Calamari

Scarlett
Of course your Yankee is more than welcome as well.

WillTravel

I have to say I don't see anything particular restful, glamorous, or peaceful about getting up at the crack of dawn to prepare breakfast for picky guests, scrubbing down numerous toilets, dealing with would-be guests who act unreasonably or who just simply misunderstand, and remaining cheerful and customer-service-oriented throughout. But - I guess some people do enjoy providing that type of service, which is great for us when we come as guests (hopefully tidy and well-behaved ones).

KayF

Kate, I saw a reference just yesterday on www.ricksteves.com on the Graffiti Board section about a hostel/B&B in Rome run by an American couple. It was called Beehive, can't remember the URL.
Might be worth emailing them for their thoughts?
Kay

Mischka

Hi Wyoming,
I just started reading the Francis Mayes book, Under The Tuscan Sky, sounds like hard work to me, but could make a nice change.

RLA

Calamari- I hope you are able to keep some of that ancestral property in your family for years to come. An ancestral home in my DH's bloodline dates back 150 years (I know, nothing for Europe, but this is in America). It has been restored and made into a B&B. There is even a fenced cemetary and historical marker with his family name and their significance at the site. (His ancestor was among the "Old Three Hundred" who were the first 300 families to settle in Texas.) I am more fascinated than anyone in his family and it's not even my family. I try to procure an interest in my kids since it is theirs. I'm sure you will do the same.

I love those foreign accents. I suppose your DH still carries his. We have friends of whom she is American, he from Argentina. I always tell him to just keep talking because I never tire of hearing his accent.

You were brave to launch into such a big enterprise just out of college. My goodness! So sorry about your partner absconding with your money. On top of that, with an attorney. Had she left you any money, surely it would have all been lost in no time fighting an attorney. We lost thousand in legal fees just fending off jealous competition who felt threatened by us and who banked on financially outlasting us to get rid of us. We just hung in there, kept our moral compass pointed in the right direction, and prevailed. I hope you were able to not hold a grudge - as hard as it is. Someone once said that would be like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. We chose to follow that philosophy, thank goodness.

Thanks for telling me about the different jobs people hold in Italy. I love hearing about what people do for a living. I was raised deep in the heart of Texas where most everyone was in an oil, oilfield, or oilfield related business! When I moved to a major TX city, I am still fascinated by all the uniquely different careers and jobs people hold. Sounds like you met some interesting people there.

Happy Travels!

Kate

wow guys, I thought this post was lost, but thank you for all your comments (good and bad).

I can fully understand why it doesn't appeal to everyone - thank god for that - I want you lot as guests, not competition!

siena-us - yes I have been watching that programme on Channel 4 (sorry to everyone else) about the English couple setting up a B&B in Tuscany and I find myself screaming at the TV because they're SO USELESS at it. If they can survive, anyone can survive.

And Capo, I have many friends who have offered their services as chamber maids, but there's always room for one more

capo

Kate, a domestica dell'alloggiamento? I was thinking more along the lines of an in-house minstrel.

Kate

Capo, if you can mix a good cocktail, I may be able to fit you in.

I regard the mark of a perfect host is to offer our guests a good stiff pink gin on arrival (complimentary, naturally)