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
" the right people to sell your geometra on the idea of a Sewage Treatment Plant are the (½ûÂþÌìÌÃ) people who would sell it to you"  Is it an italian company that makes the STP? - or were you buying in one from abroad
[and that is not uncommon in Italy], your chances of getting the necessary approvals from the Commune will be remote  Good luck
but, remember to book ahead for decent sites in high season
"2. Accessibility to and from airports." Remember [especially if flying 'budget' airlines] that routes change - sometimes just for Winter, but also sometimes forever  Where my place is [up North, so not where you are looking] there are 4 airports within 2 hrs of the house [5 if you include Geneva] and you can drive there in a day [if you're mad/desperate] or by easily get there by train in under 24hrs
We've used them a couple of times now - big plus point - no coach parties! Very good boats, food not bad
Dover - Dunkirk [cheap ferry service - very good Lille - Belguim, - Luxemburg [fill up with petrol] - metz - Nancy - mulhouse - Basel - lucerne - St Gotthard Tunnel [or pass - pretty and adds about 30 minutes or so] and on into Italy No charges on roads until you get to Switzerland, where you need the annual vignette [buy on line] Then pay in Italy
"But, aside from fruit growing considerations - could you cope? 900slm can be pretty restrictive November through February: think snow chains or complete isolation. Before you take the plunge make sure you live there for at least a month in the 'brutta stagione'." Now that is what I call good advice. I recently spent a couple of days snowed in at my holiday place in northern Piedmonte [at about 650m] - loved every minute of it - so relaxing BUT my ½ûÂþÌìÌà neighbours were bemoaning the weather and how disruptive it was, You do need a different mindset when living there, as opposed to holidaying
Marco If UK based - if the pound rises in the meantime, UK based buyers of ½ûÂþÌìÌà property also lose out that way.  I bought when the Euro was about 65 pence - if I sold now ][at about 90p] for what I paid then [in Euros] I'd make about 38% profit - [and the place is worth more now that 8ish years ago.] Now - if the reverse happens and the pound rises again [a big if at the moment] the reverse effect would occur for UK based buyers now. In fact, as an investment for ½ûÂþÌìÌà based people, it would most probably pay to buy in the UK by converting your Euros to pounds
It takes between 3 and 5 hrs for the train journey from Ttrapani to Termine ImereseApparently there is a bus from the airport to the train station [and on to Palermo] Best site for train times is the [German!!] Rail Planner site Some general info