01 February 2007 - 14 February 2007
First of all, a big thankyou to everyone who's sent us emails and messages via our site. All your messages are very much appreciated and please keep them coming. We're really sorry that we cannot respond at present as we still have no land-line and so still no Internet at home. We're continuing to update this site at the local Internet Cafe. Telecom Italia reckoned it would take them a month to test our line so we hope to get a phone around the middle of this month.
So, it turns out that we don't need a Permesso Di Soggiorno at all. With effect from November 2006 no European Union citizen needs one. All we need is to register for Residency at the local Comune (which we already have) to do things such as buy a car, register a car, apply for planning permission, etc. So after much searching, we managed to buy a 1996, 1.7 turbo diesel, 5 door, metallic burgundy Fiat Punto. Its in excellent condition, has 130,000kms (80,000 miles) on the clock and will do us nicely until we manage to get the van registered at which point we intend to sell the Punto for pretty much what we paid for it.
One of the issues affecting us here is that the Government changes the law just about every day and nobody seems to know about it for many months. The Permesso Di Soggiorno is a case-in-point. Even now, three months after the law changed, most Italians are unaware of the change; We went to the local Automobile Club to find out what we needed to register the van - you'll need a Permesso Di Soggiorno he said........Doh!!!
Kate's Gymnastic club are competing in a regional competition on 25th February and they have asked Kate if she will compete. Of course, she said yes. The standard of gymnastics at this club level is much lower than she was competing at in the UK so the coaches think she has a good chance of a medal. We'll let you know how she gets on.
We've continued, over the last couple of months, at a fairly sedate pace, to clear out the various outbuildings, to take-up the floor in the Long Barn and to cut back the grass and weeds. We still have lots of work left in each of the areas but we're making steady progress. We still have a few jobs to do on the main house including seeing to a little damp in one corner of the ground floor. This is caused by the combination of a dodgy drain and the rain water run-off from the patio outside the front door. Fortunately both of these should be relatively easy to resolve.
We're currently considering what vegetables to plant and where best to plant them. We need to earmark a plot of land to make a vegetable plot and we need to plant the seeds this month. We also intend to plant numerous fruit trees including pear, peach and plum - these are very cheap compared to the UK; just €13 (£9) for a two metre tall tree. We already have many mature trees including two cherry trees, two olive trees, two walnut trees and an almond as well as numerous other unknowns - I guess we'll have to wait 'til Spring or Summer to find out what they are.
15 February 2007 - 28 February 2007
After much investigation, we have now found out that in order to register a car in Italy, whilst you no longer need a Permesso Di Soggiorno you do need a Carte Di Soggiorno. This is basically the same thing but without the permission to stay. The only Italian body which requires this is the Vehicle Licencing Department. We have therefore not been able to take posession of our Fiat Punto and it is still sat in the dealership in Monte Porzio. We now need to visit La Questore (the Police) in Pesaro to apply for a Carte Di Soggiorno. We hope to do this within the next week or so and it could take up to three months to arrive so in the meantime an incredibly kind friend has agreed to register the Punto in his name so that we can at last get it. Also, for residency it turns out that we must wait for a visit from the Comunity Police to verify that we do in-fact live here (even though we've had a daughter at the local school for the last three months). Once done, then we will have residency and we will be able to apply for planning permission. Its all been very confusing but we think that we now have a firm grasp of how the system works - or, at least, we do until the next spanner is thrown into the works.
A bird (we think it may be a finch) has made a nest in the ground floor of our house where it roosts each night. If anyone has a book of birds, perhaps you could let us know what it is - it's primarily grey with a black head and chest, an orangey-red tail and white flashes on its wings.
Our Italian language lessons continue and whilst we're still a long way off of holding a conversation in Italian, we can at least now understand most of what is said to us and we're much more confident in shops, bars and restaurants.
Kate competed in the regional gymnastics competition in Fano and despite having barely trained for three months, she managed to come first in her age category. She was well chuffed and the rest of her gymnastics club did well too.
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