malcesine99

Well after 3 years of planning it looks like we will be in Italy by this Sept

Just back from registering our children for school!

Unfortunately our house has not sold yet, so we are renting it out for the time being. Our house in Italy is furnished (albeit it ancient) but we will make do and mend until we can bring our furniture over.

I know there has been loads of comments on here about what to bring (skybox, stationery, medicines etc - so thanks for that) but just wondered what thoughts anyone has on anything they wish they had brought from the UK, or even stuff they brought over and regretted bringing with them?

Are we mad to bring over TVs(5 of them!), washing machine(too new to leave), bikes and the likes?

Lorna at Vicenza

If you can fit them in your van or whatever you are driving over then bring them. Why not?
Bring a kettle too.
Bring duvets - apart from Ikea they are not so easy to find here and are expensive.
I'm trying to think of things I have brought back or ordered from the UK over the years because what I wanted didn't exist here or was too dear.


An electric 3 tier steamer.
An upright bagless hoover with rotating brushes.
Underwear - especially good fitting bras.
Yorkshire Pudding tins.
Cake glitter and fancy sprinkles and flavourings and colourings and bun cases. (you can get some stuff here but the choice is limited)
Cadbury's

Garbatellamike

2 most important things to bring:

Your sense of humour.
Patience.

Lorna at Vicenza

Ain't that the truth !

malcesine99

Thanks! I bought my (Italian) MIL a steamer and she loves it.

Ha! Definitely

I have booked us all in for dental checks too, esp after reading about your experiences Lorna.

Lorna at Vicenza

Get your eyes done too.

And if you have room to spare - think about mops for your floors. It sounds a bit daft I know. My sisters have some great mops. One squirts cleaner fluid on the floor and another is one of those squeezy squidgy things. Where I am I have only ever seen the old fashioned string mop heads or the Vileda ones ..... and plenty of old ladies around here still use a plastic kind of brush and a big old dishcloth like thing and drag that around the floors.

Garbatellamike

Second Lorna on the kettle, that was the one thing I got sent over from UK after I arrived.

The only 2 things that are still in the moving companies packing materials 7 months after arriving are:

malcesine99

[QUOTE=Lorna at Vicenza;10052500]Get your eyes done too.

I know you mean at the Opticians but just had a thought can I get 'threaded', I mean my eyebrows?

37100

Lorna, you had me in stitches with your list.

I 2nd most things people have said. Not the kettle though. I have a panic attack thinking about the cost of leccy everytime I plug it in. I'd bring Coriander seeds. Damn hard to get here. And Jcloths. Me? I'd hire a van and just stuff everything in that fits.

I was going to say, 'get your eyebrows threaded' when I saw you asked just that.

Pica

As many tins of baked beans you have space for
Any herbs & spices you love to use
e.g yellow mustard seeds, cumin seeds
Oyster sauce and those yummy Chinese spices and sauces
Replace any worn out pots and pans (expensive here)
I paid 5 euro for a crummy sieve that would cost £1.50 in Tesco.
Bring EVERYTHING you have-and spares
I left furniture, rugs, curtains, handbags, clothes, garden tools and am very sorry.
Oh nice lighting fitments shades etc are extortionately priced in my experience so buy in UK.
Good luck and don't cry as you sail/drive/fly away

Lorna at Vicenza

Good point about lights.
My kitchen, hall and bathroom lights all came from the UK. I wanted those multi- spotlights so that I could direction them into all corners and have lots of light. Average price was about 10 quid in Argos I think and about 60 euro in rip off Brico.

Swimming costumes are dirt cheap in places like Asda compared to here and if you plan on going to the open summer pools you'll need flip flops and swimming caps too.

Heinz salad cream.
Malt vinegar.
Mixed spice / all spice.
Blu Tak
Cup tree - yes I brought one back once. I like my big tea mugs near the kettle and don't have enough cupboard space to keep them inside a cupboard.
I paid 12 euro for a recorder here for school (music) and I know they are so much cheaper in the UK.
A selection of DIY stuff

modicasa

Lidl has everything, except for malt Vinegar which I get from Malta!

37100

They have Heinz Salad Cream. You can get it in Verona in the shopping centre next to Le Corte Venete.

LivingHere

Washing machine plumbing is always cold fill. I ordered something from Hotpoint that would let my hot and cold fill machine be plumbed in here.
If you are paying for a removal van I would fill it with anything you use a lot of. It gives you time to find your way around.
You can't buy bayonet light bulbs here.

linseed oil

toilet brush toilet paper holder any thing to do with bath room fittings they are verry dear here ,english 3 pin plugs they have fuses , leave your 13 amp english plugs on any apliance you bring , its not only protected from power surges , but thieves wont take the apliance , fact . Mirical grow plant fertilizer pain killers . christmas crackers , wild bird feeders . birthday cards ,