chrisnotton's activity

Hi David I agree it would be much easier to get your friends account details & make a transfer, or send cash, if it's a small enough account. But I too have a baffling Italian chequebook but I made a pencil note in it of what to write where. If you like I can dig it out & let you know what mine requires  Here is an old thread http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/cost-living-utility-services/6346-writing-my-first-check-italian.html If you google "come scrivere un assegno" You will find lots of info & images too: https://www.google.com/search?q=come+scrivere+un+assegno&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=qhmnT6vFKMav0QWpwNiJBA&ved=0CIMBELAE&biw=1356&bih=870 In bocco al lupo

Cioa e tutti, I use the Bancaintesa, well actually I opened an account with my local bank (Carivit) in my village & they were taken over by Banca Intesa e Sanpaolo. I still have mysterious (unexplained/overexplained) payments & shrinkage to my account over the year but the online part seems to work o.k. They give you a little electronic key to use online. The helpline is actually helpful & sometimes speaks English. Tha advantage is that I can go into my local bank to collect chequebooks etc. but also pay bills online.  UK transfers usually arrive within 3 days & do not seem to aquire any extra charges along the way. In bocco al lupo Chris

Do let us know about the overnight in Gotthard, sounds fun!

Well Many thanks to all! Alan H. We used your route. We got a £15 Travelodge near Dover & caught the 4 a.m. ferry to Dunkirk. We stopped at the ETAP in Mulhouse (warm, clean, cheap & basic ) & then drove to Orvieto the next day. Two hours from/to Mulhouse towards Epinal we found a brilliant pâtisserie in a village called Ramonchamps very highly recommended for lunch, or purchasing food for later. Much nicer than anything we found on the motorways outside of Italy. https://foursquare.com/v/les-délices-de-clémence--pinot/4df3447814954f21cf2d9193 On the way back we took it a bit easier, to Mulhouse in one long day then Dinant overnight & a leisurely 6 p.m. ferry back to blighty. The only thing to watch out for is the Belgians have changed the signs for Lille to Rijsel in a fit of pique! It didn't fool the SatNav though. The Gottard pass is still closed by-the-way.

Congrats! nil carborundum illegitemis. Makes me think I got off really easy. No try not to catch anything expensive 

We are (well one day) in Bagnoregio! Whereabouts are you? Pip pip

Hi Alan, Well we have decided to have a go at your second option "blasting down to Mulhouse on the first day on the continent, and then getting to Orvieto late on the second day" We have booked a ferry arriving at about 6 a.m. in Dunkerque on a Friday (16th March). So we should perhaps aim to reach Mulhouse on our first day & stay overnight. We don't know whether to get up at silly o'clock & make for a pre-8 a.m. arrival at the Gotthard tunnel on Saturday morning, or whether to let the morning rush? die down a bit & arrive at about 11 a.m? If the traffic is going to be bad then we might take your other suggestion: "If you have time [and it’s open] it’s worth adding half hour or so on doing the St Gotthard Pass rather than the Tunnel – views are magnificent and there is a café at the museum at the top" Any advice from the seasoned travellers? Pip pip

You might find some useful info on this old post, & it's thread http://www.italymag.co.uk/community/post/medical-insurance-certificateco... In bocco al lupo!

Navitron sell them: http://www.navitron.org.uk/category.php?catID=70 If you google "micro-hydro" you will find loads of information. If you have a reasonable head/flow you can heat & light your house with the generated electricity. If you really do it right you can get an (approved) inverter, hook up to the grid, & it can pay your mortgage too! If you want to do it on the cheap then google "using a pump as a generator"! Pip pip