casa del campanile's activity

Cannot help with anything UK oriented, however, have you checked out the lease/buy options from the French auto companies like Peugot (sp). I know they have six month deals so perhaps they have longer offers.Fred

I think you can access the old forum archives on the "search" function located in the upper left corner of the main community page. We are situated in a small farming community in the Lunigiana area which is north of Pisa and close to Aulla, La Spezia, etc. We grow wine grapes (also make and drink the wine) on the ruins of an old Malaspina castle. My avatar is a pix of the 11th century bell tower on the upper portion of our land which still peals every half hour.Fred

Seems to be standard practice;Had another “experience” with Hertz in Pisa. Returning a one day rental went through the scratch search routine and the “scrounger” found a “discrepancy” under the front of the car. We went into the office and scoured their computer pix of the car and found that the “discrepancy” was pre-existent, however not noted on their form. Returning to the US, spoke with a relative new-hire with Hertz who told me that “agents are paid minimum wage and are encouraged to earn bonuses by finding “discrepancies” on returned rentals. He actually said he felt uncomfortable with the training from his manager and personally felt it bordered on the unethical. Seems to be an unavoidable situation and the advice given previously about taking your own pix is probably the best defense.

Giovanni,welcome to the forum and good luck with your move to Italy. There is a wealth of info in the archives of the “old forum” on every subject including pet travel. If you search both forums (old and new) you might get all the info you need. There was a couple from Florida that moved over with ten cats several years ago and they posted some info on their experiences. You might be able to contact them. We live half-time in northern Tuscany (see that you are well south). Originally from Modesto with a number of relatives in Sacto.ciao,Fred

Thanks for your response. Basic concern is, having assisted a number of folks with their tax submissions, we have no way of learning the accuracy of our submissions until maybe several years down the road upon receipt of an underpayment of tax notice with the attendant penalties, fees, interest, whatever. Guess a visit to the Comune is necessary to ascertain the accuracy of our tax payments. In the States, should one file a tax return with an underpayment of tax, the IRS will be "on your doorstep" before the glue dries on your envelope; with an overpayment your grandchildren have a 5% (or less) chance of reimbursement.

With the new reinforcements to coop and stable, any future intruders will need shovels or explosives. Fortunately, since we give our chickens to a neighbor each fall when we return to the US, and buy new ones each spring, we still have fresh eggs daily, thanks to them. The only caveat has always been that they do not serve us chicken when we eat at their place.Fred

Not at all. The reference to Flame Warriors was in response to your posting about someone being "bullied," so thought you might like to have a look at that site to see the various types one might find on any forum.Fred

We live in the California desert near Palm Spring half-time and we have coyotes also, actually both types; four legged and, since we are not that far from the southern border, the two legged type, however we do not keep chickens there. We have a small "truck farm" (very small truck) raising veggies, fruit, chickens for the eggs, and wine grapes for home wine making, here in Tuscany. We realize that wildlife has to subsist also, however these faina do not kill for the meat, they just remove the head, drink a little and scat, leaving some of their own scat behind. In Texas, I know you have all sorts of varmits and critters, including blister bugs which infested the area of Texas where I spent a year at a Naval air base in the 50's.In response to your other posting, as non-EU citizens, we have to get an extended visa from an Italian consulate in the US to stay longer than 90 days. If you wish to become a resident you must demonstrate the ability to financially support yourself so as to not become a burden on the Italian social system and have sufficient health insurance for the same reason. EU citizens can establish residency in, I guess, in any other EU country by just registering with the local authorities. In my case, being married to someone who has an dual citizenship, US and EU, makes it easy for me to "tag along."If you access the search function on this website there is a wealth of information on this subject. There are also a few on the site that have gone through the process of gaining residency and might be able to offer advice.Being new to a forum, one might also check out http://www.flamewarriorsguide.com/ to see if one recognizes anyone including oneself.cheers and welcome to the forum.Fred    

Thanks for your response. We had previously pretty well fortified the coop and stable with link fencing, chicken wire, barbed wire, cement, etc. In this instance the marten had burrowed under the corner of the foundation of an adjacent shed at an angle and came out inside the coop. He/she must have an engineering backround to figure out the proper angle. After inspection, it was virtually the only place the animal could have penetrated the coop. We are now in the process of fortifying tha adjacent foundation and looking into electric fencing. Being a stubborn sort, I'm not going to be deprived of fresh eggs at breakfast by some nefarious varmit.Thanks again for the info.Fred

We are at 450 meters with cold, wet winters, maintain a small vineyard of wine grapes, and use Fragola Americana for screening and visual privacy. They grow quickly, have large leaves, and seem to be more disease resistant than other types.Fred