9718 10 things to take when driving to Italy

Marmite, spices, bacon, sausages.....well thats just me :-)

Household linens, seriously, (and it does seem Pimms is not available if you need any of that!)

Yorkshire tea :spinny:

linens, yes, bamboo poles to use the linens to make temporary accommodation yes ... and a years supply of tiny loratadine tablets - the best antidote to mosquito bites on the planet. Don't buy them from Boots else you won't be able to afford to travel over; get them from a Numark chemist for something like a third of the price.

[quote=deborahandricky;90923]Marmite, spices, bacon, sausages.....well thats just me :-)[/quote]

We are a family of non meat eaters!!!

I was thinking of bed linen, towels, spade and fork.

[quote=Adrian Brown;90941]We are a family of non meat eaters!!!
.[/quote]

Now how was I supposed to know that .......:laughs::laughs::laughs:

descaling tablets for the kettle, coffee maker etc.

Ah spades... If you take an English, or the superior, long handled, Irish ditching spade to Italy, you will at least never have to insure it against theft. I've never yet used mine over there and neither have any of my Italian friends and collaborators. OTOH i've used my italian spade for shovelling, cutting, slicing, digging, lifting and shifting antique coppi and mattone, undoing screws ... and I reckon it would easily double up for getting the Pizza in and out of the oven.

Agree with Charles, linens, tea, ibuprophen (?) tablets and an English iron.Friends say Italian irons dont get hot enough so they have given up ironing all together, not a bad thing.Oh an an English toaster, Italian ones are very weird and take 10mins to achieve a pale brown colour,which is then inedible.
A.

Just one or two ideas...

*A electric kettle - you wont find [I]anything[/I] like it over here.
*Things like Deep Heat (cream and spray)
*Ibuprofen (as suggested by Angie and Robert) the equivalent (Moments) cost 'about' ten times as much over here. Plus any other analgesics...
*Eastern spices - if you like curries etc. and are not moving near to a large city.
*Your favourite brand of tea.
* OXO cubes... all flavours. (A [I]personal[/I] preference).

Baked Beans, there 1.95 a can here

And as you are driving down the E14 I would suggest a supply of valium to keep your nerves calm!!!

Contrary to previous posts by others, I would not bring
An electric kettle - it will blow your 3.3kW electric supply if anything else is switched on - use a kettle you plonk onto the stove
An English Toaster - use an Italian one - they take less power for obvious reasons [see above]
An English iron - same reason

I would take the following 10 things

English Crisps
Piccalilli
Marmite [for others - I hate it]
Canad Dry Ginger - for the whiskey [never found it in Italy]
English tea bags
A soggy white loaf
Gravy powder
Sour strip sweets
English chocolate
and
The wife [well someone has to do the cleaning, or so I'm told]

If you like toast then don't compromise, buy a Dualite toaster from Amazon where it's possibly cheapest. In future any spare parts are easy to obtain. Paracetomol Ibuprofen etc are all MUCH cheaper from UK (suggest Wilko's). Vosene shampoo cannot be found here but best advice is linens and towels, remembering Italian bed sizes (see old threads). Anything to do with computers. Oh and bras and knickers.............and books.

Ibuprofen here is also available in 600g and 400g tablets, for those that need them. Ask for "Brufen", as that is the usual name here for it.
Tea? the stuff you get at Esselunga tastes the same as PG Tips, or Typhoo and is not expensive.
The rest is personal likes/dislikes, really. If you come from NZ or Australia, you would want Tim Tams, no doubt.
Eastern Spices? I get mine at the many street markets during the summer - look for the French owned spice stalls in particular.
Deep Heat? Try "Lasonil". It is the same thing. Otherwise, Voltaren is good.
Electric kettles, etc - well, you will find the same ones in MediaWorld, Euronics, etc. as in the UK. Braun is Braun, Panasonic is still Panasonic and Hotpoint is (now) Italian after all.

[quote=Nardini;91001]Ibuprofen here is also available in 600g and 400g tablets, for those that need them. Ask for "Brufen", as that is the usual name here for it.
Tea? the stuff you get at Esselunga tastes the same as PG Tips, or Typhoo and is not expensive.
The rest is personal likes/dislikes, really. If you come from NZ or Australia, you would want Tim Tams, no doubt.
Eastern Spices? I get mine at the many street markets during the summer - look for the French owned spice stalls in particular.
Deep Heat? Try "Lasonil". It is the same thing. Otherwise, Voltaren is good.
Electric kettles, etc - well, you will find the same ones in MediaWorld, Euronics, etc. as in the UK. Braun is Braun, Panasonic is still Panasonic and Hotpoint is (now) Italian after all.[/quote]

Well there you go - all my problems solved by one post - well 'almost'. Thanks Nardini - the ibubrofen is useful to know about... I've only been using it for a couple of years and my pharmacist didn't mention that it was ok to take a 400g or 600g dose (I'm sure you meant 400[B]mg[/B] and 600[B]mg[/B] didn't you?). I was instructed never to exceed three 200mg doses daily... However, in fairness I was also avised that as the arthritis increases I could be listed for up to 800mg twice a day - so I live in hopes. You didn't mention the cost though as analgesics are [U]not[/U] available on prescription in Italy.

The tea - well if I had an Esselunga near me I could (I think) even get Twinings Assam tea. But I don't so I can't.

Same with the spices - yes they are easier to find in certain areas - I did point that out in my post. But where I live, and 'maybe' where others are hoping to live, there's little hope of finding such things. The street markets up here are (alas) now almost totally controlled by the chinese - but they DON'T sell spices - just clothes ant 'tat'!

With regard to the Deep Heat - yes maybe Voltaren and Lasonil are good, but they are non steroid anti-inflammatories and are different from Dep Heat which is useful for muscle strains etc.

The kettle - I guess it is so long since I first looked for one that I never bothered again - so now when my old 'Tefal' gives up the ghost I'll trot off to Euronics for a replacement.

TCP or is there an Italian equivalent.
For all those bites you get when watering the garden in the evening.
No problem at the moment with all the rain.
Stribs

I definitely second TCP - I have never found an equivalent in Italy.

And on the garden implement front, although you can buy for very little money an Italian shovel (wonderful for shifting sand and gravel once you get the hang of it, and much less tough on your back) it will not complete many garden tasks as well as an English shovel.

Have we not filled up your car top box yet!!

Whilst its not TCP I have bought a product called Amuchina "disinfettante " for cuts, 2.30e from local Coal supermarket which should fit the bill.Re kettles much better I think to use one on the hob, And if anyone has a good recipe for home made baked beans please will you share it.
A

You can buy good baked beans at Lidl- one in Porto Sant'Elpidio & they're only 43cents a can (or something like that!) but if you really want to make baked beans I can post a recipe on saturday when I get home

Thanks Helen, plse post recipe.
A

I have not been able to find caffiene free diet coke in Italy. Does anyone know if it is available. Have seen caffiene free full strength but not the diet variety.

Why bother moving if you have to take it all with you from the Home Land? Moving to Italy should be an adventure.
Ciao, Dan

This recipe is from Emeril Lagasse, enjoy!
4 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 pound navy beans, rinsed and picked over
1 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup Emeril's Kicked Up Bam BQ Barbecue Sauce, or your favorite barbecue sauce
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Creole mustard, or other whole-grain brown mustard
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon red hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 cups water
2 teaspoons salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
In a heavy ovenproof cast iron Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until rendered and crispy, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened and lightly caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans, coffee, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, mustard, molasses, hot sauce, and pepper and stir to combine well. Add the water and salt and increase heat to bring liquid to a boil. Cover the pot and place the pot in the oven and cook for 2 hours, undisturbed. Remove the pot from the oven, uncover and stir the beans. Recover the pot and continue to bake until the beans are tender, about 1 hour longer.

When the beans are tender, remove the cover and continue cooking, uncovered, until the cooking liquid has reduced to a thick, sauce-like consistency and beans are thick and flavorful, 1 to 1 1/4 hours longer. Remove from the oven and discard the thyme stems. Adjust seasoning, if necessary, and serve the beans either hot or warm.

[quote=daniel.wyckoff;91075]Why bother moving if you have to take it all with you from the Home Land? Moving to Italy should be an adventure.
Ciao, Dan[/quote]

Presumably linen is linen and if the quality and cost is better in the UK why not take them with you if you have room in the car!

Garden impliments - well I can't get on with the Italian straight-handled ones so I would advise a "ladies " fork and spade of good quality but nothing ridiculous. The "ladies" bit sounds a bit nancy but they are smaller than standard ones and in my opinion easier to use. As for the great baked bean saga - well the recipe sounds fabulous but a bit long-winded, no pun intended and the Lidl ones are pretty good and cheap.
I haven't seen weedol in Italy and if you use it (with care!) bring some.

[quote=elliven;91103]I haven't seen weedol in Italy and if you use it (with care!) bring some.[/quote]

Well, don't quote me on this, but I think Weedol is a granular form of Paraquat (aka Gramoxone?). Unfortunately, this incredibly useful gardening product is seriously toxic to mammalian life, and even more unfortunately it is the poison of choice for madmen who choose to distribute poisoned 'food' for foxes and (one hopes inadvertently) pet dogs...so it is vigorously banned in Italy. I have no idea how seriously it is controlled at border posts, but I wouldn't (myself) risk trying to import it.

"moved to italiauncovered.co.uk"

"moved to italiauncovered.co.uk"

Torchiarolan,
Don't get me wrong, I love my long handled irish spade enough to have taken it over as a priority, otherwise i wouldn't have mentioned it! The trouble is, at the moment it has to compete with a bobcat excavator for the kind of duties I'd anticipated for it! You need to choose Italian spades carefully and make sure that the blade is adequately tempered. Yes, a poor quality one will bend.
P.S. anything particular about the design of an Irish Mattock, or are you just commenting on robustness?

"moved to italiauncovered.co.uk"

Here are mine

1. HP Sauce
2. Bisto (if you have kids that don't like real gravy!)
3. Collins Pictionary - great for all those things you don't find in a dictonary
4. Shoes - very expensive over there compared to UK 9even the italian shoes)
5. GSM laptop - so if your phone is not sorted you can still contact the forum for help!
6. Temporary wardrobe until you find the furiture you want
7. Medical Insurance documents & Travel insurance
8. Cook books (such as Twelve, Made in Italy...)
9. Your favorite headache tablets for when you overdo the vino!
10. Brightluminous orange or yellow pants (Italians can wear these without being sniggered at), or tea bags!

Cafetieres are not easy to find in some areas, for the times when a teaspoon of expresso is just not enough.

Clearly taken for granted,yet how often people traveling abroad forget to take the driving licience car documents/insurance ect.
Brakdown covers also good at around 50 or 60 notes for a month.......

books books books including as big a dictionary Italian-English as you can afford. We only drive once a year (Summer hols) and do Ryanair the rest of the time so our list includes books (including cookery books, Italy mags to chop up and catagorize and reading material for the kids). Other than that, we stock up on paracetamol and anti/after bug stuff because we go through so much and going to the farmacia each time is a pain and we can't take it in hand luggage. Also I need a huge factor suncream (red hair, Scottish descent) and I cant get that easily in my local shops. Oh and I'm taking down some of those nets you can put over food (from Kleeneze catalogue) because I couldn't find any in Italy

This has been a fascinating thread and illustrates that it really does depend on where you are in Italy as to what you think you "must bring" to Italy. Here in Umbria, near Perugia the foreigners have now so influenced retailers, that you can get almost everything mentioned, (at a price). Beautifully made shoes can be bought at bargain outlets. Marmite and those traditional English foods, including cheddar cheese can be bought in Perugia at The WEE shop, how Italians translate that I know not! Cafetieres from Emmelunga etc etc. So I conclude that all you really need to bring is loads of money!

As you are coming to Marche, I have never found the following here:

Marmite
Yorkshire teabags
Bisto
Oxo cubes
High factor suntan lotion

Paracetamol or Ibuprofen are very expensive so I recommend you bring your own large stock!

I have also been told that a Calpol equivalent doesn't exist here (can't vouch for that - don't have kids).

As someone else mentioned, there are good reasons for not using UK domestic electrical items (toasters, kettles irons etc) - not enough power if you only have 3kw like most people.

You can get good linens from IKEA if you don't buy their cheapest range but I don't find towels very good here, unless they are the linen or waffle sort. Or else [url=http://www.thewhitecompany.com]The White Company, seller of luxury bed linen, bedding and quality home accessories[/url] deliver here for a very small extra charge. Fabulous linens!

As for books - thank God for Amazon who deliver very quickly but I do miss English magazines.

Please DON'T buy shoes!!!! Marche is the shoe capital of Italy, which must be the shoe capital of the world so not only are they cheap here, they are beautifully made.

If any of your family is larger than average, they will find clothes in larger sizes difficult to find. Otherwise clothes, IMHO, tend to fit into two categories: cheap and cheerful market stuff or gorgeous expensive designer stuff (but much cheaper than the UK for the equivalent).

I would say, just relax and you will find an equivalent for everything eventually. There is even a company called English Essentials based in Montefortino if you are really desparate for something from the UK.

[quote=Penny;91286]Please DON'T buy shoes!!!! Marche is the shoe capital of Italy, which must be the shoe capital of the world so not only are they cheap here, they are beautifully made.
.[/quote]
Blimey, in Lucca the shoes shops were trying to flog trainers (very nice ones though) for €200+. :wideeyed: That's why I suggested them!

Not sure if they were aimed at the tourist, but I really hope Lucca does not loose it's charm and end up as a tourist crammed supermarket for gimmicks and street sellers like Florence!

orange squash or any type of squash, Waspeeze, TCP.

We were in the same situation at Easter - also just bought in Marche - and amongst personal stuff we took linens, towels, toaster and kettle (lights dim every time we use it!), board games, DVDs and videos for the children. We also took china and cutlery, which we had planned to buy locally but couldn't find the quality for the price we wanted to pay.

Over the last 8 years the things we have found unavailable in Le Marche or only available at a price so bring them over from the UK are:

Basic medicines - aspirin, ibuprofen, Rennies etc ~ all readily available but hugely more expensive than in the UK. Calpol is available (Tachipirina) but may require a prescription.
Bayonet light bulbs
Eastern spices - can be found but not particularly near to us
Christmas bits and pieces - eg mincemeat, crackers, cards
Branston pickle, cheddar cheese, Bisto

Most other things can be tracked down either via mailorder (recommend play.com for books, DVDs etc as they do not charge p&p and are often cheaper than Amazon) or can be found in Lidl or IKEA.

There are probably other things but can't think of any offhand and can't claim to actually miss any thing!

Some other things we often stock up on -

Decent greetings cards, notelets and writing paper.
Horseradish sauce
Garden bulbs - can be bought in small bags but much more expensive

This is even more esoteric than horseradish sauce, (or patum peperium, aka Gentleman's Relish) which is equally delicious and unfindable in Italy....but my better half insists that Vylene interfacing needs to be imported. Apparently Italian iron on interfacing (for dressmaking) is a desperately substandard thing, and not a patch on Vylene.

I spot a business opportunity here. Hands up all those who want me to import Gentlemans Relish and Vylene. :smile:

I thought Italy was the birthplace of the Vylene... y'know, what with Stradivarius and all.

[quote=Marc;91563]I thought Italy was the birthplace of the Vylene... y'know, what with Stradivarius and all.[/quote]
Now that was funny. :laughs:

I'm trying to think of things nobody has mentioned yet - bleach (it seems to be soooo watery) and yes definately cadburys chocolate.

Peanut butter.

Maralyn, I'm told it's available in Lidl.

[quote=Maralyn;92430]Peanut butter.[/quote]

Look in the health food section - many supermarkets sell it there.