alan h's activity

Questions Asked

My place is between Lakes Orta and Maggiore, and I have used Flybe in the past to fly from Birmingham to Milan Malpensa.Looking for flights in Sept/Oct, I was disappointed at the high costs - so went to the Easyjet site to look at the Luton to Tur

Thu, 08/20/2009 - 04:27

I have often advocated swinging up through Belgium when travelling from UK to Italy, on the grounds of the cheap petrol in Luxembourg and toll free motorways.聽I did this route again a couple of weeks ago, but found the roadworks on the Dunkirk-Lil

Tue, 07/28/2009 - 09:32

聽I thought it might help people not break the law [or get caught breaking it] to some info on speed cameras they might come across in driving down to Italy.聽[This really applies to people like me who don鈥檛 have a sat-nav that tells them all the in

Sat, 07/04/2009 - 11:03

When driving to Italy, [Lake Maggiore area],聽from Calais, I almost always drive up towards Dunkirk and then head East towards Luxembourg.聽聽聽The reasons for doing so is simple:-

    Fri, 07/03/2009 - 12:52

    If you are driving down to Italy, this regularly updated AA site gives you the latest info on fuel prices across Europe.聽 Its useful for deciding where to fill up.聽Note - in Luxembourg, [where I always fill up - its worth the minor detour from Cal

    Thu, 07/02/2009 - 05:32

    Terrible accident in Viareggio.聽

    Tue, 06/30/2009 - 04:50

    .聽聽聽聽聽I heard this today on Radio 4.聽聽I take it you already know of tough and bough and cough and dough?Others may stumble, but not you,On hiccough, thorough, lough** and through.Well done!

    Sat, 06/20/2009 - 16:58

    .聽聽聽I'm considering handing over ownership of my 禁漫天堂 Holiday Home to my kids.聽Does anyone know

    • How easy this is to do, and how costly?
    • Whether this can be done in the UK - or do I have to do it in Italy?
    Fri, 06/19/2009 - 04:54

    Egypt 1 - Italy 0聽聽听听.

    Thu, 06/18/2009 - 18:08

    Comments posted

    Mon, 11/28/2011 - 06:46

    Well Chris, you鈥檝e certainly asked a question that has so many possible answers.聽 Here are a few of my thoughts, based on your aims of - 聽鈥.. the cheapest & most enjoyable route we can find with one or two of relaxing overnights on the way. 鈥 聽FERRIES I would suggest that the cheapest crossings are from Dover to Dunkirk with DFDS聽 At present you could get a return fare in Feb/March for about 拢60.聽 Don鈥檛 worry about it not being to Calais 鈥 the distance to Orvieto is virtually the same, and it is the start of the cheap driving route 聽JOURNEY DISTANCE About 950 miles from Dunkirk, giving a driving time, including stops for food, toilets etc, of about 19hrs.聽 A good journey planner is the Bing one, as it allows you to change the route easily by dragging it to a new position.聽 聽 [I find that whatever the journey planner says, if you take reasonable meal breaks and loo stops, and don鈥檛 exceed speed limits, I invariably average 50mph twhendriving to Italy] 聽ROUTE MY favourite is one I鈥檝e often put forward as the cheapest option [NO TOLLs until you reach Switzerland [Carnet] and Italy [Autostrada tolls].聽 It is Dunkirk 鈥 Lille 鈥 Charleroi 鈥 Luxemburg 鈥 Metz 鈥 Nancy 鈥 Mulhouse 鈥 Basle Bypass 鈥 Lucerne 鈥 St Gotthard Tunnel 鈥 and into Italy聽 This link may work聽 Advantage of this route is it takes you into Luxembourg聽 - cheap petrol 鈥 all petrol stations [inc the 2 on the motorway] charge the same price.聽 Petrol in Switzerland is also cheaper than France or Italy 鈥 see the AA website for latest petrol prices聽 WHERE TO STAY Now we have a couple of variables that affect where you choose to stay,聽 One of the cheapest options is Formula 1 hotels 鈥 but I tend to use Ibis or Novotels.聽 A good website to start on is the Accor one, which includes all price ranges Where you stay depends on what time you leave Dunkirk.聽 On a journey to Orvieto, I would tend to suggest an evening crossing and an overnight stay near Dunkirk 鈥 say at Dunkirk itself or around Lille.聽 This allows a good start time in the morning and the time loss of the Channel crossing and time Difference has already been used up Next overnight stop would be around Epinal 鈥撀 about 7hrs driving 鈥 more than enough Stop 3 would be around Piacenza聽 - leaving 4 to 5hrs to Orvieto You could cut out one stop by blasting down to Mulhouse on the first day on the continent, and then getting to Orvieto late on the second day 聽One thing to avoid 鈥 Stopping overnight in Switzerland 鈥 it鈥檚 expensive 聽If you have time [and it鈥檚 open] it鈥檚 worth adding half hour or so on doing the St Gotthard Pass rather than the Tunnel 鈥 views are magnificent and there is a caf茅 at the museum at the top 聽 I鈥檓 sure there will be many other suggestions- but do have an enjoyable trip down 鈥 for us the holiday starts when you get on the ferry.

    Mon, 11/28/2011 - 05:04

    Chis - it would hep if you could say [roughly] where you will be starting your journey from - travel time to sea crossing is important, and Dover might not be the best starting point Alan

    Answer to: Digging a well
    Thu, 11/24/2011 - 05:14

    This has come up before on this site - try the 'search' facility. I did a quick search on 'borehole', which threw up;-聽 = Hope this helps .................... Water Divining - yes it can work, I've used the 'bent coat hanger' divining rods to trace drains [for work - not for fun], but its probably best to talk to a professional rather than a Diviner 聽 Good Luck

    Wed, 11/23/2011 - 04:47

    "the bottles are hugely inconvenient, inevitably running out at completely the wrong time and getting hold of replacement ones can be聽a pain unless you have a supplier on the doorstep." Before we switched to mains gas, we used the bottled.聽 The supplier was a couple of miles away, open normal shop hours My son went to the house with friends for a weeks holiday - he told me that the bottled gas ran out late Saturday night.聽 I asked him what he was going to do, as the supplier wasn't open until Monday morning. He said "no probs!, he'd popped next door, to another [empty] holiday home and swapped it with their gas canister!"聽 He did replace it on the Monday

    Answer to: Easyjet(seating)
    Tue, 11/15/2011 - 11:42

    deleted - double posting

    Answer to: Easyjet(seating)
    Tue, 11/15/2011 - 11:41

    Monarch are starting a Birmingham to Milan Malpensa service early next year

    Tue, 11/15/2011 - 10:31

    "All food is getting expensive and restaurants are still OTT with their prices. When most of Europe dropped prices in restaurants Italy did not after the credit crunch." I have found some prices going up in restaurants - but if, as I do, you eat where the locals do, then you still get good value for money.聽 If I pop down into the more touristy areas, [lakeside], then聽prices can be 50% to 150% higher than at the eateries I use

    Tue, 11/15/2011 - 08:20

    "It is interesting though how a lot of foreigners think that Italy is cheap. I have a couple of theories as to why this is." Booze is cheap in Italy - always by spirits for return to UK - when聽 driving often get the wine in France though.

    Answer to: Easyjet(seating)
    Tue, 11/15/2011 - 08:17

    "Have they said how it's going to work?" When interviewed on Radio 4 today - the EasyJet person would not go into details on how it would happen

    Answer to: House Insurance
    Tue, 11/15/2011 - 04:53

    "Third party cover is useful - but your bank or the post office will cover you for a tile falling off or your dog biting a child for less than 鈧100 a year." I tend to agree with Fillide My holiday home is insured for about 100.000 Euros rebuilding cost and the usual public liability stuff [tiles falling on neighbours etc].聽 I don't insure the contents - there's nothing expensive left in the house, no TV, computers, jewelry etc, so why bother? Cost me 93 Euros earlier this year, year when I renewed it.聽 I arranged it through my Estate Agent, and when I'm over in the start of the year I leave him enough cash to cover the renewal costs, and pick the new certificate and change up when I'm next over in Italy in June or July