Mumsnet Little Italy 6

[Rosa]

Ciao , Hello , Welcome .

His GCSE don't finish until the end of June sadly but you're all doing a fab job giving us ideas. Gracie bella(s)

How is everyone doing in the heat, are you melting in Rome Gio?
Supposedly it's going to cool down tomorrow.

am in UK at the moment Sputnik and am quite relieved! Back in Rome on Mon til Sat and then off to Como! How hot has it been?

Too hot!
You are well out of it, it's bad enough where I am but Rome must be intolerable.
It's supposed to cool down soon though.

Vce is unbearable apparently humidity is at an all time high and its horrible so even dh says he is happier here in the rain !!
Mind you sun is coming out now . WIll catch up later hope it cools down Sputnik and Gio safe journey back and on to COmo ( plus guitar - heard that Ryan Air are stopping ALL hold luggage on some routes for the winter !)

Just heard my Mum Rosa, she's not a million miles from you (S.Wales). I am jealous of your rain!

Its piss*d it down all day here today so resorted to a garden centre this morning for a bit of entertainment and playdoh and 'cooking' this pm - feel so sorry for weekly hoiliday makers but this has been a bit of a crappy summer ...we are lving it anyway and are hoping that the sun makes it back soon !!

summer is quite nice here in london, true we had rain yesterday and today, but at least no horrible afa, and only had to resort to use of fan one night.
PIPPPPPIIIII? where are youuuuu?

I think Pippi took a special offer and has gone to Perugia !!!
Its cloudy and drizzle again today and of all the daft things the swimming pool is closed this week.
Hot how are you doing only a month left ???

doing well, very tired, but tiredness has been the leitmotif of this pregnancy....

Brange or Franca are you around???? Helloooo. Looking for advice on my packing for Varenna, whats the weather like your way? Am back in Rome and melting!

Hi everyone
Sorry been busy for a while, DD is off (no more nido, sob) and I'm trying to get work done in her nap time. Poor thing, she must be soooo bored with just lil' old me, telling her to play by herself all the time. I haven't taken her anywhere because I've either had too much stuff to do or it's been too hot to even venture out of the house. I'm reminiscing about cool English nights (not about the horizontal rain and gale force winds in July though!)

Gio, it's very hot here, not unlike Rome I should imagine (mid-high 30s). We have been having the odd thunderstorm but the cool down effect is very shortlived. It should be a bit breezier on the lake though, so at least a bit of respite. I think the water quality has improved too. If it gets too hot you can always drive up a mountain or two, there are some very nice places and it's not too touristy.

Has Franca left to go on holiday? Anyone else off soon? We've finally booked a place in Toscana. I shall say no more because the holiday finding process has been very painful and I'm still quite with DP, so in the interests of good digestion I shall dwell on it no more.

can I ask how many bedrooms your place in Toscana is Brange? Or shall I leave well alone...
my childminder is on holiday so been trying to work with ds around and isnt easy! He has developed a love of Thomas the Tank engine so I have let him watch said dvd for rather a long time this pm so I can work. Feel rather guilty...

Only 1 bedroom alas, so it looks like we're either going to have to sleep on the shaky looking sofabed in the "soggiorno" or go to bed early because stepson has to sleep there. Oh well, it was very cheap, almost too cheap. I'm actually expecting there to be some sort of unpleasant surprise when I arrive. I think I might just research the nearest 5 star hotel and decamp to that should I get there and find a cockroach infested shower or something....

I'm not liking this childcare vacuum that exists in August, and it's only going to get worse as they get older. I really wish Italy would get with it and move with the times, surely no one nowadays has the whole month of August off, so why do nurseries and suchlike close for the whole month? Gah!

agree with you wholeheartedly Brange re childcare!
Rows in the gio household, I am SO sick of house hunting

• we got that house I said about a week or so ago in the end, so have been on ikea and mondo convenienza websites planning my spending. Then FIL kicked off cos too far (ten mins in car-no , really!!!)and found one round the corner from him that was bigger,he said would pay 100 euros to cover price difference. So went to see it yesterday, (meanwhile other house withdrew as we were faffing), FIL went with us (why I dont know, ask dp??? to protect his 100 euros???)and went in looking for a row (???), was rude with agent and owner, acted as if they were trying to rip us off at every turn. Then we were talking outside after, the agent came up and said the owner liked me, dp but "lei" (turns and points accusingly at FIL), can hold himself responsible if we dont get the house!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I'll be honest, the house was filled with vile old persons furniture which landlord wasnt keen on removing but I would have liked the choice to say no myself if he refused to move furniture! Only good thing is dp has had enough and is saying that FIL can keep his nose (fat chance) out of any future house hunting. Am soooooooooo peed off though. Gone from 2 possible houses to nothing. Need my holiday!

Blimey

Methinks FIL needs to find a hobby. Perhaps a woman to keep him occupied. Is your DP an only child? Maybe you should threaten him with moving back to the UK if he sticks his nose in again, altro che 10 minuti in macchina! I would probably have punched him but then I have no patience, you are obviously more saintly than me.

I'd also be wary of accepting contributions from him, it would give him the right to interfere every step of the way.

Forget about him during this holiday and when you get back register him on www.vecchiemegerecercasi.it and set him up with a few dates, that should keep him off your backs for a while.

lol, noone would have him unfortunately am sure of that!
DP is only child, parents divorced when was kid, mother was not interested so fil has got such a hold over dp its untrue, years of brainwashing of what he's done for him when his mother wasnt interested blah blah! Isnt in great health (altho am convinced will outlive us all) so uses emotional blackmail with this. Find it unbelievable he moans re 10 mins when my parents are a few thousand miles away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thought the same initially re contributions but to be honest is lesser of 2 evils,if we didnt live round the corner i would never see dp! FIL has 2 vile yappy dogs that need walking 3 times a day (yeah right) and so dp has to go and do this whenever he doesnt feel right!
Anyway, not good for my blood pressure or for my attempts to not smoke so will take deep breaths, move on and have a good holiday .
Wheres everyone else-tutte in vacanza?

Oh Gio what a total pain - Its sounds as if your FIL has as many Italians NOTHING to interest him so he is interesting himself far too much in your stuff- and as for loosing 2 houses. Whay did he create so much fuss over the one so near to you if he wanted you to live there - Or was he trying to be importante as not to show keen ?? What does your dp say ?
Como does get humid as well but I hope that you have some fresh air coming off teh mountains.
Brang so Toscana and a 1 bedroom ...MMMM Maybe your dp can sleep with the stepson and you can sleep with dd in the big bed ( take loads of good books so you can read !!!) Hope its not too cr*p and that you manage to have fun . When are you off ??
The weather here is so bad its the worst summer for years saw a Uk midwifew today she was at my test info - she was looking for a nice NHS book to fill in all my details in ...erm sorry but they only give the child a book when they are born - She showed me the bumff the Uk mums get it is pretty impressive loads and loads of info compared to the zilch we get . Anyway on second course of antibiotics now as urine infection not gone but its not causing me any problems but would rather it wasn't there.
Trying to order xmas presents and get super organised but am getting a bit overwhelmed with all the choice and trying to decide !! Need to get it all here before dh goes as need to fill he case!
In Jesolo the childrens places are open ( most of them) in August - guess as its a 100% summer tourist area that it is so - It does cost a fair bit more though.

Hi Rosa, we're off on the 16th. I went out today and bought a load of Montalbano books to keep me going while DP and stepson are doing the washing up and general scrubbing. Luckily I have quite a backlog as haven't really read any since DD came along so they should keep me busy and hopefully I won't get too bored.

Gio - how's your FIL going to survive whilst you're away? Didn't he try and invite himself along? Whatever you do, don't let him find a place with an extra room as an eventual nonno annexe.
Anyway, don't think about him any more, think of how close you'll be to George in a few days. Remember, there's a ferry that goes from Varenna across the lake to Cadenabbia and then you just have to drive down towards Como....

hope your infection clears up soon Rosa. What does dd make of British weather? DS was hilarious, when we arrived it was 15 degrees with a really nasty north wind, we went for a walk near a river and everytime a gust of wind blew ds wet himself laughing as if it was a game! Dont think he could reconcile it as weather
FIL hasnt moved out of his quartiere for 20 years so no worries re Como! He did say to me the other day that he's not happy we are going so far and doesn't understand why we don't go to Lago di Vico in Northern Lazio as all lakes are the same - Ci vuole una pazienza!!!
Brange hope you get loads of reading done. I stocked up on books in UK (good old waterstones 3 for 2 offers)and am really hoping (against hope I fear) that dp will have lots of ds time leaving me to plough through books like I used to

I have managed 1 library book a week since I have been here and am very proud of myself !!!!!
DD loves the weather whatever it is - ok so rain is a bit annoying but we have discovered painting big time and as soon as the heavy stuff stops we don boots and a mac and go puddle jumping - but we have had mizzle here Cornish drizzle and mist so that is not nice. Today sun is coming out so its back to t shirts !
DH has mechanical problems back in Vce and his chap there is having problems and so am hoping he doesnt have to go back to VCe sooner than planned..in fact I must get off and search the spare parts in the UK as seeing as its August the depot in Italy says they can get it by the end of August FGS !!

Brange do I need to bring a jacket to Varenna do you reckon? I am very excited cos looking like I will achieve the amazing feat (for me, a compulsive over packer) of one rucksack between the 3 of us to check in plus hand luggage. I used to be regularly 6 kilos plus over so am feeling very smug but also panicky cos must mean have forgotten something crucial!
Have you found your spare parts Rosa?

I don't think so, no. when there's a storm it's just pleasantly cool for one night then goes back to being hot again. At the most maybe a light cardi or felpa if you're going to be visiting Valtellina.

I'm the opposite to you, an inveterate underpacker, probably as a reaction to my Mum's fetish for packing more suitcases than we have hands to carry them, and invariably I end up having to buy something fundamental I've forgotten, like underwear. I can travel with hand luggage only for me and DD, whereas DP likes his big suitcases, even if they're half empty. I suppose you could read a lot of male psychology in that.....

Rosa, you're making the Cornish climate sound not very appealing. Mind you, the mizzle you describe is still better than East Anglian direct-from-Siberia force 10 gales that sometimes surprise us in July. It makes me laugh when I read about people paying to holiday in Norfolk, I just can't see it as a desirable holiday destination after many years of longing to escape. How are you going to get your parts back to Venice? Smuggle them in your suitcase? Are they very voluminous?

ahhh pleasantly cool what wonderful words. Even if only for a few minutes. I HATE Rome in August. And of course it has closed down now so have to walk further in sweltering heat to get a litre of milk (grumble grumble). Having said that - mizzle -(what an ace word, never heard it before) doesnt sound that appealing either. Am in admiration of you travelling with just hand luggage Brange, I dream of getting to that stage. Hate myself for my over packing, always end up wearing the same 3 outfits as well so no idea what the panic is from me. Think its genetic-my Mum is the same and all my siblings share same trait.

Packing I am the expert - I can get more things in a case than you can imagine I am sometimes overweight but generally ok as I now how much each case I can cram to . COmes from doing so much travelling for work. Brang knickers I remember you forgot to pack dp when you went to Tuscany ......
As for these effin parts - I emailed 3 places in the States no reply which is strange so am now doubting e mail. Found a few suppliers in the Uk £1500 +VAT and then have to get DHL to get it over so might be cheaper it alter Dh ticket and pay for extra luggage we will see. ( Think its about 3 kilos but a med sized box) Thing is the boat is having a new engine in Nov but he wants to sell the engine on anyway and we have the film festival end of this month. Italy is so crap if I can find the part in the Uk why can't they ? Anyway will try a few more suppliers today. Needless to say I have not heard those magic words uttered from his mouth yet ...Those words that we install in our children from when they can mumble- Or does finding boat parts come under a marriage contract - 'I will love , cherish and find boat parts until death do us part '