To cheer ourselves up, Jonathan and I have been looking at places available to rent in Pietrasanta. It is too early to rent any of them yet, of course, but it helps us keep our spirits up.

The place I fell in love with yesterday is not quite in our price range, but is so close to it that we considered it. We are still considering it. And by "we," I mean mostly "me."

This is the Google translation of the description of it: 

"Cozy rustic with exposed stones totally immersed in nature, furnished with love obviously recalling the countryside with antique wooden furniture. The steps are made of stone, the terracotta floor and the ceilings have beautiful wooden beams, there are three fireplaces, one in the living room for your romantic evenings, one in the kitchen and one in the tavern for dinners. In the tavern, in addition to the fireplace, there is a large solid wood table and a sink carved into the stone, the kitchen also has the typical rustic furniture but equipped with modern appliances. Upstairs there are two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Here you can get rid of city stress and at the same time in ten minutes by car you are in the center of the delightful town of Pietrasanta. You have access to the garden and the wood (about 5000 sqm) all cared for by a trusted gardener."

The fireplaces for our romantic evenings pale in their allure only against the idea of having a trusted gardener. It's the plot of a movie: the lonely, widowed American woman impulsively moves into a rustic farmhouse in Italy. The trusted gardener is there... Perhaps it is the "widowed" part of that scenario that makes Jonathan less enthusiastic about the rustic farmhouse than he was about the rather gorgeous one-bedroom right in the heart of the historic district. I see his point, but still. It is a view worth dying for:

(Also, I am assuming that the duck is included.)