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I know what you mean, Sprostoni... Anyway, if you are not in the cooking mood, there are some ½ûÂþÌìÌà alcoholic drinks that can help to warm you up. In moderation, certainly, as alcohol also dehydrates the person and this is not good, even in winter (we always think about drinking water in the middle summer, but we must be careful during the cold season as well) Grappa is the first one that we will think of when talking about alcoholic drinks.  Some ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs still distil their own. It is quite a complicated process. Very high alcoholic content; however, many people swear that it is excellent for your health (once again, in moderation). Another less known drink is Genepy, the herb liqueur from Val d'Aosta. There are two varieties, green and yellow. In both cases, the herb "Artemisa", which grows at an altitude of 2000-3000 m is used, the difference in colour comes from the fact that in the case of the green one, fresh herbs are used. On the other hand, in the case of the yellow one, they use dry herbs.  As for grappa, the alcoholic content is  very high (about 40%). It is said that those wonderful rescue dogs, the Saint Bernards, used to carry either grappa or genepy in their barrels to help people in trouble in the snow.

Certainly, the military authorities are to be blamed. Soldiers only obbey. But, just as you said, this is ludicrous. I have also thought that they are very short of money, but this is not the right way for reimbursing their expenditure. I am sure that the Army is not making any profit out of those 800 euros, this is the minimum per day expenses that it will cost them to send 10 soldiers.

I thoroughly agree with the Mayor and the authorities. It is an amazing and outrageous request. The Armed Forces are supposed to be able to help in emergency situations. It is within their duties and throughout the world it is standard practice. First time I hear anything about payment for services...

Weather conditions are unusually hard practically everywhere at the moment. We are currently in Spain and it is snowing on the beaches. I feel sorry for so many people who must be having a very difficult time. Without energy, in this weather... It must be terrible! February does not have a good reputation in Italy. There are some popular sayings such as: "Febbraio, corto e amaro" (February, short and bitter) "Febbraietto, corto e maledetto" (Little February, short and accursed) On the other hand, farmers love the snow in February as it ensures a good harvest: "Febbraie nevoso, estate gioiosa" (Snowy February, joy in the Summer) Weather previsions in Italy do not show much improvement until the end of next week.... Try to keep warm!

I am all in favour of finding a compromise and I do not think that it would be impossible to keep the large cruise ships out of the most fragile areas. Passengers could still come to visit Venice, with or without guides (possibly, they will learn more if the first time they come they do it with a qualified guide, and education is a way of ensuring respect for the sites). Doing it this way, Venice will still get the revenue from visitors, but those who live in the area will not be inconvenienced. I agree with Fillide, local authorities should have planned things in a better way and allow for a more rational development of certain areas... But then, the same problem repeats itself in many places. In any case, if the Concordia disaster serves as a warning of what could happen to other places, at least there will be something positive coming out of this tragedy which should not have happened.

It sounds excellent and it is great to have the opinion from members who have used his services. Getting a mortgage right now is almost an impossible task. If he can manage to do this, it is almost a miracle!!! Very useful link!

I feed the birds and my ½ûÂþÌìÌà neighbour does the same. When I am not there, I leave supplies. There are also about 6 ducks (numbers vary) and a couple of geese coming daily to get bread pieces thrown into the river for them. I think that the trouts eat all the leftovers as they are huge in the area where our mill is. Eating small birds has been part of the culinary tradition in Italy. There are plenty of dishes made with them. I guess that poor people had to get some protein in any way they could and there were plenty of very poor people in Italy in the past. Rich people ate pheasants and partridges. Poor people ate sparrows and pigeons.

Appalling "sense of humour" and appalling replies to criticism. You should have apologized, instead. To make a mistake is human; however, to persevere is sad. I waited to see the reaction of British people who have confirmed my feeling that it was all very wrong and not a topic to laugh about. And do not blame nationalities, people act rightly or wrongly in all countries. It is human nature.

Be very careful! This weather is very treacherous. It is better to stay safely at home. The authorities always recommend that. We have seen some recent photos of Bagni di Lucca in a blog: It looks beautiful, but then, I have never seen so much snow before.

I fully agree with you, Ram. This kind of catastrophe would affect all economies, whether they are in the Eurozone or outside it. We are all interlinked. To believe that the UK economy or the pound could be reinforced is a fairytale.