Our first trip to France - some lessons learned (1 Viewer)

Jun 2, 2018
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OK, so another "teach your granny to suck eggs" post - but hopefully other newbies might find this helpful. Sorry it is long.

We took the newly-christened MotorBaguette with the ever-fragrant MrsW and the second teenage genepuddle to France recently on our first trip with it overseas. We learnt a number of valuable lessons (part of the point of the trip was getting to know the van) that might provide help (or comic relief!) to first-timers.

1. Just because it's a new van, doesn't mean everything works. We only got the van in the summer and the temp hasn't dropped below about 10 degrees ever since. Except when we were on the way to the tunnel when it was 4-5 degrees and the Memsahib started to complain about the rubbish Ducato cab heater. I started checking and the engine temp gauge struggled to get over the bottom line unless we were stopped. Suspect the thermostat is stuck open and only now noticeable that it is colder. Didn’t have tools and couldn’t source a stat at short notice between Cambridge and Folkestone… so we just put up with the lower fuel economy for the week. MrsW complained every day of cold toes when we were driving. I developed a selective and temporary hearing loss to that particular frequency

2. Don’t forget your euro adaptors for the refillable LPG tanks. Yes, she reminded me to buy them regularly in the run up to the off, no I didn’t do it, yes I thought we’d pop into an accessory shop en route, no we didn’t, yes we ran out of gas mid-week. Still it was an excuse to eat out in the evening. I could have borrowed one from the filling station no doubt, but we just planned aire stops with (mostly free) hook up.

3. Ditto the euro hose adaptor for fresh water. Yes she did, no I didn’t. Quick trip to a Bricomarche whilst she perused Maison Du Monde and that was sorted.

4. French aires are great. We found some great ones in little villages (Nogent le Roi being superb). But we learnt quickly it is better to arrive before dark than after. Firstly because they are not always easy to find, secondly because we don’t like to think we are disturbing people already parked, and thirdly because the best spots (especially those with free EHU) are snapped up early.

5. Apps are great. I’ve fitted an Android head unit to the cab and we have loads of apps installed instead of using the phones. We struggled with signal strength/bandwidth sometimes from tethering phones and the gene puddle’s laptop burned through 2gig of data one evening because he hadn’t switched off the Windows10 update optimisation service. Ouch. We will set up a MiFi system for the next trip and test if we need a roof antenna or not. The thread on here on sim card deals is very helpful info.

In terms of Apps, by far the best SatNav for us was Waze. I quite liked Sysgic Truck, but it was a bit unstable and despite having all the van’s dimensions plugged in it tried to take us under a 2.5m height restriction (which was clearly signed thankfully in advance.). Co-Pilot was rubbish visually and had a bug where it constantly cycled through all the voice commands - interestingly it goes up to “Take the tenth exit at the roundabout”, which I presume is the Arc de Triomphe! Googlemaps is pretty good too - but the offline maps seem to be much bigger downloads than other apps.

I couldn’t find an aire/site finder app that was really comprehensive – and we tried them all, buying most of the offline/enhanced version. SearchforSites was possibly the most comprehensive, with CamperContact and Camperstop pretty good too. Sadly in many cases the apps don’t scale well to 7” landscape screens like the head unit. Search for sites particularly has limited screen real estate due to all the menus and banners. Does anyone have a favourite to recommend?

6. France is closed most of the time. For a nation of shopkeepers it can be difficult for us to appreciate that France is closed on a Sunday, Monday morning, every lunchtime (including the out of town centres) and by about 8pm in the evening. OK I exaggerate, but not much. I'm amazed the French economy is doing anything at all in terms of growth...

7. Don’t overestimate how far you will get unless on tollroads. Our initial plan was to motor on down to Bordeaux via a first night and following day visiting the Thiepval memorial, spend a few days biking around and then motor back pdq. We planned a route that avoided the tollroads mostly. D and N roads are lovely to see the scenery, but slow (nice slow, but very slow progress mostly). We revised our plan and only went as far as the Loire. We used the tollroads to come back and made great progress – at a cost. Other than that, the driving was pretty pleasant and nowhere near as aggressive and competitive as the UK.

8. The Tunnel car park is a free aire on the way back. Although it says not to arrive more than two hours before departure, we arrived around 11pm for the 5.29 crossing and the car parks were deserted (it was mid-week at the end of October) and we were fine to bed down for the night.

9. It is superb fun. These were the kinds of holidays we hoped to have when we took the plunge and bought the van this year. It was a short but great trip to learn the van, and as we know France quite well it was helpful to learn these lessons here than on a longer trip further afield.

Can’t wait to get under the tunnel again. Sadly work and GCSEs for the second genepuddle mean this won’t be until May next year. But that gives lots of time for weekend trips in the UK instead!
 
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Sep 12, 2016
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5. Apps are great.
I couldn’t find an aire/site finder app that was really comprehensive – and we tried them all, buying most of the offline/enhanced version. SearchforSites was possibly the most comprehensive, with CamperContact and Camperstop pretty good too. Sadly in many cases the apps don’t scale well to 7” landscape screens like the head unit. Search for sites particularly has limited screen real estate due to all the menus and banners. Does anyone have a favourite to recommend?

6. France is closed most of the time. For a nation of shopkeepers it can be difficult for us to appreciate that France is closed on a Sunday, Monday morning, every lunchtime (including the out of town centres) and by about 8pm in the evening. OK I exaggerate, but not much. I'm amazed the French economy is doing anything at all in terms of growth...

RE 5 We have used Search for Sites dot co dot uk for over a year the website is free there is now an APP at a fiver which can be used offline

Re 6 YEs France opens at 6-7am (yes it is a real time) and most shops close for lunch (in some places you have to be in the restaurant before some of the big shops staff who will eat everything there
some communes we have found the cafes and restaurants shut at 7pm and the place was dead ten minutes later
 
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Phew ... the end is a tad better!! I thought for a minute how the hell did I manage to live in my country for that long:eek:!
Now: Banks opening on saturdays mornings will be shut on mondays, and basically most shops do the same . Week ends for shop keepers go from sundays to tuesdays mornings. A bit normal honestly. Why would "normal" people have 2 days on week ends and shop keepers have only one day.
Lunch time ..... do you work while you're having your lunch? If yes , then it's not lunch time , it's working time and instead of working you, cheeky you, are b***** eating:sneaky:! Not fair for your boss is it:whistle::whistle:?

Now ....positive side, your post is very informative for newbies, and at least, you didn't decide to give a miss to France... Welcome then, indeed;)(y)! And before you ask, no, of course not, I'm not offended, amused more like. You go to another country .... expect what goes with it! I bet Spain has different adaptators... and close at different times :p:LOL:

Amicalement
Frankie:D:D

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cruiser

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That is why we go abroad . Every thing is different . You just slow down and enjoy. We find it easy because we go for two months at a time. But they did enjoy. So truck on funsters.
 
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Glas Robin
Jun 2, 2018
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Absolutely Frankie. We love France with a passion and have visited many times and had lovely holidays. One day we might even buy a little pied a terre there... we were in the boulangerie most mornings by 7am chewing the fat with the queue as that is one of the remaining bastions of civilised behaviour.
 
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Glas Robin
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That is why we go abroad . Every thing is different . You just slow down and enjoy. We find it easy because we go for two months at a time. But they did enjoy. So truck on funsters.

Without wishing our lives away (we're 45 and still busy earning the tax to pay for everyone else!), we can't wait for the time when we can go for 2 months and not just a quick week at half-term.

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bobandjanie

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You get the hang of it after a while, sometimes we are very pleased with shops being Open late. (y)
We went to a restraunt in Spain, had our drinks and waited well over an hour, when we asked ' HOW MUCH LONGER ' the waitress said shouldn't be too long the chief has gone to dinner. :doh:
If only we had known where he ate, we would have gone there. :rofl: Bob.
 

Ivory55

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As for number 6 do you live to work or work to live ? Who has got the right idea the French or the British.
 

Gellyneck

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More than toes wet now!
As for number 6 do you live to work or work to live ? Who has got the right idea the French or the British.
You no reading!:rolleyes::p
Thur basically workin tae pay enough tax tae keep us coffin dodgers in the style we're accustomed tae!:Grin:

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DBK

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If you were arriving at aires in the dark you were driving too far! :)

Our ideal day in France is to arrive at an aire at about lunchtime and then after lunch explore the local area on foot. :)

I normally only use CamperContact but the app as you've found only works in portrait format but I've never found that a problem as I access it on my phone or tablet.
 

klaatu

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Our ideal day in France is to arrive at an aire at about lunchtime and then after lunch explore the local area on foot.
That's exactly what we do, but it seems to be uncommon practice, particularly with the French, who tend to turn up in the evening or later. Sometimes this means they squeeze in where they can with inches to spare, or have to go off in the dark to find somewhere else.
 
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Glas Robin
Jun 2, 2018
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As for number 6 do you live to work or work to live ? Who has got the right idea the French or the British.

We rocked up at an out of town shopping place to pick up a few bits and bobs. Most shops were shut 1215-1400... which just made us wonder how French workers buy anything during their lunchbreak. But as Frankie points out they're having...lunch!

We whiled away the time in the Auchan instead stocking up on wine, cheese and saucisson. An entirely productive use of time.
 
Jan 26, 2017
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If you were arriving at aires in the dark you were driving too far! :)

Our ideal day in France is to arrive at an aire at about lunchtime and then after lunch explore the local area on foot. :)

I normally only use CamperContact but the app as you've found only works in portrait format but I've never found that a problem as I access it on my phone or tablet.
Exactly what we do, I'm amazed at folk that turn up at small popular aires in the evening expecting to find a pitch.

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Oct 7, 2013
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We rocked up at an out of town shopping place to pick up a few bits and bobs. Most shops were shut 1215-1400... which just made us wonder how French workers buy anything during their lunchbreak. But as Frankie points out they're having...lunch
But look on the bright side!

Car parks and parking meters give free parking during that period. If parking is €0.50 per hour, arrive at 1200hrs, pay €0.50 and you can stay until 1445hrs. If you want to stay after the town reopens a total of €1.00 has given you over 3 hours parking.

What’s not to like?

The differences in cultures are what make travel worthwhile.
 
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RE 5 We have used Search for Sites dot co dot uk for over a year the website is free there is now an APP at a fiver which can be used offline

Re 6 YEs France opens at 6-7am (yes it is a real time) and most shops close for lunch (in some places you have to be in the restaurant before some of the big shops staff who will eat everything there
some communes we have found the cafes and restaurants shut at 7pm and the place was dead ten minutes later

We used search for sites in Spain/Portugal this year, paid the small fee and thought it was worth its weight in gold.
Rural SP/Por close on Sundays and Mondays as well as France.
Phil
 
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I’ve said it many times I’m not going to repeat myself all the time....

I just hope with br*** nobody wants to go to France ..... terrible place.....(n)





:whistle:

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Aug 18, 2014
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Exactly what we do, I'm amazed at folk that turn up at small popular aires in the evening expecting to find a pitch.
I rarely stop until late in the evening & why I rarely use them.
Rural SP/Por close on Sundays and Mondays as well as France.

That's news to me ?

6. France is closed most of the time. For a nation of shopkeepers it can be difficult for us to appreciate that France is closed on a Sunday, Monday morning, every lunchtime (including the out of town centres) and by about 8pm in the evening. OK I exaggerate, but not much. I'm amazed the French economy is doing anything at all in terms of growth...
Yes I struggle with it becoming a ghost like experience after 8pm. I sometimes wonder if I'm the only one left in the world.:D
 

Nicepix

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Looks like Chris is having a day off. He's usually the first to draw attention to the things he doesn't like in France. :D2
 

Mr porky

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We loved France this summer including the 2 hour lunch’s you just have to organise your day around them.
Mind after 6 weeks we hotfooted into Spain and Portugal

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May 9, 2016
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Sounds like you have caught the travelling bug. We now swear by, no literally, Park4Night as Our go too app for overnight stops, never once let us down in our 4 month trip to Europe earlier this year, give it a go and enjoy
 
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It's all about planning. I get my gas bottles changed in the morning when there is someone in the pay booth.
I get my diesel at lunchtime when there is no one using the pumps. Due to the love of high kerbs and narrow lanes by the French, I can't get my MH through them.
So, drive in, pay at 24hr pump, reverse out (y)

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I love chilling in France. Never more than when I had been waiting in a long queue at a village post office to buy a couple of stamps. Everyone in the queue seemed to know each other and their family circumstances. The counter clerk was passing the time of day and chatting with each of them in turn, then kept disappearing out the back for a coffee or a fag.
Upon arriving at the window I joked with her that she was a very busy lady, to which she replied: "All the while I have a queue I have a job".
How very pragmatic!
 
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I enjoyed and laughed at your post. We live in and love France. It does depend on where you are. Our local shops and butchers are open all week including Sunday mornings (the butchers closes on Mondays as well).

They open from 7 or 7.30am, close for lunch from 12 until 2 but remain open until 7.30pm. When we first started visiting France even the supermarkets closed at 12 (really!).

A special note. There has been much nonsense spoken recently on another thread about high taxes in France. They are only high if you are an employer as the health contributions are high for the people that you employ.

Apart from that exception they are about the same as the UK and certainly if you are employed by somebody there is not a great deal of difference with the added benefit of good pensions and good support if you become unemployed. Our house taxes for instance including the superb rubbish collection system are far lower than we were paying in the UK.

If you can come across one of the old Route National roads, arrow straight and passing through open countryside on a quiet day they are the most fabulous roads in the world.

The biggest benefit of living here is the road system. A country twice the size of the UK with the same size population and in general a better road system. I rest my case.

Not the perfect county but not far off from it. Move here as soon as you can and you will not regret it.
 

Ricardoe

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We went to France..no watneys red barrell,no heinz baked beans and no cheesy chips..what a waste of time.................................not

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Nicepix

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I enjoyed and laughed at your post. We live in and love France. It does depend on where you are. Our local shops and butchers are open all week including Sunday mornings (the butchers closes on Mondays as well).

They open from 7 or 7.30am, close for lunch from 12 until 2 but remain open until 7.30pm. When we first started visiting France even the supermarkets closed at 12 (really!).

A special note. There has been much nonsense spoken recently on another thread about high taxes in France. They are only high if you are an employer as the health contributions are high for the people that you employ.

Apart from that exception they are about the same as the UK and certainly if you are employed by somebody there is not a great deal of difference with the added benefit of good pensions and good support if you become unemployed. Our house taxes for instance including the superb rubbish collection system are far lower than we were paying in the UK.

If you can come across one of the old Route National roads, arrow straight and passing through open countryside on a quiet day they are the most fabulous roads in the world.

The biggest benefit of living here is the road system. A country twice the size of the UK with the same size population and in general a better road system. I rest my case.

Not the perfect county but not far off from it. Move here as soon as you can and you will not regret it.

Hmmm! We've been here 7 years and whilst we love the majority of things about living in France there are certain aspects that drive us mad. :)

French bureaucracy and their inflexibility is legendary, but add this to the new drive for online access to services using government websites that seem to have been programmed by an 11 year old and an inherent failure to answer emails could explain why after over three months of trying to get them to take my quarterly tax out of my bank account they then take it out twice on the same day. :mad:

French customer service is almost non-existent. If you take out the German owned retailers such as Aldi and Lidl you can sum up the situation as; Once you've bought it any subsequent problems are yours to fix and not the retailer. This is despite France being signed up to the EU's customer protection policies. :rolleyes:

Driving; Yes, French roads are less busy, better maintained and traffic flows freely - usually. But add to this the matter of roads being closed at the drop of a hat often with little or no diversion sign-age, the reluctance of French drivers to use indicators before they commit to the turn or overtake manoeuvre, i.e. French driver facing you at a cross roads doesn't put the left indicator on until he has started moving by which time you have also started moving assuming that he was going straight ahead :eek:

Then there is shopping; if you are fortunate enough to get to a shop during the brief window of time that it is open you need to become familiar with the French system of shopping. First the checkout; this is the place where they park their trolleys in the queue while they go off for the other half of their shopping. It is also a meeting place where everything stops while old friends who haven't seen each other since yesterday can engage in long conversations oblivious to the queue of people behind them. And of course, no French shopping experience would be complete without the two scourges of the checkout process; those who insist on paying exactly the right amount using three or four hundred small coins and those who prefer to pay using their cheque book that is invariably located at the bottom of the bag they have just filled with groceries. And their ID is in the other bag. :sleep:

That said, after a week in good old England I was glad to be back even though my van that I had left 9 days before in the naive hope that it would be ready for work when I returned hadn't been started on. That sums up life in France when dealing with the French. When you are in front of them you are promised the earth. Once you have left you do not exist. They are busy promising the earth to someone else. :LOL:

It is a totally different lifestyle and attitude. This morning my hairdresser did most of the cutting, etc with one hand whilst talking to the tax authorities on her mobile phone. The signal was poor to the point when the call dropped out at least six times and she left me in the chair half cut so to speak while she stood in the middle of the street tying to get some money back that they owed her.

C'est la vie! :D2
 

Janiemou

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i.e. French driver facing you at a cross roads doesn't put the left indicator on until he has started moving by which time you have also started moving assuming that he was going straight ahead

We make multiple European trips every year, and each time we notice several changes. One of this year's highlights was exactly this issue, but it happened in every country we visited, including the UK. Has the EU banned the use of flashers?

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