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. I did this route again a couple of weeks ago, but found the roadworks on the Dunkirk-Lil

Tue, 07/28/2009 - 09:32

 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. [This really applies to people like me who don’t have a sat-nav that tells them all the in

Sat, 07/04/2009 - 11:03

When driving to Italy, [Lake Maggiore area], from Calais, I almost always drive up towards Dunkirk and then head East towards Luxembourg.   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.  Its useful for deciding where to fill up. Note - in Luxembourg, [where I always fill up - its worth the minor detour from Cal

    Thu, 07/02/2009 - 05:32

    .     I heard this today on Radio 4.  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

    .   I'm considering handing over ownership of my Italian Holiday Home to my kids. 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

    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