Lorna at Vicenza

Mine isn't on yet, but by all accounts it's going to get colder here over the next few days.

Most people I know are trying to hang on until November but some friends have just started to light the fire or the stove in their living areas to keep one room warmer.

My house doesn't seem to be so cold yet and so far we're managing with a fleece, slippers and a blanket on the sofa when we watch tv. I don't have a stove or fire so I've made some nice oven cooked dishes and the kitchen is nice and warm when we eat. Don't know if I'll be able to last until November though.

My Mum has just retired and mentioned the heating allowance in the UK. I don't think Italian pensioners get anything like that - do they?

Gio

My trusty wood burning stove has been lit here for three days and nights. The temps at night are dropping to as little as 5 deg. We have had rather a lot of snow on the mountains and now...it's raining. What a turn around, I only have to look at my calendar to see this time last week we were having temps in the 20's..28 degs to be exact.
Snow on our hills at the moment

Lorna at Vicenza

No snow on "my" mountains yet and the skies are still blue and the sun is shining. Even when it's freezing here I love the bright blue skies and not the English grey damp.
Must go out and buy some slippers though today. My feet are getting cold and I hate having cold feet !

PAT M

We have lit the fire in the kitchen (and had roasted chestnuts) and switched on the pellet stove for the last three nights, my sisters only left last Tuesday and we were enjoying up to 27 degrees here near Lecce while they were here. In the winter, without heating, the temperature in the house goes down to 9 degrees.

Mr Posh

Just wet In Cesena....not that cold yet for the heating....What i did buy to tale the Chill off (AS my landlord will not allow me to have stuffa pellet...KNOB) is a Zibro...liquid heater And it's GREAT heats up fantastic....last year or gas was nearly 2000 euro FFS how dear is it here!!!!!

Lorna at Vicenza

Why can't you have a pellet stufa? Is it because he doesn't want the pipe or because you don't have a chimney.
Gas is extortionate.

Alfresco

It gets that cold in Italy?

Lorna at Vicenza

It does - but it still never feels as permanently damp, grey or as miserable as the UK in winter.

Alfresco

Count your blessings! Yep the UK grey, damp winters are miserable.

That's why we're moving to OZ.

Must still try and visit Italy before we go.

TestaRossa

5 at night! It's that here already in the mornings and evenings! Yep, my heating's on! I don't have a room I can completely close off from the high ceilings so the sitting room fire isn't enough on it's own! My gas for the year was over €3k so we are trying to survive when we can with thicker clothes!

Lorna at Vicenza

Much easier and cheaper to get here from the UK than from OZ so go for it. Lots of really beautiful places here.

Lorna at Vicenza

Seems like everybody is trying to hang on a bit and save on gas.

Course there are already Italians about with scarves on to protect their necks and thick jackets and suchlike. It's not that cold yet.

TestaRossa

Seriously it is here! I've had gloves and scarf with a thick wool jacket for most of the week now! The temp here went from 25 to 12 overnight! When it does that you really know the difference! Antonia has her winter coat on, hat, gloves and scarf for school! In the sun it still feels warm, but we also have a sharp wind blowing in which is very Florentine!

Alfresco

We plan to. Our ex next door neighbours live there now, so it's time to pay them a visit.

Lorna at Vicenza

Temps have dropped lots here too and it was cold at the beginning of the week when it was windy - it's settled again and is quite nice during the day - but apparently that's going to change.

Kids are not in winter coats yet - just denim style jackets over their school clothes and school pinnies. We hardly ever get wind here and when we do the Italians warp themselves up really well. They have this idea that the wind can bring on everything from a stiff neck to stomach ache to flu to a sore throat to fevers.

My sister came with me to drop Alex off at football club on Monday and 95% of the boys had the club kagool on. My sister said "why have they all got kagools on?" I told her it was probably because it was windy.
"But it's not raining," she said - "just a bit breezy. What's wrong with the tracksuit top?"

You can't really get tummy ache from a windy day can you?