breaks her arm!
My bilingual daughter is ten and LOVES interaction with older people. So what we occasionally need is not so much babysitting as "hanging out and being cool". (Nail varnish experts and those able to apply temporary tattoos extra-welcome). She attends mainstream Italian school, so help with reading and writing in English is always good. She aspires to becoming a synchronised swimmer, so if you are able to do handstands in the pool, that would be amazing.
We have a very large (think small pony) rescue dog who is big and bouncy and excitable. We are in the process of training her not to leap into people's faces, so you definitely need to be an animal lover. She does not bite and is not aggressive, but very large and likes to lie on people! She is contained to only a small area of the house and the outside and will not invade your private space!
So in short, there are always lots of things to do and we can find the work best suited to each person's skill set. But definitely being an out-doors type and being prepared to get a little dirty would be good.
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
French: Beginner
In exchange for work we can provide: two double rooms (with own bathrooms) in the main house. both have independent access to the outside, so you don't have to come through our house to get in and out! Another double room with own bathroom is just on the other side of the road, in the vineyard! All of the rooms are dedicated "guest" rooms, so with lots of wardrobe space and empty drawers!
Food is on us if you are in the house! We make sure you have food for breakfast, and we are around for lunch and dinner (and if we are not we will make sure you don't go hungry!)
You can also run your clothes through the washing machine as you need to, and there is plenty of outside drying space.
We have wifi, which is adequate for survival but certainly not superfast (very thick Tuscan walls don't exactly help either).
We are located just outside (3km) the town of Pontassieve which has excellent trains connections to central Florence (20/25 mins depending on the train!)
We are definitely in the country! The walk from the station to the house is totally do-able. Sometimes we are able to give lifts, sometimes not.
We have a Mon-Fri routine which is pretty standard. We work, and we retire normally fairly early - between 9 and 10. Weekends can get a bit funky!
We are very definite NON-smokers (not inside or outside or anywhere!), but are big on food and wine!
Our house is within a small group of properties (another 4 families) and we are mindful of their needs too. (So we don't play music until 3am .....).
Just down the road is the best ice cream in the entire universe. so that is always a good thing to have nearby.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Two
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
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