Introducing Agenzia San Grato – Pila’s No. 1 estate agent We are delighted that Agenzia San Grato has kindly agreed to help us with our Goodlife Property project. Agenzia San Grato is THE estate agent for the lovely little Aosta Valley ski resort of Pila. They are the only agent with a shop in the […]
Lake Como – perfect for a romantic weekend A few weeks ago we posted an article about stunning and glamorous Lake Como. So easy to get to from Milan and a wonderful place for a romantic weekend. The Grand Hotel Tremezzo – Spring offer The Grand Hotel Tremezzo is one of Como’s most beautiful, sophisticated […]
An interview with Tom Durham – skier, mountain biker and entrepreneur, who lives with his wife Lorna and daughter Sadie in the lovely village of Gressan in the Aosta Valley Tom, thanks so much for agreeing to share your story with us. What brought you guys from Scotland out here to the Aosta Valley There […]
Goodlife Property up and running as of today Goodlife Italy is excited today to present our first Italian property investment opportunity. Hopefully the first of many more to come! This one is a large, characterful and traditional house in the village of Mombaruzzo, in the beautiful wine hills of Piemonte. A manageable renovation project. Habitable […]
An interview with Richard Noble who together with his wife Allegra, owns and runs a beautiful guesthouse in the Langhe area of Piemonte called Villa Ribota. Richard, thanks so much for agreeing to share your story with us. What drove you to move to Italy and buy a guest house? It was 2012 and […]
It was the best euro 2,000 I ever spent and the wisest decision I ever made when I bought our burgundy red, 10 KW Ravelli wood pellet stufa back in 2014, when we moved into our apartment in Gressan. Sitting there reassuringly in the corner of the living room, next to the tele. He […]
The other day Anita and I, together with our friends and neighbours Tom and Lorna, hiked all the way from our homes in Gressan up to Pila. It took us 3 hours 45 minutes and Tom’s gadget recons we did 20,000 steps. Our ‘frazione’ where we started is about 600m above sea level. The arrival […]
About Us Anita and I have been living in the Aosta Valley region of northern Italy with our two boys, Olly and Marty, since 2014. We live in a nice little apartment in the village of Gressan, in the foothills of the mountains on the road between Aosta town and Pila ski resort. Anita is […]
Grand Hotel Tremezzo, a 5 star paradise on Lake Como I now know that there are some destinations in the World where really the only way to experience them properly is as a big spender and from the lap of luxury. And Lake Como is one of them. We have visited Lake Como on various […]
Discovering new winter sports in the Italian Alps, Aosta Valley The recent announcement that the Italian ski resorts are now going to remain closed for the rest of the 2020/21 season due to Covid is obviously a big blow. For us as a family that lives in the Italian Alps and who love skiing obviously, […]
What is it like sending your kids to local school in France and Italy – part 2 Our move from Northern France to Italy in 2014 was mainly driven by Anita’s job as export manager for AD Fashion, a family owned clothing producing company based in Torino. She had been working for them remotely for […]
Sending your kids to local school in France and Italy – part 1 We moved to the Aosta Valley in Italy with our two boys, Olly who was then aged 11 and Marty aged 18 months in September 2014 from a small village in the Pas de Calais, France called Inxent. Inxent is located 10 […]
Thanks to Richard Noble, owner and manager of Villa Ribota guesthouse in the Langhe for this topical guest blog…. Undeniably a good question, especially when you consider all the political manoeuvring that’s going on… but I want to focus on the dreaded Coronavirus for now. At the beginning of the pandemic, almost a year ago […]
The job of a school group ski instructor… In the winter of 2018/19 I did the BASI level 1&2 ski instructor course with Interski in Pila, Aosta Valley. Having somehow or another managed to pass the course I have so far done 4 week’s paid work with Interski as an instructor, looking after school groups […]
Although it’s not yet official, everyone we speak to locally seems resigned to the fact that the Italian ski resorts might now remain closed for the rest of the season. As is the case all over Europe at the moment, the rules in the Aosta Valley and in the rest of Italy are changing almost […]
It was the best euro 2,000 I ever spent and the wisest decision I ever made when I bought our burgundy red, 10 KW Ravelli wood pellet stufa back in 2014, when we moved into our apartment in Gressan. Sitting there reassuringly in the corner of the living room, next to the tele. He […]