Extra Virgin - Annie Hawes

Annie Hawes and her sister Lucy, twentysomethings from London, go to the village Diano San Pietro in Liguria, situated in the hinterland of the Italian Riviera to graft roses over a period of ten weeks. They fall in love with a derelict two-room tool-shed high up in the hills which they can get for about 2000 pounds. "...no mortgage. The idea of a fixed home, a home anywhere, which I don't have to spend the rest of my life atoning for - even if it's a very long walk to Central Line - is irresistible." They buy it together with a neglected olive grove, make it habitable and have lived there on and off for over 15 years and don't intend to ever ...  Read the complete review

I picked up this book in a bookshop several years ago in paperback, and it's a book I find myself rereading every so often, so I thought I would share my thoughts on it. Extra Virgin is Annie Hawes story of her move with her sister to the region of Liguria in Italy, specifically to the tiny olive farming village of Diano San Pietro. Seduced over a campfire cooked dinner, the pair buy a crumbly old cottage in the hills for what amounts to small change in the housing market. This book tells of their exploits as they get the house to a habitable state and try to get to grips with local culture and tradition. I've always been a sucker for travel ...  Read the complete review

You wouldn't think that going for a gentle stroll in the Italian hills would lead to a moment of madness and corresponding change of lifestyle. But for author Annie Hawes and her sister Lucy that's exactly what happened. Their story is told in Annie's book "Extra Virgin: Among the Olive Groves of Liguria". The book is an ideal read for hot, lazy summer days, relaxing with a glass of wine by your side. It's similar in style to Joanne Harris' Chocolat or Blackberry Wine, or in travel books to Peter Mayle or Bill Bryson. It's ...  Read the complete review

Have you ever been on holiday somewhere that you truly did not want to leave? Most of us have at sometime or another- but then reality raises it's head and you sigh deeply and go home. This book is the true story of how two sisters in their twenties have that feeling, but they don't decide it would be a fantasy to stay, they realise it would be a very sensible move. After all, they would have no chance on the property ladder in England, but here, in the beautiful area of Italy called Liguria, high above the Mediterranean, they could purchase a property outright. Ok so it wouldn't be palatial, (for wouldn't be palatial read " it's a wreck"); but who ...  Read the complete review