Frequent Questions 13 January 2006

1.  What are your favorite places in and around Teramo?         

- Museum of the Abruzzo People in Pescara

- Archeological Museum in Teramo

- Civitella del Tronto - fortress and museum

- La Scala Sacra (Sacred Steps) in Campli

- Santuario di San Gabriele (Sanctuary of Saint Gabriele) in Isola di Gran Sasso

- Castelli - ceramics

2.  Is smoking allowed?

- Best to smoke outside the house on the patio. Grazie.

3. Are children allowed?

- Heck yeah!

4. Is Paolo our private tour guide?

- Au contraire. Paolo has a store to run and looks after Casale as a sideline. He points you in right direction and gets someone (usually not Paolo) to fix small problems.  If you buy vino or pasta at his store his advice improves by 30%.  Paolo is not only very handsome but also extremely popular.  I made the mistake of putting his phone number on this website.  Unfortunately, he and his family could not handle all the calls from the movie agents who wanted him to be George Clooney's double in his next film.  Dedicated shop owners try to keep their fans happy but must stay focused on their businesses.    

5. What does it mean to conserve utilities?

- Italian utilities are double or triple those in the USA. To keep the rent down be mindful of the water, heat, and electricity usage.  Prudence per favore.  Lights off when leaving a room, minimize use of hair dryers, kind of short showers and on. If your spouse fusses you can blame Stefano.

- True story. I went down to the Bar 90 to socialize. By mistake I left one light bulb on. My cousin Aldo tracked me down with the warning, “Hey, you left the light on…” With my tail between my legs I retuned and turned it off. Lesson learned.

6. Can you eat well in Abruzzo for “pochi soldi” (inexpensively)?

- Head to an agriturismo. Keep eating while hungry but stop ordering food when you are full.  Usually pay cash so have some handy. Fabiocchi is close with great food.  Go 3 km on road leading to SS80 and Teramo. When you hit a “T” in the road, instead of taking left turn to Teramo, go right towards Frondarola. Fabiocchi is 100 yards (meters) on left. Best to call ahead (see Nearby Attractions on this website).  Flash - Fabiocchi now serves pizza also.  Molto buono! 

- Another nearby pizzeria is Tizzone in Torricella Sicura.  See “Nearby Attractions.”  Good pasta at lunch but pizza is only at dinner. You can try (I did) to get pizza before the oven is fired up at 8:00 PM but you will likely fail (I did). Some pizzaioli (pizza makers) don’t take a bribe (bustarella).

7. Do you know anyone who can help us to buy a property in Abruzzo?

  - Our friends John and Barbara Rogan (a Brit with an Italian wife) live nearby and are in the business.  You can count on them. Their email is: barbarabalda@hotmail.com

8. Is there a tourist office in Teramo?

- Yep. Abruzzo Promozione Turismo, 17 Via Carducci Giosue', Teramo (TE) 64100

They have nice maps, information, and free posters of Abruzzo.

9. What about coffee?

- There should (no guarantees) be a bit of coffee and sugar left over from the previous renter. Hey, leave some for the next guy! Both available at Paolo’s store. Hard to find American coffee in Italy. A reasonable facsimile is just use less grounds. You can order weaker coffee in a bar by asking for “caffe lungo” (with shot of water through the grounds) or “caffe Americano” (extra hot water added to the prepared coffee). Except on Mondays, in VSG you can have a caffe with my cousin Francesca, the friendly barista, at the Bar 90.

- There is a stovetop Italian coffeemaker in the house. It unscrews into three parts. Fill bottom ¾ with water.  Put the coffee container in and fill it ¾ full without pressing the coffee down. Screw top back on tightly and put onto a medium-low flame. When you hear a gurgling sound that is not coming from your stomach, the coffee is ready.  Take off flame. While cleaning the machine better not to bang the coffee holder to get the old grounds out because if it gets bent then no more coffee.

10. Where is the nearest place to get some cash?

- There are branch banks in Montorio and Torricella Sicura. At the ATM’s look to see that the “Star” or “Cirrus” logo on your card matches one of these symbols at the Bancomat.

11. How about telephone usage?

- The house has no telephone.  The is cellphone information is on Slowtalk website. WIND chips do not work in VSG.  There is  telephone at Bar 90.  Francesca will keep track of things.  Or buy prepaid phonecard at a tabacheria and call “800” number before connecting to your destination.  With a phonecard you will owe Francesca nothing for the call. The nice thing to do is to offer her a couple euros, a bacio (kiss) if her husband Giovanni is not looking, and/or buy a some Dom Perignon.

12. Does the house have toilet paper and paper towels?

- There should be some when you arrive.  Serious worriers should bring one day’s supply. Paolo stocks these at his store. Please leave some for the next person. Merci di niveau!!

13. What about the fridge?

- Close the door and turn the knob to “3” when you arrive. Throw away perishable items, turn knob to off (the light will go out) and leave door open when you leave.

14. How does the washer work?

 - Add clothes.  To save energy and time, best to wait until you have a full load.
 - Open drawer on upper left hand side of machine.  Fill middle section 1/3 to 1/2 way with detergent.  
 - Find the row of three buttons.  Push in first button (start).  Ignore second button or push in for half load.  Ignore third button or push in if you want the machine to stop and wait before completing the final spin (very annoying). 
 - Set temperature dial to minimum (or 30 degrees) unless you want to donate your clothes to orphan children.
 - Set big dial on right (cycle selector) to "2". 

 - Close door, make sign of cross and machine should start.  If does not you should (gently) re-open and re-shut the front door (of the machine not the house).  This is most common reason machine does not run.  Door will lock while washer runs.
 - Open some wine.  Two bottles later machine will stop.  One glass later front door (guess which one) will unlock.   
 - There is clothes rack in kitchen.  Clothespins should be in drawer somewhere.  Look for clotheslines around the shed.  To avoid damage, do not tie the clotheslines to the gutters of the house. 

15.  Can you buy local olive oil?   

- Certo (certainly).  See here. Check out their race cars while you are at it.

16. What about flies, mosquitoes, and (oh no!) flying bugs?

- The folks in VSG keep their windows open during the day with no problem.

 - We just put screens on the living room and two bedroom windows.  Be gentle.  The screens are fragile (Managgia!), will break easily (FIAT=fix it again Tony), and were very expensive (Costa quanto?).

 - To use screens.  When screen is open, at top of window you will see a rail. With both hands, pull down gently on the rail until it is at the bottom of the window and you hear two clicks.  Voila! 
 - To raise, pull down and out gently on the cord attached to the rail.  You will hear two clicks.  Then with two hands guide the screen to the top of the window.  Italian screens and women appreciate a gentle touch from a strong guy like you.

17. Is Casale air conditioned?

- Would cost a gazillion dollars and not necessary since the walls (but not our wallets) are 18 inches thick.  House is cool in the summer if you follow one rule – don’t let afternoon sun blast directly into the rooms!  Around lunchtime close the shutters almost all of the way, keeping them cracked a bit.  This blocks sun, lets in a bit of air.  You will be cooler than Leonardo's 1964 motorino.

18. Where do I check my email or use the internet?

- Go to an internet location, also known as cybercafe, located in Teramo.  You can also try the public library there.

19. Does the house have a terrace?

- Certo!  Take white folding chairs outside and have a picnic. Pasquale the dog or a neighbor might stop by.  No surcharge for the panorama miravigliosa!

20. Electricity?

- Power is 220V/50cycles. American power converters tend to mess things up (mine sent my neighbors’ TV’s on the fritz until they could figure out who to fuss at.).  The laws of physics say that plugging a 110V American appliance into 220V socket will give you .2 seconds of use. 50 cycles means that even things that have dual voltage (like certain clocks) will run 5/6 as fast in Italy.  You will have extra time to sleep in the morning but, according to most theories of relativity, will not extend your lifespan.

- Like most Italian homes, the supply of electricity is limited. If you try to run a couple big appliances simultaneously, bye bye power.  Avoid this by conserving electricity and by keeping things plugged into the wall to a minimum. If the power fails, first unplug the things that caused the problem in the first place. Then check the fuse box by the front door. Finally, you can check with Paolo who may have a minute to see what’s up or fetch our cousin, Silvio, to assist.

21. What are some helpful universal words and phrases?

- Click here.

22. How do we pay?

-  Cash to Paolo, bankwire (bonifico), American check (yeah!), postal money order, or credit card (boo!).  No zlotys. 

23.  When is my reservation confirmed?     

-  Not until Stefano or Paolo or somebody has some loot in our mitts (denaro nelle nostre mani).  Will contact you to confirm.

24. Is there train from Rome to Teramo? 

- Hard to do because you have to change trains.  Most folks take the (big blue) intercity bus from Rome Tiburtina train station to Teramo bus terminal.  Trip lasts about 2.5 hours.  Go to the ARPA website.       

25. This is my first trip to Italy. Should I stay at Casale?

- Maybe, but definitely for only part of the trip.  One hearty soul made a 13 hour (travel time) day trip to Venice but the word “pazzo” (3 centesimi short of a euro) comes to my mind.

26. Did Madonna’s family come from VSG?

- No. But they did come the small town of Pacentro, about an hour away, which is also located in Abruzzo.

27. Is car necessary?

- Not mandatory but probably a good idea. VSG has only 350 people with few English lit majors. If you want to chill and hang with the locals you could survive without a car. To see the sights you will need some wheels.

28.  What have you heard from previous renters?        

- Everyone so far has had a good time (tocca ferro/knock on wood).  See feedback and suggestions. 

29. Where can I get some good travel books on Italy?  How about some written in Italian?

- See the famous Book Lady, a former neighbor of Rocky Balboa.  She has a website and is an expert in getting you what you want at a low cost.  If she doesn't have it she will find it for you.  If that does not work I'll send Sly or my Uncle Vinnie over to her house to rough up her cat a bit.

30.  Is there parking for all? 

  - There is parking on the street.  Pasquale has arranged for parking for his friends.

to be continued …