Holiday Spending Money

You can save a lot of money by doing a little research before you travel and plan what you are going to use for purchases while you are abroad.

Cash is the simplest, but most insecure way of carrying and using money, but it is always worth having some foreign currency and sterling with you. Check your insurance policy to see how much the insurance company will cover in the event of loss. For foreign currency shop around on line and don't leave everything till the last minute. There are some great deals for advance purchase and currency delivery to your home. Never rely on cash as your only option.

Credit and Debit Cards are the simple and convenient way to have a reserve of funds, but they are generally expensive to use drawing cash from an ATM, although they are relatively inexpensive when making purchases. Check the fees charged by your card company before you go. Please also note that most 24 hour petrol automated pumps in France do not accept UK issued credit or debit cards.

Travellers Cheques are one of the most secure options, but they are expensive to purchase and changing sterling cheques usually incurs extra commission or poorer exchange rates. Moreover, especially in Italy there are less and less places that accept them or even banks willing to change them, including some of the most famous names in travellers cheques. One of our customers recently who had changed all their holiday money into sterling travellers cheques, were told once they got to Italy was that these could be changed only in Rome ! Our villa owner very kindly lent them some Euros until they could organise a transfer of funds to a local bank.

Pre-paid Cards are the new travellers cheques Many cards are now offered with free cash withdrawal facilities , no charge for usage and can be delivered to your home or picked up at your departure point. This should always be considered as it does not advertise to potential burglars the fact that you are going to be away from home. You have a personal pin and can top up your card on-line or by phone. Shop around for the best deals.

The Euro is at €1.20 to the £ today and looks like staying there for a while. We still have a number of luxury villas in France and Italy available for selected weeks in July and August. Many of our villa rentals are on special offer so take advantage of the exchange rate and call us on 01442 870055 to speak to one of our reservations team or visit our website to browse our collection of handpicked villa rentals

Who invented Football ?

Well the Brits didn't invent the version called soccer, but through William Webb Ellis we can claim rugby football as a native game - at which currently we would appear to be better ! No it was the Italians who developed a Roman game "harpastum" into the medieval "Calcio Fiorentino" or "Calcio" the name by which soccer is still called in Italy today.

Piazza Santa Croce in Florence (Firenze) is called the cradle of football and Count Giovanni di Bardi drew up the rules in 1580 for a game with 27 on each side. That's probably where another present day Italian called Capello learned his skills.

We we still have a number of luxury villas in Italy to rent this Summer. All our villas have pools and many of our Italian villas are within easy each of the home of football and many other great locations. During World Cup intervals why not cheer yourself up by browsing our site of luxury villas in France and Italy or call us on 01442 870055.

Taking the car

Recent experiences with the delays in air travel caused by the ash cloud from the volcano called ....cool remind me how uncool air travel can be especially on some budget airlines and how convenient and pleasant it can be to take your car to the continent. The weaker Euro make petrol and moreso diesel significantly cheaper than in UK. If you haven't planned your summer holiday yet, why not think about taking the car. Set out on Friday and you can even be on the Cote d'Azur by Saturday evening. Enjoy the famous resorts of Villefranche, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins or Cannes which offer the France for so long sought after by discerning Brits. These gems are complemented by their historic inland neighbours such as Valbonne, Grasse, Vence or Mougins. If you have more time take a week on the way there or back in the Dordogne or Loire Valley. We still have rentals available on the Cote d'Azur, in Provence, the Loire and Dordogne.
The motorway system on the continent makes destinations in Italy comfortably accessible by car with an overnight stop recommended. Our website can show you rentals in Italy still available.
Safe and happy motoring!

The Euro!

The cost of France and Italy grows cheaper by the day...or so it seems. The last time the Euro was worth this amount against the pound was way back in December 2008.

So its official...now you really are getting something for your money when you travel to the Euro zone. The reasons are a multitude, but mainly down to the weakness of Greece and several others with debt, rather than an apparent strength of the pound. With the UK also heavily saddled with debt, the good times might not always last, so nows a good time to take advantage if you are looking to purchase your holiday Euros. At the time of writing, the rate is 1.21... now if only we had have known that a few months ago!

If you are still thinking of a holiday villa for summer 2010, we have late villa deals in France and late villa deals in Italy. A further way to save is to click through and see whats on offer, however availability is of course limited.

Our trained and knowledgable reservation staff are on hand to guide you through the late deals we have: Tel +44 (0) 1442 870055.