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

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14995588Loved 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 http://www.steephill.tv/giro-d-italia/   My son rang me up to inform me that the route passes about 100m away from

Sat, 11/06/2010 - 07:04

Comments posted

Mon, 05/20/2013 - 04:20

Check with the car hire company whether they have any requirements for you to take the car out of the countryORSet the sat nav to go via Menaggio - you'll stay in Italy then

Sun, 05/19/2013 - 12:42

Options;-

  • Train, [or bus], to Sorrento, then bus to Positano
  • Taxi
  • Car hire - only if you need a car whilst you are there

We walked the Amalfi Coast one year [organised trip], mainly along the mule tracks on top of the cliffs- absolutely fantastic area. There is a bus service along the coast road, and a ferry service  http://www.amalficoastweb.com/positano/english/bus_ferries.html

Fri, 05/17/2013 - 12:40

Went online to the Bluespark website [they do this website now]It says"ITALY Magazine has a fresh new look and becomes a product of Bluespark Labs, LLC, a US-based interactive web development agency specializing in powerful, imaginatively designed sites for the media, travel, culture and educational industries."So thats all OK then!!!!!!!!!!

Thu, 05/16/2013 - 15:41

Gala said - "I am under the impression that they must be working on it"Well - they've got one hell of a lot of work to do

Thu, 04/25/2013 - 06:28

"using fill instead of squared off stone will be a disaster - they will become misshapen and all sorts." The best fill is mixed irregular shape stone pieces, as they bed down best and interlock.  Square block fill will distort more easily.  The art to gabions is ensuring that the fill is well packed in

Wed, 04/24/2013 - 17:28

"You can have them filled with whatever - concrete blocks are the cheapest I think, but we decided we wanted it to look better than this so we had them filled with local stone." You can use cheap fill for the bulk of each gabion, and only use better stone to make up the exposed faces

Sun, 04/14/2013 - 10:22

"It ............ was cheaper than renewing my AA policy!" Buying a new car is cheaper than renewing an AA Policy!   [we do our European Cover through Green Bee as an add-on to the John Lewis car insurance - we used to use the AA]

Answer to: Pappataci-Midges
Fri, 04/12/2013 - 09:07

You said in your original posting;- "..........I tried Deep Wood Off (30% Deet) and I tried some of the sprays that I picked-up in ..........Italy. I got the bites down to about 50 .........." The concentration of Deet is critical to its effectiveness.  We use "Jungle Juice' spray which we get in the UK.  It is 50% Deet, and most effective for us see  http://www.jungleformula.co.uk/range/maximum/

Answer to: Palio di Siena
Fri, 04/12/2013 - 06:53

There's a fair amount on the internet. This may assist you;-     http://www.ilpalio.org/palioenglish4.htm