Raggio's activity

Questions Asked

At last, something is moving other than Berlusconi's "jewels"! Or not... see www.

Tue, 02/15/2011 - 07:27

In reply to your request for "more cross-cultural musings", Annec, here is another of my Dad's inventions.

Fri, 05/28/2010 - 05:10

Comments posted

Thu, 02/11/2010 - 06:02

A Short Neurological Test1- Find the C below.. Please do not use any cursor help.OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO2- If you already found the C, now find the 6 below.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999996999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999993 - Now find the N below. It's a little more difficult.MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMThis is NOT a joke. If you were able to pass these 3 tests, you can cancel your annual visit to your neurologist. Your brain is great and you're far from having a close relationship with Alzheimer.SENIOR CITIZENSARE THE NATION'S LEADING CARRIERS OF AIDS!HEARING AIDSBAND AIDSROLL AIDSWALKING AIDSMEDICAL AIDSGOVERNMENT AIDSMOST OF ALL,MONETARY AID TO THEIR KIDS!Give me the grace to see a joke,To get some humour out of life,And pass it on to other folk.

Wed, 02/10/2010 - 07:07

Sorry, I meant CLEARING the land!

Wed, 02/10/2010 - 07:04

We have a lot of land surrounding my house in Umbria. There was no way we could cultivate it so, after asking around, found a family who was more than happy to add it to their collection of plots which they cultivate in various parts of the locality. We went to the Confagricoltori office in Todi, I became a coltivatrice diretta for a day and they drew up a regular contract between myself and my prospective tenants. This is a 5-year contract, renewable if we want, which protects us from our tenants or their heirs claiming the land is theirs, and the tenants from us asking for the land back after they have done the back-breaking work of claiming the land. This seemed to be their major concern! They pay us an annual rent which the Confagricoltori deemed reasonable and which pays for a pizza for 6 at the local pizzeria once a year. In fact, it is not the rent which is of interest to us but the clean land surrounding the house. The year before we did this, the land was a waste land and we were overrun with snakes and I HATE snakes. We haven’t had a snake in three years. Actually, we get more than the nominal rent because, every time we turn up, the daughter of the house appears as if by magic laden with goodies – at Christmas it was a leg of lamb, 15 eggs and some vegetables!

Answer to: Pet Insurance
Fri, 01/15/2010 - 05:38

 We drive down to Italy (Umbria)  from Belgium twice a year with our now seven year-old Border Collie. The journey takes two days and we stop every 2 to 3 hours to give him a quick breath of fresh air, a run and time to do what he wants/needs to do. (A bit like travelling with children!). He has always travelled well and we never even thought he might need sedating! Thank God he didn't, otherwise our first journey down 5 years ago would have been a nightmare.

Answer to: Hoya plants
Mon, 01/11/2010 - 05:23

My mother (who lives in Rome) has had a hoya plant on her veranda for about 28 years. It now covers the whole of one wall and, when in flower, exudes the most fantastic honey smell. She gave me a cutting when I got married 24 years ago and moved to Belgium. I just plonked it in a plant pot filled with quite ordinary potting soil and away it went. However, here in Belgium, I keep it indoors and it has been flourishing since Day One and is in constant flower from May to September. I had a cleaning lady here who spent a month’s holiday visiting relatives in the Ukraine and she reported that they had an enormous hoya plant on their  veranda. All of which leads me to believe that, given the right circumstances, a hoya will do well anywhere so long as it is not too exposed to the elements! One VERY IMPORTANT thing to remember is not to break off the stalks on which the flowers flower. This is where they will flower again.

Answer to: Hotel in Milan?
Wed, 11/04/2009 - 07:43

http://www.hotelpalazzostelline.it/it/location.htmThis hotel is within walking distance (10 minutes max) from Cadorna station (where the Malpensa Express Airport train comes in). It is pleasant, less than 100 euros a night and right next door to Santa Maria delle Grazie where Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper is kept. If you do decide to go and see the painting remember to book in advance (you can do so online) because it has become almost impossible to just pop in.Annamaria

Tue, 10/13/2009 - 04:43

I don’t fly with Ryanair and don’t intend ever to do so, a little comfort is what I look for in air travel and they don’t provide it! What worries me in some of the messages posted here is the fact that people have bought houses in places Ryanair fly to and to which they wouldn’t have otherwise gone. Ryanair is not there to serve the flying customer, it is there to make money. If the routes they choose become financially unviable they will move – witness their departure from Charleroi (B) and Malmo (S) airports. If you base your house searches solely on Ryanair destinations, there will undoubtedly come a time when your trips are going to be wildly expensive because they will have moved on to pastures new and other airlines, cheap or not, will not necessarily get you there in one short hop. I did watch the Panorama programme last night and felt that, wittingly or not, the BBC gave O’Leary a good half-hour of publicity for free! 

Thu, 10/01/2009 - 05:53

 I don’t know if this is the recipe you mean but it is the one my Roman mother prepares and is a family recipe. As you can see, it contains no vinegar: Take four different coloured sweet peppers and roast them at 200°C  until the skin has started to blacken and come away from the flesh (usually about 30 to 40 minutes, but keep an eye on them!). Leave them to cool a little – some people put them in plastic bags or paper bags to allow the steam to loosen the skin but I don’t find this is necessary. Once peeled and de-seeded, cut into strips and season with salt, chopped garlic (according to taste) and chopped basil. Leave to get completely cool and serve. You can keep them in the fridge but remove about 15 minutes before serving since it better served at room temperature. Annamaria

Answer to: "Tevera Nera"
Tue, 09/08/2009 - 07:27

Don't get me started on this one! According to my commercialista it is just a set up to pay the Committee a per diem when they sit in meetings. In theory, the tax is to keep the valley, where the Tiber and the Nera rivers meet, clean and organised (???...). I have a house in Perugia province and have been billed from time to time (there was a hiatus from 2005 to 2008 while they explored the legality of the tax) - the tax is about €10 for my 22,000 sq. m. of land and the fixed "administration costs" are about €10. You can see why my commercialista is sceptical. Last year they even tried to make us pay double by billing both my husband and myself separately for the same land. We sent a registered letter telling them to go hang - we only paid the one bill with a clear statement on the pay-in slip that this covered both bills. We didn't get a reply BUT in August we got a single bill in both our names! It's not the money - €20 is peanuts compared to our imaginative electricity bills - IT IS THE PRINCIPLE.

Wed, 06/24/2009 - 04:12

Could it be what the Italians call a faina? It is a stone marten and is common in central Europe and Italy. It eats hens and other domestic animals if it gets half a chance. My sister's hens are a favourite prey...