I'm planning my route down for a months visit in July.
alan h's activity
Questions Asked
I logged on this morning to my local webcam, to look at the snow on the ski slopes.
Thu, 01/05/2012 - 04:47
Loved the note about changing the locks!
Wed, 09/21/2011 - 09:20
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 Â
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  My son rang me up to inform me that the route passes about 100m away from
Sat, 11/06/2010 - 07:04
Comments posted
Travelling with a dog is easy peasy - but not sure about a pet passport issued in France [should be OK] Best way to cross tha Channel is on Eurotunnel - quick and easy. You add the dog to the passenger list [charge about £18 each way] and thats all you need to do, going out from UK. No further checks are carried out. Coming back, they check the passsport and worming treatment at Calais [Follow the signs with the dog on it]Travelling through France - look at the Logis de France website - tells you if dogs are allowed in bedrooms, and alsi if they are allowed in the Hotel restaurant. Many hotels allow both. The IBIS chain also seem pretty OK with dogs, but its worth checking by email before booking.French motorway services are OK for walking dogs for 'needs breaks', as are the 'Aires'Switzerland - we use the IBIS at Sion Est - dogs allowed everywhere and there is a big walk through orchards nearbyHaven't needed a hotel in Italy, so can't help you there.We tend to limit driving to about 250 miles a day when we have the dog with us - seems fairer on him
"........... can anyone recommend a bank in Aulla ? which doesn't charge you extotiante bank charges !!  ........." You'll be lucky! Chances are somewhere between Zero and Diddly Squat
As I understand it - non residents do not pay. See this discussion at another place  http://italy.forumotion.com/t1010-tv-licence-news?highlight=TV+licenceÂ
".............. I also need to be able to buy, insure and register a car ........"No chance without gaining Residency - and you won't get that by visiting Italy for 4 or 5 months a year. And if you did get Residency, the tax implications could be horrendous.
Well ......................................".....  I dont plan to have a car in Italy so that's why I'm thinking I'd like to be a walkable distance to the train station. ...."Places close to train stations may not be in areas you want to buy into. As an example - Bergamo old town [beautiful, quaint etc etc] is nowhere near the station in Bergamo, which is in the new town - a 20th Century dormitory town [bit harsh, I know], although there is a bus service twixt the two. Reinforces the need to visit the area before choosing where to go, as well as a detailed web search prior to that
My advice is as follows;-
From personal experience the area to the North of Milan is [for me ] ideal. Coming from UK it has 3 Milan airports [we us Malpensa] plus Turin, and at a push Geneva.  Our fall back option is we can drive home to UK in 15 hours - obviously not applicable to the US. Also, ½ûÂþÌìÌà kids learn English from the age of 6 - so the need for an English speaking es pat area is less than it used tpo be.  Good luck
aside from the Trump joke.......Will you need to move much over to Italy, apart from clothes etc. Its often not worth moving furniture,as its cheaper to buy locally. Also - as electrics in Italy are 220 volts - you'll need to buy new anyway
I'm sure there's a company called 'Trump's Household Removals' - although they may just concentrate on moving people to Mexico
Utility Bills - I have direct debits set up with my ½ûÂþÌìÌà Bank for Gas, Water and Electrcity
I use the same calculator site as LargeLewis. I use it to print out the F24 form [for paying the tax], sign it and Scan it so I can email it to my ½ûÂþÌìÌà Bank with a request for it to be paid from my account. System works well - BUT, you do need an ½ûÂþÌìÌà Bank account to do it. Good Luck Â