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

Loved 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   My son rang me up to inform me that the route passes about 100m away from

Sat, 11/06/2010 - 07:04

Comments posted

Sun, 03/21/2010 - 11:34

 When I opened my ½ûÂþÌìÌà bank account, I put enough money in to pay about a years bills [I pay gas and electric by Direct Debits] and just top it up [with money from an ATM] whenever I'm over there   This may not be the cheapest way - but its easy and I know the cash is in the account.

Sat, 03/20/2010 - 07:23

 Annec - thanks for the posting - brought back a few memories My Dad was a D Day Dodger.  He never ever really spoke about his war - and I only ever remember hearing him sing the song once, when he was well lubricated after winning a hard fought criket match [a local Cup Final, I think] - the whole pub was silent as people joined in or just hummed along He was 'lucky' as he fought his way right up the spine of Italy to the North, where [I believe] he worked with the Partisans, and he was never a POW   I keep meaning to get his war record, and perhaps visit some of the places he fought.

Answer to: UK gas oven ?
Fri, 03/19/2010 - 19:33

 I think you need a cooker thats set up for that type of LPG gas.  You can't just take over a 'mains' gas cooker and connect it to LPG supply   see    for examples

Fri, 03/19/2010 - 14:31

Shame they decided to charge for them - they should be free

Thu, 03/18/2010 - 11:58

 Have you considered just sealing the existing 'plaster' and plastering over it to give a clean surface for decoration.   I appreciate you don't get exposed brick walls - but it could be cheaper, cleaner and quicker than sandblasting

Answer to: Just an Idea!!!
Wed, 03/17/2010 - 05:28

You could try setting up a new Group [called 'For Sale' perhaps] to see if there is any interest

Answer to: Sorrento Hotels
Mon, 03/15/2010 - 05:55

We stayed [a few years ago now] at the Il Nido Hotel when I travelled by train to Sorrento It is outside of Sorrento, but does a free minibus shuttle to and from Sorrento [the timetable is on the website]   Views from the rooms are to die for, and the evening meals were great [quality and quantity - in fact a couple of times we went into town in the evening for a smaller meal!] Very friendly place - and it was where we were first introduced to homemade Limoncello!!!!

Sun, 03/14/2010 - 05:32

 Would you be allowed to do the following   1.  Apply a thinnish [say 50mm thick] screed to the roof, laid  to a fall of about 1 in 100 [draining to the edges] 2.  Apply waterproof finish [say 2 or 3 layers of bitumen] to seal the roof 3.  Lay 100mm thick [or thicker] industrial polystyrene type insulation boarding, for the insulation required 4.  Cover with tiles, slabs or gravel to hold down the imnsulation.  If you want to use the roof, I'd use slabs or tiles - laid directly on the insulation withh no cement or fixative, butt jointed.   This would work well, but relies on the concrete roof being strong enough  [it should be - ask the geometra/builder]

Sat, 03/13/2010 - 06:36

This sounds like a job for a  geometra - use a local one - he'll get all the required permessos [there are bound to be some needed], and he might just get the council to look at their drain!

Fri, 03/05/2010 - 07:59

 Knowing the love that ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs have for bureaucracy - the cons will be enormous