Mumsnet Little Italy 6

[Rosa]

Ciao , Hello , Welcome .

I reckon the train will be unbearably long, unless you can get an overnighter (do they do them from Rome?), plus you'd probably have to change stations in Milan (IIRC most of the Lecco/Tirano trains go from Garibaldi), so I'd say the plane + car (much as I hate Ryanair grrr grrr)

Have you checked train/plane times and cost?

ok italian telly is crap too, all those nakedish ladiezzzz, but here they seem to have only programmes about extreme people, like people who are obese, or kids who are very disabled, or men who leave their wives to join a monastery, sooo dulll....where is franca going, i missed that bit, lake of como must be lovely now, but know nothing of trains. I want to see Il Divo , it might come to uk, have missed all the bloody interesting italian movies, and nothing showing here except american crap! Did eat soooo many pizzas, still craving one tonight....

Ah, breeeeeeeeze

I think the train would be long too. Plus if you hire a car you'll be able to use it while you're there.

it does feel a bit cooler or am I imagining it?? Whats it like up on your mountain Sputnik . Hideous in Rome last few days.
Think you're right ladies-plane it is

Pretty hot here too during the day, but it does cool down at night enough to be able to sleep, and mornings are cool in the house. And tonight there's been a nice breeze

It is supposed to cool down a bit tomorrow.

My DC's did not want to go to sleep tonight, they seemed to revive about 8, when we'd normally be winding down. Is that a heat thing I wonder?

It's going to be quiet on here without Rosa and Franca, hope they are having a good time and Rosa hasn't strangled her MIL with the tea towel yet

I vote plane too. With toddlers the more variiety the better. I find it's okay to travel for days as long as you go from car to train to plane to car to bus to boat etc
on the other hand after two hours top in the same transport she goes crazy.

l'm trying to book lots of flight with ryanair and the website keeps playing up. grrrr I wish I could fly BA but heathrow - rome option is a nightmare for us.

I loathe Ryanair but I suppose you get what you pay for. Hate the way can never get through to speak to a person EVER!!!

Advice ladies please - what gifts should I get for the istrutrici at DD's nido? I'd like to get them each something as they've all been so wonderful but am not sure what the form is here. Reading other threads about the UK everybody seems to be getting wine or chocolates, but I can't see either going down particularly well here (plus all choccy shops are shut now). There are 4 of them so it needs to be something not hugely expensive. Would smellies from the body shop/Sephora plus a little hand-made card from DD be OK? Any other ideas?

TIA!

Can't help you there, I've always wondered what the form is here with gifts to teachers. I am not giving anything as DD seems to have various teachers, plus there's the bidella who's really nice... it's a minefield! I will probably be ostracised now.
Consumables of some kind probably safest bet though.

I agree with body shop type things. Or is there a Lush near you-they do lovely pre packed boxes of stuff? Let us know what the reaction is so we know whether to follow suit when the time comes
My washing machine has been full of water and useless since Tues!! Waiting for man to come and sort it now, have so much washing built up I want to cry. That's my weekend mapped out

Have just posted this on another thread but one of you may know the answer to my query. Bloody Ryanair-how do I contact them???? I have tried the Italian and UK number and just get quick beep beep beep as if not recognised?? Bloody dp is insisting he takes his guitar on holiday with him and so the cheapest way seems to be to buy an extra seat for it which needs to be done via call centre.Also whats with the charges? I knew Ryanair had hidden costs but it is saying ?36 for each piece of checked baggage? Any ideas ladies?

be careful gio I do not think you are allowed to buy a seat for extra luggage. it is stated quite clearly in the terms and cond. let me check for you.

oh no you are right you have to buy another seat. unbelievable!!!!!

anyway I tried to get through to them yesterday and managed on the uk number. l'll try for you now see if they answer.

thanks Pippi
I have booked it, someone responded to the other thread and pointed out I could book on line and call dp's guitar Mr Extra Seat. So all done! Did look at other airlines but the next cheapest I could find was Airone at double the price! So Ryanair it is and we are going to have to somehow pack everything so we only have 1 checked in bag (refused on principle ?36 euros for more than 1 bag).
Now I just need to book the car hire. I could wind myself up by asking why its me who has sorted flights, apartment and now car hire when dp has done zero towards this holiday but there would be no point winding myself up in this heat
buona domenica tutte!

Sadly my Italian spelling (writing/speaking etc) isn't up to me say good morning in Italian. Know I'm saying it out loud and pretend the accent is flawless.

Now.. where was I? Ah yes... good morning ladies.

I need a copy of this month's Italian Vogue. I know that I can buy a copy in Borders but I wondered if there was anywhere else I might get it. I want that specific one because it is the first time that Vogue has printed an issue using only black models. Vogue say it will be their worst selling issue which frankly says volumes about their perception of the public. So if any of you gorgeous ladies know where else I might find a copy (so that I can buy it and direct others to it) that would be lovely.

(again imagine flawless Italian) Thank you so much my beautiful ladies.

Mars xx

uhhhh, i don't know, beautiful mars lady, round my way (deep east london) you certainly do not find italian vogue......but good luck, others might know

Mars, when I lived in London I used to get all my French mags and Russian newspapers from the likes of Collet's and a WH Smith in the Charing Cross Rd area. I also vaguely remember a little newsagent next to an Italian deli in Soho that had a lot of Italian press. Disclaimer - I'm talking about centuries ago here so all these places might well have been razed to the ground since. Failing that, I can buy you one here and post it to you if you like. If so, just cat me with your address and I'll get it sorted.

Hhell, where in deepest east London? I used to live in Bow, Stratford, Forest Gate and horrendous East Ham, interspersed with brief stints in Plaistow and Walthamstow. Now I think back I used to live in some grotty dives, but at the time I thought they wer really cool. such is the folly of youth.

I'll go for the smellies then. I think there is a Lush in one of the hundreds of centri commerciali that have sprung up around here, but can't at the moment remember which one it is. If I don't remember soon I'll pop into the Body shop in Milan as can't face the thought of trawling through the airless and decibel-piercing centri commerciali of Brianza in search of a shop that might not even exist.

Sputnik, apparently si fa with regard to the gifts to teachers but no one was able to give me any insight as to the content of such gifts. I do suspect it's only nido though, so if yours is at materna you might be OK.

Gio, I just got back from a posh wedding near George's pad on Lake Como and heard with alarm that a) the water is really freezing, as with the crap weather we had recently the ice has only just melted into the lake and b) half the resorts, including Colico don't have balneabilità because of sewage. I don't think Varenna was among those listed and the problem will probably have been sorted by the time you go (either that or lose the German tourists), but wrt the first point I'd advise a wetsuit for DS if you haven't already got one. We bought DD a fairly cheap one in Decathlon last year, they start from 2yo.

I sympathise about you having to organise everything, I normally have to do the same. However this year, since we have the additional complication of stepson and relative extra costs that DP wants to limit, I have left all holiday planning to him. Now I just have to wait and see whether we actually go anywhere.....

re cold and re sewage! If you hear anymore let me know. Thanks!
Do they have any resorts with kiddie swimming pools do you know?
Did you see George? If the lake is sewage ridden and cold I may just go and park myself outside his pad for 2 weeks and do some stalking

mars, at vogue statement!hopefully they'll be proven wrong. l'll def go and buy one now and direct everyone I know to this.
as for your question, no idea. maybe newsagents in soho but not too sure.

gio l'm upset with bloody ryanair and myself. I could have gone to pg in july for 200 pound and now it's 3.

brange I am going to see solicitor tomorrow. tell me exactly what you need to know and I'll ask.

i have just realized that when you are talking about george, you mean clooney....ohhhhhh swoooooon...

Yep, tis George C. Alas didn't manage to catch sight of him despite driving very slowly through Laglio and couldn't hang around as already late for the wedding.
Gio, there's a traghetto from Varenna to Cadenabbia, then you just drive down towards Como. Well worth the trip even without George, there are some lovely little towns with ancient churches and tiny alleyways. Alternatively you could hire a boat and "break down" just as you're about to pass his villa. You will then have to be towed to safety and comforted through your distress. I suspect this will work best without your DH, how good are you at driving boats?

Pippi - what I need to know is can a relative resident in another EU state have guardianship/adopt an orphaned minor or would priority always go to whomever is resident in the same country? I.e, can I and DP specify in our wills that we'd like DD to go to my family and avoid his horrible lot? DD is dual nationality (I really must get that passport sorted out. Thanks very much. I asked a notaio I saw for a work thingy the other week but he was useless. All he could tell me was that here in Italy it's called adozione aperta and a child can go to a family member fino al sesto grado di parentela. He had no idea about inter country guardianship.

I've just looked at flight prices for August in the UK and Easyjet want 387 euros for just me and DD!!!!

that's exactly what I need to know. will do and report back.

flight to pg for DH's mum end of august... 350 pound !!!! we all almost had a heart attack. all in all it would have been cheaper to go all inclusive to maldives!