Gala Placidia's activity

Hi Guen and welcome. You are doing the right thing by trying to learn Italian first. There are plenty of immersion courses offered in Italy. Perhaps someone with experience will let you know.Best luck regarding your plans.

The current condition of what is left of the building suggests that the place has been abandoned and has possibly been for sale for a very long time. Try to find similar properties or even homes which have been restored or which are liveable and compare prices.

Hi Dominic  (or should I say Domenico) and welcome to the Community. Going back to your roots is a very difficult exercise but a worthwhile one. Keep on fighting for your dream, we all need them.Best luck regarding your future plans.

Toni, what you are experiencing now is just part of the process of learning. You have acquired the basics in a non-Italian speaking environment and that part of your learning is also necessary; however, you have reached the stage where "Immersion" is necessary and you can only do this in Italy or in a class where English is not allowed. One language is not a direct translation of another and if you have systematically been doing this, you are falling into your own trap. You need to reach the stage where just by understanding the meaning of a few words you are able to work out the general meaning of the sentence without translating it. It is a difficult stage to reach and this is where immersion works.It is true that people will tend to speak to you faster if they think that you have a good command of the language. As the others have told you, ask them to slow down and to repeat what they have said. Don´t worry, they will understand your predicament. And keep on practising your oral skills as much as you can. Reading and even writing are easier to acquire than expressing your thoughts or understanding what someone else is saying.

There is an identical recipe to prepare "Patxaran", a very popular liqueur in the Basque provinces of both Spain and France which is made with sloe too. The only difference is that instead of using gin as a base, they use anisette liqueur. It is served cold or at room temperature, as an "aperitivo", cold and with ice cubes or in a liqueur glass after coffee. A very interesting variation.

Grazie, Sprostoni. There are several versions of the same phrase and several authors have been quoted as stated by Alan h. Here is a good summary for those interested in it: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubi_panis_ibi_patriaAlthough it has been said that it may be a phrase that shows disloyalty towards your homeland, I interpret it differently. To me you call "home" the place where you live and where you feel well.

Hi and welcome to the Community. We look forward to hearing more from you and your experience in Puglia.

Great to hear! Obviously Council is getting very active.

Hi Will and welcome. Best wishes regarding the move.

I think that you are refering to a dish called "Papas arrugadas" (wrinkled potatoes) which is typical from the Canary Islands. Here is a good recipe although I would double the amount of salt:www.notesfromspain.com/2006/05/04/cuisine-from-spain-podcast-no-6-tenerife-and-patatas-con-mojo/This was the traditional way to preserve potatoes for fishermen and sailors. In the Canary Islands it was customary to keep the salted water and reuse it.