We all have cooking tips and techniques learnt through personal experience or because someone else was kind enough to tell us.
Gala Placidia's activity
Questions Asked
 A fairly comprehensive list of words related to food and wine has been prepared by a few of us. It still needs revision, corrections, additions and you may be able to help as it is a Wiki.
Tue, 06/30/2009 - 04:31
 It is official, the old Casino in Bagni di Lucca is reopening its doors after many years; however, it is going to be a modern version, more "little Las Vegas" style than its elegant and exclusive predecessor.
Mon, 06/29/2009 - 09:04
A few weeks ago I started a thread in the old forum about this topic. I still think that it would be great if we could all share our favourite recipes which our families and friends enjoy.
Fri, 06/19/2009 - 05:29
 I think that there are quite a few members who have married overseas an ½ûÂþÌìÌà citizen; however, I am not quite certain whether they have registered their certificate of marriage before the nearest ½ûÂþÌìÌà Consulate.It is advisable to do this an
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 03:43
 It is most important, if you own a property, to have a clear description for it. That is possible through the "visura catastale" which gives you and confirms many facts regarding your title.
Sun, 06/14/2009 - 05:21
 Polenta is one of those ½ûÂþÌìÌà dishes that you either love or hate. Considered in the past as the poor people's staple diet it is nowadays served in the best restaurants.Â
Sat, 06/13/2009 - 17:53
I have just seen on TV some images regarding the Treviso tornado. I sincerely hope that any members in the area have not suffered from this disaster. Â
Sun, 06/07/2009 - 16:44
 The base for many ½ûÂþÌìÌà sauces and dishes is the "soffritto" (sofrit in French, sofrito in Spanish), a mixture of some diced vegetables which are cooked in a heavy pan with three tablespoons of olive oil (although some other kinds of oil and fa
Sat, 06/06/2009 - 05:37
 Hi everyone, this is a warm invitation to joint this group and discuss ½ûÂþÌìÌà food, wine, regional cooking, recipes, tips, cooking utensils, history of cooking and any related subject you may wish to talk about.And welcome, Mimosa, glad to see t
Fri, 06/05/2009 - 08:28
Comments posted
I would tend to think that you have been looking at holiday rentals, which are the ones you get widely advertised on line. You may have a search using the words "affitto a lungo termine" which would describe the type of rental you are looking for. A local agent could also help.
Perhaps you should investigate the reasons why those existing businesses are up for sale and do not look very prosperous or attractive. I would say that you need to look into the number of tourists visiting the area and what type of accommodation they favour. No matter how great your new business may look and be, if there are no potential customers... Italy has a huge offer ranging from hotels to B&B and holiday apartments. Many people dream about opening that little boutique hotel and work very hard for that dream; however, without a lot of planning, knowledge and sufficient funds to survive the always difficult beginnings, the dream may become a nightmare. Not trying to put you off, just telling you to be careful.
Have you thought about the possibility of buying an existing business? It may be a safer bet, particularly if you are new to the business and the country.As for the other questions, it may be difficult to get precise answers. It would be like gazing into a crystal ball, as the answers will depend on a multitude of factors.in any case, I wish you all the best.
Happy to help!
The best advice I can give you is to urgently start learning ½ûÂþÌìÌà to ensure a smooth transition. And I do not mean a 1 hour lesson once a week. You need immersion in language and culture, particularly to help your 11/12 year old who will be starting Lower Secondary in a foreign language. She needs specialized coaching as it is not easy to handle language but also subjects such as Maths or Scuence in ½ûÂþÌìÌà without the necessary vocabulary. I will not be too worried about your 7/8 year old. She will pick up the new language without that much effort. There are some excellent schools in Italy and a solid education system. Perhaps a bit too traditional for some people, but a solid one.See how the girls progress during  the school year and if you notice that they are a bit behind because of language problems, talk to the teachers and principals and do not be afraid if the girls need to repeat the year. One year is nothing and it is far much more important for them to Be on solid ground. Otherwise, they will be stumbling in the future.Best wishes.Â
Congratulations to both Sonia and Adrienne! This comes from a retired teacher of modern languages who used to conduct pilot courses for young children in unlikely places. You are bringing up children who are better educated, even in their native tongue, have wider horizons and culture and who will be citizens of the world. Children's brains are like sponges and they learn naturally what takes years and much more efforts to the adults. I only wish that many parents will copy your example. Well done!
You need a local person. Ask around. Check who takes care of holiday rentals in the area. See the local real estate agents, many of them also have a rental section. Ask the real estate agent who sold you the property. Check who does cleaning and maintenance. ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs will be a problem...Those are the steps usually taken.Also verify the paperwork and financial obligations, meaning taxes, registration, etc.Good luck!Â
Try to contact them through this linkÂ
WOLF2010, "AGITALIA" seems to be able to help you, as they deal with old savings passbooks, bank accounts and government titles and bonds which apparently have no current value, but that can be recovered with the help of the lawyers and bank experts that the Association has. AGITALIA has offices in Rome and Milan which are stated in their web page  all those addresses appearing on the original bonds will nowadays be obsolete.My advice would be to find an interpreter/ translator or someone with total fluency in both English and ½ûÂþÌìÌà who could assist you with this.mas you rightly said, it was a pity that your father did not teach you ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ, because some of these electronic translations are pretty hopeless in the case of specific topics.it will be difficult to ascertain the current value of those bonds, but if you do not try to find out, you will never know.Good  luck!Â