alan h's activity

Questions Asked

Tesco and Eurotunnel[Copied from another Forum]If you shop at Tesco you'll probably be rewarded with Cash Vouchers.  What you may not know is that you can exchange these for 3x their value with Eurotunnel.

Sun, 03/18/2018 - 16:50

ITALIAN GENEALOGYI am researching my family tree [all UK based], and belong to a Genealogy Group here in the UK - its part of the U3A [an organisation for 'retired persons who want to do things rather than sit at home all d

Wed, 01/04/2017 - 05:24

Cancelling a Eurotunnel Booking I have had to cancel a return trip on Eurotunnel [Car + 2 + Dog], as I have to go into hospital for an op.The booking was 'non-refundable'.I rang them to cancel and they confirmed it was non-

Thu, 05/26/2016 - 08:00

IMU - Its still around I thought this had disappeared in the new tax system, but my Comune website says the first payment for 2014 is due by 16th June Paid it via my bank today - emailed them the F24

Fri, 06/13/2014 - 08:56

Looks like the days of the easy/cheap trip to italy through Switzerland are numbered. Apparently, the Swiss government has decided to raise the cost of the vignette to 100 Swiss Francs for 2015. They are introducing a two month vignette for 40SF,

Sun, 09/01/2013 - 15:58

Petrol prices in France are now comparable with the UK, except on the French Autoroutes.One option is to fill up at the L'Eclerc superstores with their SP95 E10 petrol [its a petrol with some ethylene in - generally used in France - which is OK fo

Thu, 07/11/2013 - 04:25

For a change this year we drove down to Italy via Besancon  [avoiding most tolls by taking some good french non-motorways.]However - Besancon roads are in total chaos as they are digging them up to lay tram routes - this will take about 2 more yea

Wed, 07/10/2013 - 16:44

Can you help?I've just completed making a 'variation' of Limoncello. The only change is that I dispensed with the lemons, I and substituted Sloes that I picked here in the UK at the end of last year.

Sun, 01/20/2013 - 09:10

In today's GuardianRyanair have announced their credit card will now be liable to the same charges as other credit cards - so the end of no charge bookings

Sat, 11/10/2012 - 09:07

Comments posted

Mon, 08/12/2013 - 10:52

My Suggestion. Rheims to Chalons en Champagne [the only bit of toll road]Challons. to St Dizier - normal road [not dual carriageway, but with overtaking lanes at times]St Diziere to Nancy - dual carriagewayNancy to Colmar - dual carriageway, then normal road, but with overtaking lanes in placesColmar to Mulhouse then turn left into Germany - dual carriagewayDown German autobahn towards Basel - pick up Swiss Motorway Carnet at Bad Bellingen servicesBefore reacing Basel, take turn to Lorrach, and on into Switzerland - avoids Basel [possible traffic delays at Border] - dual carriage way throughoutTake Swiss motorway to Lucerne and on to Gotthard Tunnel [or Gotthard Pass], and on into Italy and autostrada Easy route to take- done it many times

Sat, 08/10/2013 - 16:49

Get a couple more quotes as a comparison.  Then bargain the price down

Wed, 08/07/2013 - 06:42

Filter You should be able, once the listing has come up, filter the answers by specifying which year[s] you wish to see.  [filter is on RHS of the answers listing page]

Fri, 08/02/2013 - 11:48

Probably nearer 100Km, if that - but you save a ton in toll charges and time paying toll charges (plus border queues [if you go through Basel), so the overall time diifference won't be massive.  Plus cheap petrol.Still its up to you  [and the route planner you use]

Thu, 08/01/2013 - 16:56

Standard Answer from meDover - Dunkirk [DFDS] is usually cheapestCalais -Dunkirk, Lille - into Belgium - Charleroi, Namur, and on to Luxemburg - all toll free motorway. Fill up with petrol in Luxemburg [at services entering or leaving the country - cheapest on your route. Then toll free motorway to Metz, Nancy and towards Colmar [becomes single carriageway for part ner Colmar]. Toll free motorway from Colmar to Mulhouse, then over to Germany and down towards Basle.  Take turning off to Lorrach to avoid Basle [can be bad]  So far, still no charges Travel through Switzerland needs a vignette  - about 35 Euros [I think] at the services on the German motorway [at Bad Bellingen] - but thats the only charge [vignette lasts one calendar year - actually Dec to January (14 months)]Through Gotthard Tunnel [no charge] and down into Italy and on to Italian autostrada and toll charges Good luck

Wed, 07/31/2013 - 17:19

If all else fails - try 'Google Translate' on http://translate.google.co.uk/it has a 'listen' facilty, so you can hear how the words are pronounced, and isn't too bad on basic phrases

Answer to: Verne
Wed, 07/24/2013 - 09:53

I tend to go via Switzerland as it avoids french toll roads, and road tunnel charges.   I recommend cutting up to Belgium [via Lille] and on to Luxemburg, then down to Metz, Nancy and then Colmar and Basle bypass into Switzerland.It is a wee bit further than blasting down to Metz on the french autoroute, but is totally toll free and Luxembourg petrol is cheap [motorway petrol price is the same as off the motorway]You do need a Swiss Vignette [buy it at the German services at Bad Bellingen], but you have saved on French road toll charges - and it lasts until the end of Jan next yearNo further charges in switzerland [fill up with fuel before getting to Italy, on the Locarno road, just off the motorway - motrway petrol prices are high]Only toll charges will be on the Italian autostrada

Answer to: Verne
Wed, 07/24/2013 - 07:11

About 750 miles - 11 or 12 hours driving time [excluding all stops] So you could, in theory, have a kip in a hotel [just] before the Mont Blanc tunnel [depending on your route] and have about 3 hrs [or so] driving left the next morningI'd probably go into Italy and leave a shorter drive [say 60 - 90 mins] in the morning

Wed, 07/24/2013 - 06:59

The route planner on the Drive Alive website is pretty good  http://www.drive-alive.co.uk/route_planner.asp It allows you to 'drag' your route to vary it, gives a running time total for the journey [useful for booking overnight stops], and also has lots of hotels/campsites etc shown on the map.The website also has plenty of additional info on driving abroad