I travel to San Francisco, California, quite frequently as my two daughters live there. I love the city and I have always noticed its strong Italian influence. You find many Italian surnames there, particularly from Northern Italy and even my good neighbours at Bagni di Lucca have relatives who live there and keep on working in the family's trade: making plaster and resin statues, fountains and ornaments. My daughters also know another family who came from the Cinque Terre many years ago and who regularly return home to visit their relatives.

I am looking for a interior decorator or designer for villa which just purchased.  In a few month we should be starting work on the exterior.  If someone have a name and contact information, I would very appreciative if you could pass it on to us

Hello all.

Having read a post earlier today about Ryanair I was very amused to receive the following from a friend who, coincidentally, had no idea of what I had read.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPyl2tOaKxM

We live in Lapedona near to Porto san Giorgio.  We would like to improve the land immediately around our house with some landscaping - however we don't have the knowledge of how best to go about it.  Can anyone recommend someone in the area who can give us some lanscaping advice and planting advice?  Ideally it would be helpful if the person could speak some English and has the ability to carry out the recommendations.  I suspect a digger may be needed to move earth around.  Thanks.