I started researching real estate in Ontario to get a sense of the market and came across this beautiful house described as Victorian Italianate. I fell in love with it. It was located in the small historic town of St Marys, near Stratford. It would take at least a year to tie up loose ends, sell the condo and leave, so I had no real hopes about this house. Two years passed before we finally were ready to purchase a home. During that time, as might be expected, the beautiful Victorian disappeared from the market. However, several other houses in St Marys had caught my attention strongly enough to justify a visit to the town. Driving in we were greeted by small bridges, a winding river, gentle hills, and century old stone and brick homes. We new almost immediately that this was the town for us. We called a real estate agent to view some homes and to our astonishment, we were told that the beautiful Victorian I had seen two years ago had not been sold. Walking in was like meeting an admired celebrity in person. The house was in surprisingly good shape, only cosmetic work was needed. Needless to say, we are now proud owners of the dusty Victorian. I believe that a little luck, good timing and some divine intervention was at play here. If it's meant to be, it will happen.