PACIANO, Umbria, Italy–You look like a pretty international bunch. I’m not just saying that. I can tell. And I bet you’ve heard of “House Hunters International.” I know it is one of the many home and lifestyle shows we watch on HGTV when we are being Arm Chair Travelers.
Bob and Carolyn (seen here outside Aldo’s on a sunny day) just bought a house in Paciano and the House Hunters crew has been following them and documenting their big adventure every step of the way. They’ve been living in Germany for a few years, but on the show, the camera will initially find them at their home on the West Coast of the US “thinking about finding a place in Italy” and then they follow them to Umbria to go house hunting. The show hooks you by asking you to guess “which house did Bob and Carolyn pick?” Which they reveal “right after these words from our sponsors.”
We’ve been talking to the producers about doing this kind of thing for some time but their schedule and the brokers’ schedules never came together before. This time, the planets aligned properly and soon it will be Show Time. Well, not quite. These things take time. My guess is that it will be on in the spring. When we find out exactly when this episode of House Hunters International will air we will post a note here.
As you can see from the pictures, last week in Umbria was a busy time. The crew arrived and put everyone through their paces. Katia with her good English skills was hired on as a production assistant. Her job was to keep everything moving smoothly there on her home turf. She got a chance to “peek behind the curtain” for a few days and see what really goes on backstage. Ahhh, the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle we’ve all heard about. She said it was on your feet ten hours a day, every day, right through the weekend.
Giancarlo played played himself, during the shooting ie: broker and house guide. After hours, he played the host for the crew as they stayed at his nearby b&b, Podere Pescia, just outside Castiglione del Lago. They were there with him for nearly a week doing just this portion of the filming.
The director wrote me and said it all went great. In a few weeks’ time the crew comes back again and film the proud new owners At Home in Umbria. We’ll see if we can get some shots of that session when it happens.
More news as becomes available. Until then we will adjust our berets at a jaunty angle, toss a scarf dramatically over one shoulder and say . . .
See you in Italy,
Stew Vreeland