Ready to hit the UK (1 Viewer)

[spitfire]

Van cleaned and polished within an inch of its life !! Don't want to be the scruffy French one on a site !!

Just as a matter of interest do you get a good welcome in France on Britsh plates ? I do hope so . Normally the French at minimum say Bonjour but wondered if they do to non French ??

We find on sites in UK lots of people don't speak but hurry by with eyes down. We think it may be a language thing if they don't speak any French .

 

[Allanm]

They appreciate you making the effort. Even if, like me, you don't understand what they say back. We've always found the French very polite and helpful. If you shout English slowly at them, you will get a poor response, even if they understand English
Have a good trip
Allan

 

[spitfire]

I ' m glad you have had a good experience of France. We have been here more than 9 years and found everyone very welcoming and helpful. As our friends and neighbours don't speak English it was a baptism of fire with my school french !!

Since returning on holiday to the UK we have found that people seem afraid to speak when they see our van with French plates. I just wondered if it was because they are worried about their lack of French but even a Bonjour would make them feel welcome.

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[Carol]

Hello, when in France we find when we offer a bonjour in our school French we usually get a good response , a smile and a good morning should do it, shame you could not have made a Funster meet, you really would have a welcome then,

Enjoy you trip, weather looks like it could be good for you.

 

[spitfire]

Sometime we may be over in the UK at the right time to catch a meet! Time always seems to run away when we are there as we only see the grandchildren in school holidays !!

BUT this time we are planning a tour of Scotland so home for us.

We took 17 French motorhomes to ' home ' for a month. ( we are members of the ACCCF here which is a French csmping club) they loved it as they had a Scottish speaking guide !! Not one of the 34 spoke English !! This time it is for us :thumb:

 

[daisy mae]

We went to France every year for fifteen years, always found the French very friendly and helpful apart from the north, they don`t seem to like the English, not just our opinion, several other English have said the same, we always made the effort to speak French, first few times was a struggle, but the French seem to respect that we had tried, my brother on the other hand would not even try, I thought that was very ignorant on his part.The more time you spend in France it comes easier and makes the holiday seem more worth while.jmo.We don`t go now as we wouldn`t put the 3 dogs in kennels, and certainly wouldn`t take them, not fair to them too hot.

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[Chris]

The hard part for me in France is to know what language to use.

A 'bonjour' is often met by "alright Mate I'm sound"

Or a gruff "hello" - usually from a Northern Git.

 

[estcres]

Many years ago my wife and myself went to Paris for the Bastille Day celebrations.

We had booked into a hotel near Gar De Nord Station.

When we arrived I ask, in my best french, Bonjour madamme, Parle Vouz Anglaise to which the young lady on reception replied, Yes, but I speak english better, I'm from Scotland. I was totally deflated.

 

[Gooney]

The hard part for me in France is to know what language to use.

A 'bonjour' is often met by "alright Mate I'm sound"

Or a gruff "hello" - usually from a Northern Git.

At least the Northern 'Gits' will acknowledge you, not like some Southern Nancies

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[Allanm]

Never sure what time Bonjour changes to Bon soir, so after waiting till after 6 pm ( always got Bonjour replies before this!) I tried my finest accent with a cheery Bon soir to a couple passing by and got an "'ayup" in reply....
It was a couple from t'North that had seen us park almost next to them earlier in the afternoon
Still not sure about the Bon soir rule.
Allan

 

[spitfire]

Yes does depend it the region you are visiting ! Brittany, Haute Vienne, Vienne , Creuse and if course Dordogne have a higher percentage of Brits. So you might get an English reply !! But is nice to hear that folks are friendly to les étrangères

I normally use Bonsoir after 6pm but not sure if that is correct but never had anyone complain in 9 years !!!

 

[Reallyretired]

We've always found the French very friendly, but we've only ever passed through Northern on our way south.

If you're going to Scotland you may find some that speak English.

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[spitfire]

Probably not !! Scottish is ok for me !!! Am Scottish born and bred with a bit of French added on !! Remember the Auld Alliance

 

[Allanm]

Dads family from Norway then moved to Scotland, Mums from France. Me born in England, moving to France next year, hopefully.
Allan

 

[spitfire]

Dads family from Norway then moved to Scotland, Mums from France. Me born in England, moving to France next year, hopefully.
Allan

International families are the best we are Scottish , grandchildren English with grandparents in France and the others in Scotland but the grandma is Danish ! Daughter is now Australian :thumb: love it !!

Good luck with move to France . We have never regretted it. Do you have an area in mind ?

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[Allanm]

Started thinking about Picardy, but I have a bad chest so the further south and warmer the better. My Sister lives just outside Carcassonne but I think we prefer to be further East
All depends on what's available at the time and prices. I would be happy in Burgundy or Limousin
Allan

 

[Pilote87]

The Limousin

I can recommend the Limousin, although, certainly in our part, it can be extremely cold in winter - we have had temperatures in the minus 20s. However, the summers often, but not always, make up for the winters. We love it here.

John

 

[spitfire]

I can recommend the Limousin, although, certainly in our part, it can be extremely cold in winter - we have had temperatures in the minus 20s. However, the summers often, but not always, make up for the winters. We love it here.

John

I can second that and we do have camping cars so easy to escape winter if you want :thumb: no ferry necessary ( unless you are going to Greece!! ) just pack up and go :thumb:

High 20's this week here !!

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[Allanm]

We have the weather app on our phones and keep looking at that area. I like the sound of high 20's
We were near Bellac in June and really liked it. I think we will be heading that way and a little further East early December or Feb next year to have a serious look around for a few weeks
My Sister says it is cold in the winter where they are, but with our camper, Spain or Portugal are not too far to go to chase a bit of winter warmth
Allan