rosietat's activity

Questions Asked

I have just applied (form available from Govt pensions online) for the winter fuel allowance for over 60's.

Sun, 10/28/2012 - 06:17

I have just bought Philly to make a topping for a cake, and sadly did not taste it before adding icing sugar etc. It is not the same recipe as the English pack but instead is a savoury sauce!

Mon, 07/09/2012 - 17:49

We usually travel by bus to Florence as it is quite economical for 2 people, but have friends visiting in a weeks time who may prefer to drive there.

Mon, 06/04/2012 - 08:49

I don't know how many of you watch the quiz programme L'Eredita' but the other day there was a question about what was against the law.....the answer TIPPING WAITERS IS AGAINST THE LAW.My father-in-law always said you must not tip, and we thought

Fri, 04/13/2012 - 11:58

Is there a problem with the site? or is it my computer?When I click on the arrow at the bottom of the list of recent posts which is the past takes you to the next page, it opens the first post on page 1.I tried yesterday too and it was the same.

Wed, 10/26/2011 - 08:39

Having enjoyed an abundance of delicious "Fiorentino" tomatoes all summer from 4 plants, the first ground frost has arrived in Casentino Alto, and I have now lots of green tomatoes. My day yesterday was a chutney one and I made 3 batches.

Tue, 10/25/2011 - 11:55

I thought I would share my experience of registering our car from the UK.

Sat, 10/02/2010 - 09:57

I have been invited to my neighbours for a BBQ. Is it ettiquette in Italy to take something? I was thinking of making an English pud - a Bakewell tart, but don't know if it is the OK thing to do.

Mon, 07/06/2009 - 09:06

I think I may have paid the ICI this year when I didn't have to.I thought that the non payment last year was a one off, but some Italian friends have told me that  while Berulsconi is in power Prima Casa owners don't have to pay.What has anyone el

Mon, 06/22/2009 - 13:05

Hi,does anyone know if there is a chain of motels on Italian Autostradas? My husband is driving down from UK in July and wants an over night stop north of Milan on the motorway, but not a hotel as he wants to check out about 5am.Rosietat

Tue, 06/16/2009 - 13:49

Comments posted

Mon, 07/09/2012 - 17:43

Pratariccia is just a km from our house, and not really holiday village material in the shady side of the valley and at 500m altitude. Not surprizing that they had to advertise it on ebay. Maybe someone will think it is a bargain. This is a tourist area for Dutch and Germans who like to hike  and Florentines who are looking for cooler summer breezes, but not the average holiday spot!

Fri, 06/29/2012 - 10:45

Valerie. We also live near Arezzo(Casentino) in old house with thick walls and small windows. We have a solar panel for hot water (today the water reads 80c) no radiators, but a large woodburner on the groundfloor, a small wood burning Stufa in kitchen on which we cook in the winter, and it has a basin of hot water for washing up, a pellet fire on the first floor, and we close the door to the summer bedrooms on the top floor in winter. This is adequate to heat our house and more economical than our modern 3 bed house was in UK. The solar panel heats enough water for a short shower in the winter and we have an electric immersion heater which we sometimes put on during the night when the electricty is cheaper When we arrived there were electric radiators, but of course the electric supply was inadequate, and expensive so we don't use them. 

Fri, 06/08/2012 - 10:50

They will probably elect to go by bus, since it is cheaper and less hassle than trying to dodge the vespas.

Fri, 06/08/2012 - 10:44

We moved all our stuff with parcel to go, which came by DHL and Parcelforce. £30 per box. In 3 days... It was a few years ago, but was very satisfactory. The bigger items my husband drove a hired mini van down and back to uk.

Mon, 06/04/2012 - 09:37

Thank you. I had already looked at that website and was hoping for some first hand advice.

Answer to: Greed
Mon, 06/04/2012 - 09:34

The same applies to UK. B&B is usually charged per person while Hotels charge per room. We had a recent holiday in  County Kerry, Ireland and it was cheaper to stay in 3 and 4 star hotels than to book a B&B. There were so many B&B's there I was surprised there was not more competition. I am also researching the Brighton area as my daughter is getting married there, next year. There are a lot of hotels  and guest houses who do not serve breakfast. Surely most people want a comfortable bed for the night and breakfast when booking a hotel. If relying on local coffee bars they often don't open until 10am.

Mon, 06/04/2012 - 08:38

Via San Rocco 16, is quite hard to find as it is in an old warehouse and the front door is at the side. The food is excellent, but I am not suer if they open for Lunch. This was the best place we ate in Bologna when we had a few days there.....see Trip Advisor.

Mon, 06/04/2012 - 08:03

You can find the F24 form when you log on to your Italian bank, fill it in on line and the money comes out of your account. If you make any mistakes it tells you where...magic!! I can't believe how little it is for a Prima Casa compared to the ICI. I don't see how this will bail out the Italian economy, or what all the fuss was about. If one has children it would seem they will owe you money.

Answer to: Roof repairs
Fri, 02/10/2012 - 11:25

The cotto tiles are normaly used indoors, but in the past have also been used outside...in our case (like flowerpots in winter) they have cracked and tree roots had finished them off. They were originally made locally and are no longer made, neither was there a similar size in a new tile to repair the broken ones so the whole terrace had to be replaced.

Answer to: Roof repairs
Fri, 02/10/2012 - 06:30

We refurbished our old terrace last summer and needed permission, and also had to stipulate the make of tiles which had to replicated the old cotto. The architect had to argue that cotto tiles would crack as the winter weather is more severe than in the past and that we needed to use a frost proof tile. This was because our house is very old, and here (Pratovecchio) the outside of the property must look the same. We also needed permission to renovate our bathroom as we were moving a wall a foot. We will not ask permission to renovate our second bathroom as the plan will stay the same. The comune have a plan of our house that has to be updated if we were to sell, now that we have moved an internal wall. One cannot of course generalise in Italy as each Region have different rules!