Does anyone know of an English speaking doctor and dentist in the Amandola area? We are jsut preparing information for guests renting our house and realised that it woudl be useful to put in contact details. The pharamcist at Monte San Martino s
The Good Food Channel (Sky 249, Virgin 260) are currently showing a new series where Gary Rhodes travels to nine regions of Italy (Lazio, Sicily, Campania, Tuscany, Le Marche, Emilia Romagna, Liguria, Piedmont and Veneto)
Think this is going to take some getting used to - probably much more functionality but at the moment there doesn't seem to be a structure - while structure can be restrincting (eg all the sniping on the forum about setting up new topics) it does
In England there is something called freecycle which is like ebay but for giving things away - we've used it to get rid off all sorts of things. Not sure if there is something like it in Italy
Thanks for the suggestions - hopefully no-one will need them. Think that the pharmacy option or A&E is the best and I guess with a dentist you cna point at where the filling / crown /whatever has come out or where it hurts.
Hi We had a load of furniture bought in the Uk (because of the exchange rate, becuase we knew of a place with great stuff at good prices in uk and because it fitted our taste more than the Italian stuff). We had the debate and settled on hiring a man with a van (recommended by furniture shop) - he loaded up at our house in Cheshire and set off, we flew and met him at our house in Monte San Martino - he showered and then set off back to UK. Can't remember how much it was but it was more than doing it ourselves. However we didn't have to spend a week driving there and back. Chris
Just noticed that on the Good Food Channel website there are 28 videos (albeit with adverts) of some of the recipes / demonstrations as well so those of you outside the Uk can hopefully get a taste of where he visited. (pun intended!). Chris
... then why not go on through Germany (taking in the Romantische Strasse) to Innsbruck and over through Trentino-Alto Adige - maybe down to Venice. I did a similar trip as a student in a tiny 1.3 car - didn't go farther south than Venice as we were going over to Barcelona as well. Other option is to do one way going and another coming back. If they aren't in any rush then they can have a nice drive and avoid tolls - take a week or so and see some of the sights on the way. All depends on their priorities - get to Italy quick or have a holiday en route? Chris
Hi Sandra Depending on how much stuff you have the cheapest way is to do it yourself - hire (or borrow) a van, fill it up and drive out there. Alternatively find a local man with van and see what he charges. We weren't moving permanently but were kitting out our home in Le Marche - a lot of furniture was bought in Italy but when the pound dived we bought quite a bit (3 wardrobes, 5 chests of drawers, 5 bedside tables baby equipment, garden furniture etc) in the Uk as we knew of a really good cost effective shop. All of the stuff like pictures, bedding, towels, cutlery, pans, vases etc were bought in the UK. We have done a trip down with 2 of us in a volvo estate bursting at the seams plus roof box, a trip down with just my husband, a trip down at Christmas with children so not much room for house stuff and a man with van hired to take wardrobes etc. Man with van was only practical solution to furniture and not incredibly more expensive than hiring a van ourselves (although he went through France which added to the cost due to the tolls). It really depends on how much stuff you have - I would have thought you could do small boxes in a man with van - we have friends with a place in th french alps and they do the man with van option as well. Chris
We too wanted to go down the reuse / recycle route but it turned out to be impractical - doors and window frames were not in good enough condition, the floor tiles were too thick to use with the underfloor heating and it would have been incredibly expensive to clean them for reuse, getting enough of the right materials wasn't practical and so on. We thought of getting reclaimes doors for the outbuilding by the pool but the cost was prohibitive. In the end we had reclaimed beams, we resued most of the floor tiles for paths outside, had new windows and doors made in traditional style and so on. We did manage to reuse part of the wooden cow stalls as mantles over the fireplaces and have exposed stone in all the upstaris rooms, exposed beams in all the rooms and so on. Best advice is to speak to your geometra and to look at the costs of the variosu options. Chris
As has been said by previous postings (but NOT teh one immediately above) the Swiss annual motorway ticket covers the period from beginning of December to end of January 14 months later so you only need to buy one ticket. Plus as has been said a year's ticket costs about the same as one way through the Mont Blanc tunnel. You can buy them on line http://rail.stc.co.uk/userdata_vignette.php?passid=5&frame=1&system=GB&a... for £27 or at motorway services. We have used the route through Switzerland a number of times (including last Christmas when it was fine) - more recently we have been going up to Luxembourg and Belgium which saves on French tolls, enables you to fill up with cheap fuel and is not much longer. Chris
Comments posted
In England there is something called freecycle which is like ebay but for giving things away - we've used it to get rid off all sorts of things. Not sure if there is something like it in Italy
Thanks for the suggestions - hopefully no-one will need them. Think that the pharmacy option or A&E is the best and I guess with a dentist you cna point at where the filling / crown /whatever has come out or where it hurts.
The Uk and Ireland opted out of Schengen visa arrangements and hence you need to show a passport when flying from other (Schengen) EU countries.
Hi We had a load of furniture bought in the Uk (because of the exchange rate, becuase we knew of a place with great stuff at good prices in uk and because it fitted our taste more than the Italian stuff). We had the debate and settled on hiring a man with a van (recommended by furniture shop) - he loaded up at our house in Cheshire and set off, we flew and met him at our house in Monte San Martino - he showered and then set off back to UK. Can't remember how much it was but it was more than doing it ourselves. However we didn't have to spend a week driving there and back. Chris
Just noticed that on the Good Food Channel website there are 28 videos (albeit with adverts) of some of the recipes / demonstrations as well so those of you outside the Uk can hopefully get a taste of where he visited. (pun intended!). Chris
... then why not go on through Germany (taking in the Romantische Strasse) to Innsbruck and over through Trentino-Alto Adige - maybe down to Venice. I did a similar trip as a student in a tiny 1.3 car - didn't go farther south than Venice as we were going over to Barcelona as well. Other option is to do one way going and another coming back. If they aren't in any rush then they can have a nice drive and avoid tolls - take a week or so and see some of the sights on the way. All depends on their priorities - get to Italy quick or have a holiday en route? Chris
Hi Robert Are you the Robert (from Brighton) from the old forum who we met last Christmas in Amandola. We have a walking guide to the Sibilini which has lots of walks of different abilities. Unfortunately it is the house in Monte San Martino and we are in England (first time for three years we haven't been away for New Year) I think it is this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Central-Apennines-Italy-Scrambles-Overseas/dp/18... There is also this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Italys-Sibillini-National-Park-Trekking/dp/18528... Someone on the old forum set up a walking business - I think it's this one http://www.sibillini-walks.com/ Best wishes Chris
Hi Sandra Depending on how much stuff you have the cheapest way is to do it yourself - hire (or borrow) a van, fill it up and drive out there. Alternatively find a local man with van and see what he charges. We weren't moving permanently but were kitting out our home in Le Marche - a lot of furniture was bought in Italy but when the pound dived we bought quite a bit (3 wardrobes, 5 chests of drawers, 5 bedside tables baby equipment, garden furniture etc) in the Uk as we knew of a really good cost effective shop. All of the stuff like pictures, bedding, towels, cutlery, pans, vases etc were bought in the UK. We have done a trip down with 2 of us in a volvo estate bursting at the seams plus roof box, a trip down with just my husband, a trip down at Christmas with children so not much room for house stuff and a man with van hired to take wardrobes etc. Man with van was only practical solution to furniture and not incredibly more expensive than hiring a van ourselves (although he went through France which added to the cost due to the tolls). It really depends on how much stuff you have - I would have thought you could do small boxes in a man with van - we have friends with a place in th french alps and they do the man with van option as well. Chris
We too wanted to go down the reuse / recycle route but it turned out to be impractical - doors and window frames were not in good enough condition, the floor tiles were too thick to use with the underfloor heating and it would have been incredibly expensive to clean them for reuse, getting enough of the right materials wasn't practical and so on. We thought of getting reclaimes doors for the outbuilding by the pool but the cost was prohibitive. In the end we had reclaimed beams, we resued most of the floor tiles for paths outside, had new windows and doors made in traditional style and so on. We did manage to reuse part of the wooden cow stalls as mantles over the fireplaces and have exposed stone in all the upstaris rooms, exposed beams in all the rooms and so on. Best advice is to speak to your geometra and to look at the costs of the variosu options. Chris
As has been said by previous postings (but NOT teh one immediately above) the Swiss annual motorway ticket covers the period from beginning of December to end of January 14 months later so you only need to buy one ticket. Plus as has been said a year's ticket costs about the same as one way through the Mont Blanc tunnel. You can buy them on line http://rail.stc.co.uk/userdata_vignette.php?passid=5&frame=1&system=GB&a... for £27 or at motorway services. We have used the route through Switzerland a number of times (including last Christmas when it was fine) - more recently we have been going up to Luxembourg and Belgium which saves on French tolls, enables you to fill up with cheap fuel and is not much longer. Chris