We arrived in Guardialfiera two days ago, and this will be our home for the next two months.  Guardialfiera is a hilltop village in central Italy with a population of about 1,000 people.  A main street runs through the middle of the village with a couple of parallel streets on either side, some of which are pedestrian-only.  These streets are all interconnected with cross-streets and pedestrian ways.  The main street is so narrow that it is one-way and only has parking on one side.

To support the population, the village has a small grocery shop; a butcher shop with meat, poultry, and cheese; a flower shop; a “multi-purpose” shop with everything from groceries to toys to jewelry; a pharmacy; a bakery; a flower shop; a clothing store; and four bars/cafes.  In addition, there is a larger church at the top of the hill and a smaller church on the main street.  And of course, there is the town hall.  We’ve also seen the offices of a civil engineer, a lawyer, and an architectural products studio (selling windows, shutters, etc).  There are two restaurants a couple of kilometers outside of the village, and we plan to check those out, perhaps this weekend.  I’ll post some photos of the village in the next day or so.

We can find almost everything we need in the village, but we decided to make a grocery run to the nearest larger town to get some additional essentials.  This other town was also up in the mountains, and on this rainy day, it was literally in the clouds.  It took 40 minutes to get there, so I’m thankful that we can find most things in our village such as vegetables, fruit, bread, eggs, milk, cheese, meat, poultry, butter, wine, yogurt. 

Down in the valley is Largo di Guardialfiera (the lake).  This used to be just a river, but a dam was built in the 1970s to create the lake to provide a water supply for the surrounding towns and farmland.  We have a great view of the lake from our apartment.

The people here are very nice.  The village is small enough that people walk everywhere, and everyone says hello.  Several people have stopped to chat with us since we are a bit of a curiosity as outsiders.  Our car has French license plates, so people keep asking us if we are French.  Now that we’ve been here a couple of days, I think word has gotten around town that we are American. 

We are making a point of getting out and about so we can meet people and become integrated into the village.  We’re also trying to go to all of the little stores and bars so we can meet the shopkeepers, strike up conversations, and support local business.  Sure, it’s more convenient to make a coffee or tea at home, but it’s so much fun to the go the bar and get a proper cappuccino and a pastry for breakfast.  And then at the end of the day, you go back to the bar to get a beer or a small aperitivo/cocktail and chat with your friends before dinner.

Our apartment is on the main street right in the center of the village. We’re up on the second floor, so we get great daylight.  (The apartment below us is vacant.)  The bedroom balcony looks out over the  valley, the lake, and the hills beyond, and the living room balcony looks out on the main street. 

The apartment has a large room that is the kitchen/living room.

Here’s the bedroom.

Here’s the bathroom.  Thankfully, the bathroom has a washing machine so we can do laundry here.  (Italians don’t use dryers, so we have a clothesline on the balcony off of the bedroom.)

I couldn’t be happier with this place.  Chad is working remotely for the first few weeks, so his new “home office” is the dining table.  My home office is a comfy chair in the bedroom with a great view of the valley.  “You’re not working,” you say.  “Why do you need a home office?” you ask.  Who cares!  I can sit here all day, reading a book, crafting a travel blog post, studying Italian, or just staring at the scenery.

We will make an occasional run to the big grocery store in the nearby town, and we will take some day trips to see various parts of the Molise region.  However, we plan to spend most of our time in this little village, meeting people, practicing our Italian, eating and drinking delicious things, and living the slow life.  Here are some views throughout the day looking east towards the valley.

As we were taking our evening walk today, we stopped to look at a bulletin board that showcases local real estate listings.  Hmmm…