alan h's activity

Questions Asked

I'm planning my route down for a months visit in July.

Mon, 06/04/2012 - 08:13

I logged on this morning to my local webcam, to look at the snow on the ski slopes.

Thu, 01/05/2012 - 04:47

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14995588Loved the note about changing the locks!

Wed, 09/21/2011 - 09:20

I have just got back from my latest trip to Italy, and thought some of you might be interested to hear about a Swiss hotel that we stayed in on the way down.It is the Hotel Engel in Stans [near to Lake Lucerne, a few minutes from the motorway

Mon, 07/25/2011 - 05:21

For many years now I have used the likes of 'mappy', 'via michelin' etc for calculating different routes down to Italy - for us its a part of our holiday, so we don't always want to take the quickest/shortest route down.  We prefer to vary the rou

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 09:25

Today I received an email from the Swiss Travel Centre.  The relevant portion is;- "The GBP price for a Vignette will increase from 01 June 2011 and we wanted to give you the opportunity to purchase this years’ Vignette before the pric

Mon, 05/23/2011 - 09:45

I've just driven down and back for a [much too] short holiday, and feel that an update on how fuel prices look on the way down would be useful to fellow travellers The following is a good site for seeing what prices have been like  

Mon, 04/04/2011 - 05:02

P&O have introduced a new ferry on the Dover - Calais route - its called the Spirit of Britain. They seem to have a special offer on at the moment [on this ship only] I've just booked a return crossing [car + 2] for £60 - significantly less th

Sat, 01/29/2011 - 06:08

Does Tomato soup exist in Italy? We were feeling a bit under the weather when we went out to Italy 2 weeks ago.  As part of the R&R process, I fancied some soup, and looked around the supermarket.  There were lots of different soups, but I rea

Mon, 01/24/2011 - 08:29

The route/timings for next years Giro d'Italia have been posted http://www.steephill.tv/giro-d-italia/   My son rang me up to inform me that the route passes about 100m away from

Sat, 11/06/2010 - 07:04

Comments posted

Thu, 06/04/2009 - 04:01

The only problem will be the capacity of the power supply.  In Italy, this is often only 3kW  [equivalent to 13 amps] so all you have to do is make sure you don't have more than 3000 Watts running at any time.  In practice, this means;-

  • ditch the electric kettle  [it takes almost all of the 3kW]
  • don't run your electric oven at the same time  as the washing machine etc

Its easy peasy really  - or you can  pay extra for a stronger supply - but that's not very 'Green' is it?   .

Answer to: I'm Gone
Wed, 06/03/2009 - 17:40

What also worked was the 'mark forums read' button that allowed you to avoid having to open a posting  just to get it off the 'new' listing. God - how I miss that one!   .

Answer to: Hello!
Wed, 06/03/2009 - 09:32

"It feels a little strange and unfamiliar but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon" Some of us are still struggling

Answer to: Driving to italy
Wed, 06/03/2009 - 09:29

If you look at the 'mappy' website, [or multimap. via michelin etc etc],  that will give you

  • approx petrol cots,
  • autoroute charges,
  • tunnel costs and
  • Swiss motorway vignette

Ferry costs vary on route etc - the obvious crossing is Dover to France - costs vary between £60 return [Norfolk Line - weekday] to £200+ [Eurotunnel, P&O, Sea France - peak booking]. From Manchester, the Hull - Rotterdam overnight crossing looks expensive - but it saves about 250 miles driving each way, plus an overnight stop.  Driving distance from Rotterdam is similar to that from Calais/Dunkirk Motorways in Belgium are free - so it can pay to pop up from Calais - travel distance increases by about 12 miles only Cheapest petrol is Luxembourg [Belgium route takes you there] -   see - http://www.theaa.com/onlinenews/allaboutcars/fuel/2009/may2009.pdf Overnight stops vary from about £30 a night - Formula 1 up to whatever one wants to pay Allow 400miles/day max driving - so you won't feel completely knacke*red  [I try to keep it down to 300 - 350 max] "You pays your money and takes your choice"  .

Answer to: Driving to italy
Wed, 06/03/2009 - 04:13

If you want to see what its like on the autostrada - go to http://www.nextsa.ch/nextcam.htm    [scroll down page to see  relevant webcams If the road looks busy/stopped at the tunnel - leave the autostrada at the Varenzo exit and drive 'over the top', rather than through the tunnel  .

Tue, 06/02/2009 - 19:09

We have a copy of this book in our Italian place - for friends staying there who don't speak the lingo.  We came across it when it was recommended to our GCSE Italian evening class. You can see it here  http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/0860207684/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-page  - click the page tags to turn them.  .

Tue, 06/02/2009 - 11:31

Daft as it sounds - one of the easiest options is probably to buy the small car in the UK, insure it with a company that will do extended periods abroad [there are a few] and drive it down  -  bringing it back once a year to re-tax, insure and [if necessary] MOT it  .

Mon, 06/01/2009 - 11:54

There is a through train [mon - fri] from Aulla to Rapallo - leaves 09.20 - arrives 11.00 The only through train back leaves at 20.00 [arriving at Aulla at 21.25  [Both trains stop at other points along the CT] For all other options look at   http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en  its the best site for train times  This give plenty of time for 'sightseeing' and walking. For walking suggestions - look at sites such as the ATG and Inntravel websites for their Cinque Terre walking holidays - these will give you an idea of what you could do in a day. The walk along the coast is easier than the 'higher routes', but is full of Americans doing the '5 cities' - [ they don't know where they are - but they just know they've got to do the '5 cities']. Front page of the Forum site today -   http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy-featured/liguria/famous-five-0 .