Lady Helen Taylor's diary of a spa convert

Lady Helen Taylor's diary of a spa convert: "

Telegraph.co.uk

In 2003, the Morettis teamed up with Henri Chenot, who has been running a spa in Merano, in Northern Italy, for 20 years, and together they opened the ...


See all stories on this topic"

Three of the best Spring cheeses

Three of the best Spring cheeses: "

Words by Carla Passino

Custom Teaser:

Soft and sweet, savoury and hard, mouth-melting and strong. Italy makes excellent cheeses all year round, but each season brings delicious surprises.

"

Nebbiolo - Masterclass

Nebbiolo - Masterclass: "

Words by Marc Millon - Pictures by Kim Millon

Custom Teaser:

We explore the great grapes of Italy with a closer look at Northern Italy’s most aristocratic variety.

"

CENSORED TRAILER ON AIR VIA SATELLITE

CENSORED TRAILER ON AIR VIA SATELLITE: "

(ANSA) - Rome, August 28 - A controversial documentary

trailer refused by public broadcasters is scheduled to air

Friday night on a paid satellite channel.

Executives for Current, an independent television

network, (Sky channel 130) said they would begin running

previews for Vidoecracy on prime time.

The film, by Italian-Swedish director Erik Gandini,

chronicles the impact of television on Italian society over

the past 30 years with a special focus on the rise of Premier

Silvio

read more

"

Veronica Lario Berlusconi - Playing the Aggreived Wife - Who is Ridiculous?

Veronica Lario Berlusconi - Playing the Aggreived Wife - Who is Ridiculous?: "

In reading the New York Times article, remember that Veronica Lario Berlusconi, prior to marrying previously twice married Silvio, who brought with him the public reputation of being a 'womanizer' ( a man who puts smiles on many women's faces), and therefore his actions should NOT have come as a surprise, but instead an expected part of the 'package'.

"

Scandal-hit Berlusconi in service on sin

Scandal-hit Berlusconi in service on sin: "

Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi is planning to attend a religious service on the remission of sins alongside a top Vatican official.

"

Torino, Italy Welcomes Pilgrims for Holy Shroud of Turin Viewing

Torino, Italy Welcomes Pilgrims for Holy Shroud of Turin Viewing: "Pope Benedict XVI announced last June that the Holy Shroud of Turin will be removed from its casket for a rare public display from April"

Italy Travel Tips Helping You Plan For Fun-filled Italian Holiday

Italy Travel Tips Helping You Plan For Fun-filled Italian Holiday: "Planning ahead for your Italian holidays will help your budget, providing you with valuable Italy travel tips to make this possible"

How to learn Italian

For the past few months I have been struggling to learn Italian. In my case it was critical because I have chosen to live in Italy. It is true very few Italian speaks English if you are going about daily chores without Italian will be extremely challenging. At the beginning I will write down on a piece of paper all that I need to buy in Italian and follow it as I go about town to finish my tasks.

Some people find learning a language a pleasure and they are extremely good at picking up languages unfortunately I do not fall into that group. The language I picked up in my life which is 5 todate are by survivor instinct yes, when you live in Thailand for example it is not possible if you do not speak Thai to go to the open market. English is use in the office as a written communication medium but verbal communication is in Thai.

Coming back to my challenge in Italian I learn from a few channels - a teacher, software and online. I choose the channel based on my time. If it was too late in the day I'll choose software or online depending on my mood. My lesson is once a week with a teacher who help me get the grammar right.

How to learn Italian fast will all depend on your personal speed. Children some how pick up a new language much faster than adults. I think it's because we are more stubborn in our brain LOL. Anyway I am going to go back to learning Italian now. Anyone of you learning another language and has suggestion to share please make comments. Love to hear from all of you.

Barrage of New Rules Targets Italy's Drinkers

Barrage of New Rules Targets Italy's Drinkers: "In an effort to regulate the sale of alcoholic beverages, Italian lawmakers have recently concocted a series of measures that critics describe as a cocktail for confusion."

PREMIER PRAISES WOMEN BETTER THAN MEN AT SCHOOL AND AT WORK

PREMIER PRAISES WOMEN BETTER THAN MEN AT SCHOOL AND AT WORK: "

(ANSA) - Milan, August 18 - Premier Silvio Berlusconi

said on Tuesday he thinks women outdistance men at school and

on the workplace, singling out their ability for getting to

the root of any problem without beating about the bush.

``Women have an instictive gift for finding a solution

to problems whereas we men doodle around before we get

there,`` said the premier, who appeared to be weathering a

media storm over his private life.

Speaking to reporters after a late night dinner

read more

"

Family Holidays - tricky decisions for parents

When my son was young every year I used to crack my brain on where and what we should be doing at least 3 times a year. He started traveling at a very young age - 4 months to be precise he took his 1st flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. Since then he has flown almost all over the world. Times has changed for our children in the 80's. I remembered I had my 1st overseas holiday when I was in my teens.

These days children are more lucky we may say or it's just lifestyle has changed. Most in developed countries traveled at young ages and by the time they are an adult they have at least been overseas once. For the parents who are planning the holidays they are tons of web sites assisting them. The internet age has made travel planning easy and in many ways a joy. There are pictures to see, videos to watch, other people experience to learn from and finally you make a decision - not forgetting finding you the best deal. Only recently did i learn that there is a site call Kayak.com. Kayak consolidate the best deals on the web for us. Everyday brings new learning. Before I was dependent on Expedia, Travelocity, now - 1 click on Kayak.com I can see all the results from Expedia, Travelocity and do comparison. What will happen to the travel agency? Do we need them anymore?

This brings me to the question of types of vacations for families. Cruises seems to be catching on, I can understand why - with ship services providing care for your kids, the adults can enjoy themselves. Since I am web publisher for a travel site to North Italy it dawn on me last evening - why not Italian learning holidays. Exactly this afternoon I added a section on family holidays. Yes to be honest when I first wrote this page I didn't think of family. It's not common you see to have family coming together for this usually it's for individual. The more I think about it I am convinced that this is a great way for family to holiday.

• Something for everyone in it - travel experience, language learning and learning an Italian art.
• Learning a 2nd language is always handy especially when you are in the country to use it, children often learn faster than adults and if they can have simple conversation with locals it will certainly enrich their experience.
• For the parents - once you have your learning holiday mapped out, you can sit back and relax while the rest goes on auto-pilot. Remember how we used to wakeup in the morning during holidays and scratch out head for what activity to do today to keep our kids busy well you wouldn't need to do this on Learning holidays.
• Bonding time - everyone is learning and experiencing the same thing which makes interesting conversation. At the end of class family can reflect on the day experience.

Perfect I said to myself when I finished writing my page on Family Learning Holidays. Like I said I have not seen or read any research findings on families taking such vacations so I am not sure whether it will take on. We shall see what the future brings.

Layoffs, Unpaid vacations and tomorrow

Sitting at my desk reading emails from friends feeling sorry for them..........only more news on job losses. How and what can we do to make someone feel that it's not the end of the world my friend. One door shut and another open. Eventhough you may already have 1 year to get used to the idea of the likelihood this will happen to you, when it happen. It will still be a shock. You will need time mentally and spiritually to get used to it. At least you don't have to deal with the shame of losing a job anymore. It used to be a shame and something you don't talk about. Today it's an accepted way of living.

When I lost my job I felt like a loser. I didn't see it coming. I did hear rumors but tried hard as I couldn't verify it. Then it hit! It really does shake your confidence to the core. It took me many months to climb out of it. It was no easy feat. I drove my husband mad with my - Why me? My son was more optimistic than me, he kept encouraging me to keep moving forward. My husband was extremely supportive taking over all the decisions sparing me the painful tasks of those downsizing matters.

When you lose your job in Italy your chances of finding another is almost impossible. Italians hang on to their jobs. Unless you have great social network, your family is reputable you won't find any great positions in Italy. As women your situation is even worst. If you are a woman over 40 years old your chances is bleak. Here is a category I fall into the above 40 years female gender no hope basket. I am not ready to walk away from earning an income. I still have many plans not realized.

When I got out of my depression I work very hard to find myself a new career. I knew after over 30 years of corporate life I didn't want to go back to one. There's really no benefits in being loyal to an organization at the end of the day you are just a number. I wanted to start something on my own that I can build for ME.

The best research tools is the Internet. I started googling for work at home opportunities, work at home moms, legitimate work at home programs, it took me months to find something that i feel I can safely invest my time and money. Oh I found many frauds too and I get spammed with emails to invest in those programs. It's not easy sifting those frauds. For a few weeks I was gung-ho on training myself to become a Virtual Assistant. Obvious investment costs was a concern and it took about USD2000 - USD5000 to start off to get certified. Emmm.........I found a cheaper alternative in Australia and I also found a site that promises to provide the jobs but you will need to bid for them. After another 2 weeks I gave up on the idea 'cos I just couldn't wrap my head around how to get my clients. This is Italy, this is Europe - many of the companies or even small companies are not used to working with a virtual assistants. Made worst than many of the companies are not even I.T savvy. Emails are only allocated to staffs on a need basis. The thought of someone using a virtual assistant based in Italy...............emmm...... There was also envelope stuffings, designing powerpoint presentations, I must have reviewed at least 500 types of jobs in my 2 months of research.

Then I chance upon Site Build It. Here's an opportunity that requires low investment and opening my audiences to the whole wide world. I certainly have many passions that I can convert into business opportunities. I need to learn how to build a successful web site that will attract traffic. For weeks I studied their tutorials. Learn from their forums. Email other web publisher and asked them about their personal experience and that's how my site Amazing North Italy was born.

Is work at home jobs for you? You need plenty of discipline to drive it - no one will be there to help you through those bad days. For me this was the most viable considering my position living in Italy, with little Italian skills, with no reputable family network to get me that job an above 40 years old female. If it doesn't work I would have lost a princely sum of USD299. This I can afford to lose without compromising my family situation. LOL. My site is doing quite well today. It's only 5 months old but it is ranking well with Google and Yahoo. Through it I made new friends - opening new doors where previously I would never have thought about. I also made new friends at the Site Build it forum and they kept me going through my dark hours.

Now, today, this minute being laid-off isn't bad at all. It has forced me to be more creative with my career. It has forced me to think as a survivor. It has brought new friends with new ideas ultimately it has open my eyes to a world I didn't realized existed before. I am not earning much from my site but I am earning which prove to me that this business works, I just need to fine-tune it and support my business model with better conversion programs. If you ask me what I got out of my USD299 investment I will tell you much, much, much more.

1. The new friends - How can you put a price on friendships?

2. The knowledge - everyday learning new things.

3. The purpose - everyday I wakeup with multiple purposes to work on my web site, I don't sink into self-depression

4. The hope - yes someday when I put all the right pieces together I will be earning a decent income and no one is going to tell me - Sorry we need to let you go.

I wasn't looking for a GET A RICH QUICK program. I was looking for a business that is MINE. My husband is very supportive of my project and he has fueled many of the subjects our website covers. He does all the UAT (user acceptance tests) to make sure the pages works.

If you ever find yourself at a cross-road, I urge you to find a project to work on. If you are laid-off I urge you to consider building a business of your own so you won't be ever caught off guard again.

Summer holidays - wondering how & where

It's that time of the year again when the children are out of school, the weather beckon you to think of beaches and open land adventure. Ahhh this economic melt-down isn't helping the wallet. Personally, I have been scouting cheap flights to any destinations. Yes you read right ANY. To get out of home base to go somewhere and still have enough left when I come home. That's my intentions this year.

Easyjets are offering 20% discount to U.K. No U.K is not for me they have more problems than us in Italy. Blu-express has flights to Bangkok been there too many times. Decisions, decisions, perhaps somewhere nearer in Europe. Portugal or Spain will be good. Where are you going this summer?

Recently I have some friends who asked where they should go for a new experience. You know a farm stay is a good alternative. We did it sometime ago and it was very different from our regular in city hotel and exploring a city. This is staying outside of a city, exploring the countryside and driving for miles, miles and miles and living on a private cascina. Cascina in Italian means a farm house. There are many restored farm houses now that offers this service. Some even throw in meals. Honestly if you are on a vacation you do not wish to be lock into any schedule to return for meals breakfast is fine. Time is precious and you will use your time to explore rather than to return to your place of accommodation for food. There is a place out in Asti - actually to be precise it is Villafranca Asti that offers good value for money. The apartment is spacious and good for a small family. I featured it on my website and I will personally introduce it to anyone since we have tried it ourselves. Price is reasonable and the host and hostess are very warm people. From here you can travel up to Monferrato wine region, summer is the best time to see grapes being harvest. There are plenty of other vegetation ready for harvest in Piedmont during this season. Open markets are great places to explore, restaurants often offer special menus with special seasonal dishes. Children can ride horses or take bicycle adventures around the open countryside. Many places offer such recreation.

In my opinion with the last 12 months of hell generated by the financial crisis. We should take life back to grass root level to help us put realistic optimitism back into our lives. What say you?

In search ancient spas in Italy

For the past 1 month I have been searching out ancient spas around the region of Piedmont my new found interest is fueled by my discovery of how good the spring vapor will do for my allergy problems. Coming from Asia I have my fair share of spas but they were mostly man-made. The ones here are ancient some dating back a few centuries. Searching on the net I found even more fascinating ones down South. Obviously it's not as convenient for me to make a day trip but I am listing them down and prioritizing for my vacation plans. Everyone tells me those on Ischia island are the best. This is quite far South towards Naples.

Last week I went to 2 at Cuneo province. 1 call Lurisia which was quite pricey and I was not impress at all with their facilities. The pricing blew my mind you have to pay in  10 mins increment for the services you use!! I had to ask twice to make sure I understand that it was indeed 10 mins. Taking a look inside it was empty. Emmmm..........usually spa in Italy do have an all day rate for weekdays. This one said they don't. Ok no problem go on to the next. Next was Terme di Vinadio the picture shown here. It was certainly more fun. It is located very high up the mountain, the drive to get there was exhilarating. Although at some junction there were reminders of past avalanches that took place which does give you a chill as I was the only car on the road and the only person in my car! I had a great time here. Good price - all day rates, mud soak - this is new to me. This was the only service they put a time restriction which is 10 mins. Everything else you can enjoy as long as you like. Ofcourse I spend alot of time in the vapor caves which the Italian call Grotta. Pretty scary if you are the only one as you have to walk deep into the cave. 

If anyone has any suggestions where else I should explore that offer mud soak and a nice old vapor cave. I am all ears!!

Where is Piedmont Italy?

When I first told friends I was moving to Turin, Italy. They looked at me with blank faces. Where on earth is this Turin? This goes to show what a well kept secret this place is. Actually to be honest I didn't know myself too - had to go look at my map. Now I know it so well because I took up a new hobby to create a website that talks about it. Ofcourse many of my husband's and father-in-law friends were laughing because it unheard of that a Chinese woman would write about Italy!! It had help me 'moved' in better and became a vehicle for me to use to talk with locals. We'll talk about Talking in Italy another time. 

There's 1 thing I am still struggling with which is driving on Italian roads. You need to be a dare devil to get from point A to point B. Trying to make sense of road planning has gotten me no way. My friends here say do as the Italian does or you will get no where. Which means literally break all the rules on the road. Next is the parking I am convinced they are put there to confuse you. Blue lines, white lines, free space, paid space --- what time is the blue space a free space? I need to go to Road Transport University to qualify to drive here. So to avoid getting any ticket I often look for side lanes, parking garage, friends house to park and often have to walk quite a distant to my destination. Will I ever learn?