F Bower's activity

Questions Asked

I've been dipping in and out of the Forum for months now and not really finding much of interest but today I have spent over half an hour reading all the posts- it's back to the old variety, some practical, some fun, some political, some beautiful

Fri, 12/04/2009 - 14:48

We have a beautful old olive tree which is the focal point of our view from the villa.

Mon, 07/27/2009 - 05:35

Comments posted

Sun, 09/06/2009 - 14:15

It has been a very hot summer, even for Italy. My son in Firenze clocked 31 degrees at 1 in the morning. The whole of Italy has been roasting this year. Shame you didn't enjoy Lazio - we love it but you do need a car and the whole coast from Ostia to Nettuno has been taken over by immigrants . With a car you can go down to Circeo, Terracina etc. To be honest, Italy is not a country to invest in if you can't speak the language and don't have the funds to put right the many mistakes you will make ( and we all have made) regarding set up costs, misunderstandings, unexpected bills etc.

Answer to: Hertz Breakdown
Sun, 06/21/2009 - 13:51

We broke down a few years ago in the North of Italy having driven from Belgium. Aci were on strike but the lady on the phone sensed my despair (3 tinies in tow) and gave me the number of the garage to ring. The head gasket had gone so they had to take the car away - we went with (sitting in the car on top of the trailer - scary). They took us to a little garage who gave us a car and told us to call back in a week. We did, car was  ready. This wasn't a hire car though. I am still waiting for a satisfactory answer from Avis, who provided us with a car WITHOUT INSURANCE in April. I'm still furious, Still don't know whether I'm going to get a huge fine from the Polizia-see previous posts

Thu, 05/28/2009 - 16:26

our son is currently in Florence, having set up a little going concern for the summer and my daughter is off to help him but would have loved the opportunity of doing something more fixed in return for proper accommodation (not hostels etc). Brilliant idea

Answer to: In Rome
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 15:37

this is the first time I've tried to post on the new site - I wanted to reply directly to Samantha but it looks like it will come out as a reply to sempre italia - oh well we'll seeAs you will see from the Rome Tourism Website there are so many things to do in Rome. I just wanted to post a couple of ideas - depending on how old you are (and you did mention nightlife) my daughter enjoyed a bar crawl. Started at the Spanish Steps at about 9 pm , cost 15 euros and you get taken round a selection of bars and clubs with a like minded group of people, finishing very late/early morning. Watch out for young people handing out fliers. Campo dei Fiori at night has good pubs (as long as there are no international football matches being played, as this is where a lot of trouble can erupt.  As an oldie, my suggestion for the day would be to wander around the various streets and view the sights from outside then decide to come back with a firm plan of what you want to see ( it's been very hot recently)