This is Our Story

This is the story of how two fifty-somethings retired, sold our home, put all our belongings in storage, applied for and were granted the proper Visa and went to live in Italy.

We’re not rich. We did it on a firefighter’s pension. We lived cheaply and simply. We didn’t buy and restore a great old villa in the hills of Tuscany. We rented furnished apartments in four different regions. We weren’t fluent in Italian but we studied hard and were able to communicate and make friends.

We weren’t just lucky. We worked hard to make it happen. We had a dream and we pursued it. This is our story. Complete with our photographs and watercolors of the places we lived and visited and the things we did and how we did it.

To jump into the stories, click on one of the archives to the right side of this page. You are welcome to start at the beginning and work your way through or pick a date and see where we were!

Here’s a brief index to help you navigate a bit:

January 2005: Planning and Dreaming
March to April 2005: Our “Farewell Tour of America”
April to December 2005: Perugia, Umbria, Tuscany and central Italy
December 2005 to June 2006: Marina di Ragusa and the island of Sicily
June to November 2006: Verona and northern Italy
November 2006 to April 2007: Vietri sul Mare, Amalfi Coast & the south

Our Travel Art is for Sale

We do hope you will take the time to visit our website, but in the meantime, to view some of the watercolors, on this blog, search "watercolors" on the top left corner of this page and scroll. As with the paintings, Bob's photos are sprinkled throughout the pages of this blog, or search "images".

Below are some examples of our “Live Cheap & Make Art“ travel art - the watercolors, photographs & prints from our adventures. Most of the images posted throughout this blog are available for purchase - Bob's photos and my watercolors – either as originals or as archival, limited edition Giclée prints in different sizes. Some paintings have already been sold! Send us your email address in a comment if you have questions on how to buy anything you see here. We will also be taking part in art shows and festivals in coastal Delaware this year and hope to expand that in the future. For a list of upcoming events, visit our website Live Cheap and Make Art Studios. As with our dream of living in Italy, we are putting one foot in front of the other & going where they lead. Thanks for coming along!

Rosemary's Watercolors & Giclée Prints

Ristorante Fontanella di Porta Sole, Via delle Prome, Perugia


Via Carmelo, Acate, Sicily


Bob's Digital Photographic Prints

Little Saint, Good Friday, Enna, Sicily


The Screamer, Scicli, Sicily



Thanks for visiting!

Rosemary & Bob Connelly
Milford, Delaware
June 2007 (updated February 2008)

If you'd like to read about our life and travels in America visit our new blog at: www.livecheapmakeartUSA.blogspot.com