casa del campanile's activity

Cannot help you much with the insurance issue, however we have a garage for our car where we leave it for six months over winter. We disconnect the battery and have not had a problem starting it in the spring. We get a ride from a friend in the village to the train depot, 20 minutes away, and take a train to the Pisa airport. On return, since we usually have some luggage, we rent a car from the airport to get us home, leave our car at the train depot and drive the rental back to Pisa airport taking the train back to our train depot. If you are not burdened with luggage, you can avoid a rental and take a train to the nearest train depot to your home. Good luck.

Have you ever thought about

Submitted by hazy on Wed, 2014-07-23 08:27Have you ever thought about looking at Le Marche? Gorgeous countryside, superb sandy beaches and stunning mountains - everything you could want at prices certainly less than Tuscany, Umbria etc. Good advice, Hazy. When we first considered Italy, Le Marche was first on our list as it was at the time, ’05, being promoted the “new Tuscany,” however much less expensive.We looked at a number of properties, none of which “ticked the boxes” of what we “thought” we wanted, although the countryside was beautiful, good amenities, beaches, etc. We had thought we wanted just a small footprint to start and first looked at a small apartment built into a city wall in the foothills. Much too small and as none of the other offerings attracted us we returned to our Austrian base deciding that maybe Italy was not for us.After another week of “A Place in the Sun” featuring Italian properties, we decided to give Tuscany a chance. Drove down the following week and ended up with a very old, but habitable, farm house and small plot in a tiny Lunigiana village of 14 Italian families which we have since expanded with a vineyard planted over the ruins of a Malaspina castle and a 14th Century bell tower (rings every half hour) literally in our back yard. After a year’s renovation, we sold our Austrian properties and became resident in Italy.From considering a tiny apartment in Le Marche to buying a small farm in Lunigiana in one week shows how changeable one’s criteria can be.Bottom line; keep an open mind, be flexible, and be prepared to alter your perceptions.

Hertz in Pisa not necessarily immune from some of the "nefarious" practices of lesser known and/or "discount" car rental agencies. We have used them for a number of years for transport to and from the airport with no problems. This year, we were given a "new car" with about 5k kms.Upon return after an overnight rental, the check-in girl, or, as I would name her, "the scratch scrounger," came into the check-out office and announced there was a scratch on the back of the passenger side rear view mirror for which we would have to pay extra.  I asked the manager to go out with me to view this "scratch."Upon inspection, I wet the tip of a finger and wiped off the remains of an unlucky bug.'Nuff said.

I would second Gala’s recommendations.As we have answered similar inquiries, we offer this:You might have a look at Fivizzano and environs in Lunigiana. It is 30-40 minutes from the autostrada at Aulla on a well maintained "highway.' About 1.5 hour drive from Pisa airport. It is a fortress city, historical, good medical facilities including a hospital, etc., a train depot in another village a few miles away, bus service, a number of restaurants, bars, including Elvetica which hosts the English book library, Oxfam English library and store, active Expat community, small “supermarket,” gas station, a pharmacy, bank, and a number of small shops. An ideal location for someone who wants to be out of the tourist traffic, yet not too far from "civilization."  Had we been able to find a suitable property when we were looking, we would have bought in Fivizzano. They also have an extensive market in the square every Tuesday, I think.  There is a wide range of properties; from city apts. to town houses, to detached houses with small land areas just outside town, and some estate type properties with vineyards, boscos, etc. in the general area.It is just below the mountain range that has a fairly good ski resort. Not sure of winter snowfall ,in town, if any, or temps. Maybe someone from there might weigh in on that subject.Good luck,Fred

Surviving the Italian adventure (part 2)It is said; “memory goes first, or second as the case may be.”Forgot to list probably the most important tip for  “surviving the Italian adventure.”Locate your nearest ambulance service and become a member. Annual membership is quite low (our’s is E35) although we make a somewhat larger donation as continued thanks for the service they provided us a couple of years ago when the wife suffered anaphylactic shock from several hornet stings and the prompt response from our service was most likely the difference of survival or not.Not only do you help support a vital public service, they know who and where you are so in the event of a need for emergency service, the response time saved might just be the difference.This is also another opportunity to participate in local facility and you can help out with events sponsored by the service.Hope none of you ever need the service, however if you do, you will be in good hands of trained personnel who know you.

Another "rule of three"Surviving the Italian adventureFollow the three Ls’; Look, Listen, and LEARN THE LANGUAGE!Look at what the locals do whenever in public areas; how they dress, interact with one another, what courtesies, if any, are extended to one another, etc.Listen to their speech to learn pronunciations, common expressions, meaning of hand gestures, etc.Learn from your observations how to conduct oneself in public, interact and speak.As most know, when queuing up at the bank, PO, doctor’s office, etc. upon arrival you ask who is last in line and follow that person in line. Next person in will ask and you raise your hand as the “tail” of the line.As for learning the language, make it a daily thing. There are several on-line sites that offer free language lessons on a daily basis. Try http://onlineitalianclub.com/ for a word of the day, free tests, etc.Meet your neighbors as they are one of the best sources for finding local tradespeople, learning  local customs, and language practice. If your village sponsors a festa, sagra, whatever, be sure to attend and even offer to help with preparation, serving, cleanup, parking, etc. You ingratiate yourself with your fellow villagers and most often eat free!If you have local commercial facilities, habituate a bar or two, same with restaurants, shop locally, if only to buy a couple of items on your way to a supermarket. If you are in a small village that is serviced by vendors in trucks, etc. again buy a little something from them periodically as the village needs to support these vendors to keep them coming as many small village residents do not have their own transportation to a supermarket. It is also beneficial to your language progress to chat with the other customers and deal with the vendors.As for transportation, a small, reliable car is more realistic and economical than a big SUV and makes for a little less stressful driving on the narrow roads.Take advantage of expat organizations, events, forums, etc. Another of the best sources for finding all sorts of things from tradespeople, restaurants, etc.If you live in the countryside and have neighbors who farm, be careful about making little private deals about allowing use of your property for grazing, timbering, easements, etc.without legal counsel as you might end up losing control over part of your own  property. If asked, you can always say you have a financial partner in the property and would have to check with them before agreeing to anything. Then look around for an attorney to protect your rights before agreeing to anything.Try to avoid comparing Italy with your home country. When we extoll the virtues of our “homeland” the Italian response, at least internally if not expressed, is “well bubba, if it is so great where you came from, what in hell are you doing here?”

Alan,you remind us of our much younger days, 45+ years ago, when we toured parts of Europe annually, doing just what you describe. We planned trips that would go from one city to another that entailed an overnight to save the hotel cost many times. In some cities we would rent a car for a day or two to be able to tour outside the larger cities. Most large train depots have tourist booths that can guide one to nearby hotels and even make the reservation. They also have storage lockers where one can leave larger pieces of luggage for a day or two and one can then travel lightly outside the city by bus if one does not want to rent a car.The whole process requires traveling "light" and utilizing laundry facilites in various cities. One also might pack drinks and sandwich makings and "picnic" on the train. As Gala mentioned, a Europass might be the answer and, I believe, a Europass entitles one to first class compartments(?).One other aspect (good or bad) of train travel is the opportunity to meet other folks, some of whom might even be native to the country within which one is traveling. However, during the tourist season, one is more likely to encounter other tourists. One should be extra cautious with one's luggage, purses, backpacks, etc. on trains as they are "hunting grounds" for certain types of "characters " who travel around Europe looking for "easy pickin's."Fred 

In the past we have noted that anytime you do a one-way rental that crosses an internationlal border there is an extra charge involved. Given current fuel costs and additional fees charged by rental companies, it is doubtful one can find a car rental that doesn't tax the pocketbook. Friends of ours (from the US who had never been on a train) last year toured a good part of Italy by train and found the experience quite satifactory and economical. You might want to check out a combo of plane, train and car transport, depending upon what you want to see. What does one do with a car in Venice, Rome, Florence, etc?There are some rental agencies who rent out really used cars at really discounted fees, however one might question the safety and reliability of such cars, and what transpires in case of a breakdown. Also, not sure if these companies cross borders. Some rental companies, as I recall in Germany and Austria, prohibit taking their cars into Italy.For rentals of six months, Peugot, I believe has a sell and buyback plan that some have found to be OK, however it is to and from Paris.Let us know what you find as there are quite a few folks in a similar situation.Good luck,Fred 

I related this story a number of years ago on the old forum as an example of how a little local “help” can make a difference.Sitting in an Aulla real estate office finalizing documents, I looked through a copy of Italy Magazine and noted their website and forum. First day I checked in online there was a note from Charlotte regarding one of her lunches upcoming. I wrote to her and asked if a former “colonist” (USA) could attend.At the luncheon we met a number of expats all of whom had some wise words for us newbies. One of the attendees was born here in Italy, worked for years in GB and then returned with his English wife to his small village in Lunigiana. His advice was essentially to find the tradespeople needed for restoration who lived the closest to our village. He said one of the worst things one could do is to bring an “outside” tradesman in to do a job and later find out that “Giovanni” who lives three houses down, was well qualified and we will have P.O’d half the village. Another aspect of having nearby tradespeople is that whenever there is a problem you need only walk down the via and knock on the guy’s door.In a village of 14 Italian families we were able to connect with an electrician, born and raised across the via from us; a tile guy from the lower village; a roofer; and from one nearby village, a plumber; and from another close by village, a master builder.After deciding upon what renovation work was to be done, we were given an estimate and time frame for completion. The builder would not accept one farthing as a deposit saying he will have earned his pay when the job is finished and we were satisfied.The work was done in less time than estimated, and with some innovative solutions to some of the problems encountered, the final price was 30% less than the original estimate. In addition, our “advisor” kept an eye or two on the progress while we were not here.So, not all tradespeople view the “furriners” as “suitcases.” Find out who your neighbors are before casting about for tradespeople. You might be surprised who they are.Fred

UlyssesUlyssesUlysses,You might have a look at Fivizzano and environs. Has a fair amount of facilities, including a hospital, pharmacy, small market, train depot, several bars, restaurants, an ice cream parlor for the young ones, two English language "libraries," and is 30-40 minutes from the autostrada at Aulla on a well maintained "highway.'Have noted several habitable homes in the E100,000 range on the Lunigiana2000 price list.We do not live there, (we are about 45 minutes away), however visit weekly to exchange books at the Elvetica Bar and "English library."