Gala Placidia's activity

 You can get an add published through this site: www.dogwelcome.itIt is better if you can get a photo.I do hope that Alfie will find a good home.

 Perhaps they could help: www.arquati.it/You may have to specify your area as somebody could have a better contact.

 I agree with the others, they would not expect you to bring anything; however, they will be delighted if you give them something homemade and different, preferably some sweets, or a cake, or homemade chocolates or confectionery. Something that never fails, a nice little basket full of chocolate truffles.

 A good source for books and DVDs in Italian is www.ibs.it/hme/hmelib.aspAnother tip, when watching a movie, try to use the Italian subtitles for deaf people. This also helps a lot with comprehension. My husband usually watches the film first with English subtitles and then he watches it a second time with the Italian ones and he reckons that it helps him a lot.He is currently reading the Italian Constitution in Italian!!!! He is a masochist!!!!

 Slow cooking is great for certain dishes and I own a couple of electric slow cookers or crock pots. Lamb cooked that way is superb. I usually marinate it with lemon juice, rosemary, olive oil and garlic. Then, I quickly brown it in a skillet to seal the juices and continue cooking it in the crockpot on low for some 12 hours, depending on the amount of meat. I use the marinade to baste it on a regular basis. And the "Lonza di Fico" must be an ideal complement to the sauce as lamb and figs go very well together. I also add some dried apricots to the lamb and it is superb. There is a great recipe called "Agnello sott' aceto" (Lamb in vinegar) which is delicious and it keeps for about a week in the fridge. Ideal for summer.You need:1/2 litre of water1/2 litre of white wine vinegar for boiling  An extra 1/2 litre of white vinegar (you may need more depending on the size of the glass container). Heat it in a separate saucepan and keep it hot.1 kg of lamb (shoulder is a good cut for this) cut into large cubessalt1 dried "peperoncino" or chile cut into pieces Put the water and the 1/2 litre of vinegar in a saucepan. Add the lamb. Allow to boil slowly until it is thoroughly cooked.Drain the lamb and put a layer in a glass container with a tight lid. Cover the meat with the hot vinegar. Add an extra layer of lamb, cover it with the hot vinegar. Repeat the operation as necessary. Add the salt and the "peperoncino". Cover with the lid and keep it in the fridge. It actually tastes better after 2-3 days. This recipe is a traditional one from Basilicata.

 My advice would be to start with some easy readers which will progressively lead you into more complex reading. There is an excellent "Easy Italian Reader" by Riccarda Saggese (McGraw-Hill) which I bought a year ago for my husband and he reckons that it is a great learning tool. It also contains exercises which you can complete and self-correct.  

 I found the thread I had in mind digging out from the old forum as it is very appropriate for this season. It deals with both the festivity of "Ferragosto" (15th of August, Assumption Day) and the "Vitello Tonnato" which is traditionally served during that festivity. Have a look:www.italymag.co.uk/forums/culture-entertainment/10197-ferragosto.htmlYou can buy the sauce in Italy and you will find it next to the Mayonnaise, but it is not half as good as the one that you can make at home...Careful with this dish if you are preparing the sauce at home. In hot weather, the egg can go off very quickly, so do not refrigerate left overs (if any).

 Very interesting recipes, Serge. The Italian Fish Soup is called "Burrida" and comes from Liguria. The name is really the Italianised "Bourride" which is served in the French Riviera and it is practically identical to the "Bouillabaise" from Marseille. On our way by car to Italy, we always overnight at Antibes and we go to a restaurant in the old part of town that serves it. But we have also tasted it in Liguria and it is excellent.The whole fish, oriental style with soy sauce, ginger, chillies and lemon grass (or chives and a bit of lemon juice) is another favourite with my family. We simply love fish and seafood.In Puglia, they prepare "Triglie al Cartoccio", which is the humble mullet, marinated for a couple of hours in the fridge with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, herbs and spices. Then, they put them on a sheet of alfoil, they sprinkle it with black olive pieces and bake it for 10 or 20 minutes, depending on size. Delicious!Last night, we prepared fresh anchovies, cleaned and boned, simply coated with flour and fried in olive oil. Absolutely delicious, although it is a bit messy to clean them. But this is the best time of the year for sardines and anchovies (the months without an "r", namely May, June, July and August) as they are abundant, cheap and at their best. I always believe in eating the fish of the season as it is a guarantee of freshness. As for the barbecued vegetables, they are delicious. The Catalonians have a similar dish called "Escalivada", where they bake the assorted vegetables in the oven with just a drizzle of olive oil. It is obviously a Mediterranean recipe. They also keep them in olive oil in the fridge and it is a great served with cold slices of roast beef.. I have also served them with "Vitello Tonnato", which is one of my husband's favourites. I will dig out that recipe.Happy cooking! 

As Serge says, selling a property when reaching old age and keeping the usufruct is quite common in France It is called "viager" and it is usually arranged by Notaries who oversee the transaction. There is a well known case where the buyer ended up paying double the real price of the home and this was because the original owner and beneficiary of the usufruct was Mme Jeanne Calment, who lived in Arles (French Provence) up to the ripe old age of 122 years and 164 months. When she reached the age of 90, and taking into account that both her daughter and grandson were already dead without descent, the notary offered her to buy the house to supplement her income. The notary was only 47 at the time. He continued to pay until he died (before Mme Calment) and his widow continued to honour the contract until the death of Mme Calment. She ended up paying far much more than would have been expected, but she said that she was happy to do it because her husband was a very honest professional.Concerning the choice of a country to retire to, it is necessary to do an extensive research to ascertain whether moving will be beneficial or at least whether the move is not going to cause unnecessary hardship. I think that the problem is that when we reach early retirement in our late 50's early 60's we still have a lot of life to live and we think that we are going to enjoy that for ever. It is a tendency to look at retirement life through rose-tinted glasses, but the reality may not be idyllic.This happens not only when we move overseas. Sometimes we decide to relocate within our own country and we tend to go to some resort or holiday place that we have visited in the past. Then, many people find out, the hard way, that there is a big difference between holidaying and living permantly in any place. Also, in doing so, many people cut their links with family and friends and you do need that contact as you grow older.There are many factors to be considered; however, the final decision is a very personal one. 

 It sounds and looks quite nice. www.bazaretrusco.it/turismo/sanvincenzo/italiano/