The city of Lucca has always been my favourite. Not only because it is only 25 minutes away from our home and I go there at least two or three times a week, but also because you do not feel like a "tourist" there.
Gala Placidia's activity
Questions Asked
In this icy cold weather, hot drinks and comfort foods are a must. Preparing and consuming them are good ways to spend time when we cannot venture outdoors.
Wed, 02/08/2012 - 06:10
The cold weather is affecting most of Italy and creating difficulties concerning energy supplies. Russia, the most important supplier, has been reducing the provision of gas up to 30% due to increasing demand in their area.
Tue, 02/07/2012 - 02:22
The San Francisco Chronicle publishes today this most interesting article:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/
Sun, 02/05/2012 - 12:45
Whenever we are in Italy, we love to visit antique and vintage markets and fairs, looking for that special piece that we would love to have. Sometimes, we find it...
Wed, 02/01/2012 - 02:47
One of my favourite activities in Italy is to visit those markets that sell antique and vintage items.
Tue, 01/31/2012 - 06:38
Some members may have noticed that I have been fairly quiet for the past month and a half. The reason for this was that we have been visiting our daughters who live in San Francisco (CA).
Fri, 01/20/2012 - 02:59
The new Italian government has been announced and it is obvious that we will have a fight between technocrats and politicians.
Wed, 11/16/2011 - 14:24
A lot has been written about the dangers of overheating Teflon coated cookware. Toxic fumes can be extremely dangerous for our health. Personally, I have never liked that type of cookware and I do not buy it anymore.
Sat, 10/29/2011 - 06:24
In another thread, we were discussing Tuscan herbs and "funghi porcini". Tuscany is a paradise for herb lovers and many varieties, such as rosemary, sage and "nipitella" grow wild.
Thu, 10/27/2011 - 11:23
Comments posted
The re-introduction of ICI was to be expected. IMO, its abolition for "prima casa" was lunacy as it was an important (probably the most important one) source of revenue for local government. A wealth tax... seems to be a valid idea. What is another show of lunacy is to increase IVA as this will hurt pensioners and people on lower incomes. These people will have to further trim their expenditure and this is not good for the economy. Trimming government expenditure is going to be an absolute necessity; however, I am certain that both health and education are going to be the first ones to suffer... as usual.
A pleasure to be able to help and bring some smiles to a little boy. Don't even mention it, as I am very happy to do it.
MOT or "revisione" on the 4th year and from then on alternate years, as per EU norms. http://www.autoitalia.it/utilita/revisioni.asp
Perhaps, it is not a "tasso" or badger, but another member of the "mustelidi" http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/tag/mustelidi/ We have at least a couple of the "ermillini" (whistles) living under the arches of the mill on the river. We hardly see them, but I noticed two unidentified little animals who terrorised other animals whenever they appeared. A friend of us, who knows a lot about animals, identified them. In theory, it is not very common to see them in our area.... but they are there. I always leave out some food for them on the steps that go down up to the river and they certainly it that. Now, I do not know whether all "mustelidi" eat wasps... but we do not have any problems with them.
Well, perhaps your neighbours are wrong, as there seems to be quite a few badgers in Italy: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:8f96zhBGfp4J:www.italian-journal-of-mammalogy.it/article/download/4474/pdf+badger+italy&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShwua3kgzIJl2VAM41TZKyk2u_YTUCEmSJ2merqhcMx5CEyjzKSZy0qK0k3LDqNmtcBMxRLIXW0LqUCzr9Dov_tyh9qPHAuNC59l6T-7Q9JJY68LsJ9RvVAwJDwLrXibfeQu8va&sig=AHIEtbS-k0e_ydqKjUgtzDDcS5hu7G7_BQ and Italian badger beauty brushes are considered the best!
Thanks, Fillide, and I do agree with you in that what they mean is studded tyres. Having chains on board seems to be the best option.
Thanks Penny. It is a pity, as they are very easy to fit. We have only used them with the road totally covered in snow and we found them fantastic.
Thank you, Penny, very useful. Does anyone know which is the current situation regarding the snow socks or "calze da neve". I do not see any mention, they only refer to chains or snow tyres.
It is a pleasure to help, Joy. I will also add a few words to the cards to cheer up Jude's Mum. It will be very difficult for her and she needs all the help she can get.
Lillipet, I think that your house is subject to a "servitude" (same word in English and Italian) which does not mean that the telephone company owns any part of your home. Perhaps, one of our "legal eagles" could explain this better than I. I do not see why the telephone company could not be asked to make a better connection that will not cause any problems to you. Whether they are going to do it or not, is a differente matter, but they should.