Andrew's activity

to a goose...does anyone fancy - when it isn't so hot - having a ride out to find some geese to say "boo" to? If however the geese are born and raised in Italy, will they understand "Boo"?

Well there's a rarebit...

A couple of things however make me smile;1. Pastas was first created in China and arrived in Italy much later (source - Wikipedia) so we are actually having a Chinese dish when we eat pasta;2. Lots of visitors come to Italy during the summer to enjoy fresh fish. They don't know that there's a ban on fishing during parts of August so the fish they eat is often frozen, or even imported from where the visitors maybe even came from. Following on from this theme - Sprostoni - watch out for the ones that don't react when you tap them / boil them. Similar to some of our contributors...

Bring it on!!!!It's great to have some fun without really offending anyone; and I now know that Angie has probably turned on her greatest fan;As a quailfied referee and as visiting lecturer in 'Mediation of Sporting Conflict' I consider the 'Curry' issue to be an exercise in keeping up to date with work; after all it's me that gets the wedge from the University Bocconi of Milan, so keeping me on my toes is in fact a real favour.Any road up; 40 degrees and rising; pumpkins taking over the known garden and beyond, Protezione Civile warned about these long green tentacles; when will it all end?

Can I suggest that you contact Penny via PM, as they have a cycle shop in Sarnano. Although they are in Marche they may be able to network.

Gerbillo; you're more than welcome! You may well be surprised, now the Tuscanyshire / Chiantishire is more or less full. You'll also find a vast variety of interesting things to eat....

Hey Moxie; to be honest kicking off a bit of harmless debate doesn't do any harm... not that; as you know; I'm the sort to stimulate that sort of thing...Now looking to compile a list of non-Italian reastaurants and snack bars etc, to hopefully then create a 'Tourist Trail' for people to visit. Hopefully we'll discover along the way a 'Fawlty Towers' (Torri Defettosi) with a genuine Basilio and Sybilia. Plenty of Manuels already around. Some are even State employees. Ke?Trouble is finding a place that serveds 'genuine' English food, as really no-one knows what that is any more!

If you find yourself in the Livorno / Cecina outback, try the roasted porcupine or grilled baby deer. Honest.

went here for one of my ex-players Stag night; albeit after the wedding but that's Italy. Had a really excellent meal with lots of local stuff. Good welcome and simple traditional fayre.

I think firstly you need to define the type of meals that you are looking for, and to be honest we've found that going to a trattoria is far more satisfying food-wise than visiting a top class restaurant. Again, it depends what you're looking for. Most trattorias will have a menu, but will often suggest locally sourced home made local dishes that are particularly related to the season. An example of this may be asparagus; some places will have it on the menu, or even as part of a pizza topping, and often the more scrupulous waiter / cook / owner will actively disuade you, as it's not fresh because it's not the asparagus season, so they rely on tinned / preserved / frozen. To Italians the seasons are sacrosanct in the same way as Italian gardeners follow the phases of the moon.Another tip may be to try and strike up a friendship with the owner / waiter / cook (sometimes one and the same person). When they know you are visiting regularly they will often not treat you as a 'one off visit' tourist but instead as a reliable local. We've found a local trattoria that we can walk to; treats us like family, and we eat very well indeed (both good appetites - sound country folks). After identifying those items that you don't want to eat (in our case - tripe) put yourself in his/her hands. Bit like going to your 'local' in UK. Building a network of these sorts of contacts is great fun.Be also aware that being a waiter is almost an art form in Italy; young people attend a specific 'Upper' school to learn catering arts, and waiting at table is considered a very prestigious job. I doubt you will ever be asked to vacate your table for the second sitting! Try to find out the dates of local festivals and national holidays. Often in Italy these are a great excuse to eat out, and local places particularly can be very busy and difficult to book at the last minute. Can recommend however New Year's Eve in particular at the local. Starts as usual at about 8;00 p.m. and finishes eventually! Leave the car at home though!In these establishments don't be surprised if the table next to you - full of locals - gets different dishes to those offered to you. This isn't necessarily preferential treatment; just a case of using up the fresh stuff, and when it's gone it's gone. Useful phrase also; unless you're a real wine buff - 'vino alla spina' - draught wine bottled by themselves or in a jug (no cork etc) from local sources. Usually very cheap but certainly excellent quality.Just out of interest - where will you be moving to?