France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Where you go, where you stay and everything to do with getting there and back.

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project 2006
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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by project 2006 »

my view is that the holiday starts and finishes at your front door. Make sure that you enjoy everybit inbetween. Just because you turn and head back towards home does not mean the holiday is over. Its not over untill you put the key in the front door. Sometimes its easy to start to feel blue when you are heading back, just enjoy it, your still on holiday.
Regards david

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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by ttcharlie »

brandonabbie wrote:just back from 2 weeks perpignan very hot nice veiws,go every year,keep on toll roads!people who say not are mad!you will get losted!you will get stuck in traffic and you will use alot more fuel!any more info lets us no :D

I would agree with this on the Toll roads bit.

I once spent 2 days lost in Mid France following the 'Toutes Directions' Signs.

We always use the Toll road to the area we want, and then have more time to explore the area when we get there.
Counting Bricks........

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oorwullie
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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by oorwullie »

ttcharlie wrote:
brandonabbie wrote:just back from 2 weeks perpignan very hot nice veiws,go every year,keep on toll roads!people who say not are mad!you will get losted!you will get stuck in traffic and you will use alot more fuel!any more info lets us no :D

I would agree with this on the Toll roads bit.

I once spent 2 days lost in Mid France following the 'Toutes Directions' Signs.

We always use the Toll road to the area we want, and then have more time to explore the area when we get there.

i would assume that ye don't understand much french and that ye don't drive a bay window.............. :rollin

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sarran1955
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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by sarran1955 »

oorwullie wrote:
ttcharlie wrote:
brandonabbie wrote:just back from 2 weeks perpignan very hot nice veiws,go every year,keep on toll roads!people who say not are mad!you will get losted!you will get stuck in traffic and you will use alot more fuel!any more info lets us no :D

I would agree with this on the Toll roads bit.

I once spent 2 days lost in Mid France following the 'Toutes Directions' Signs.

We always use the Toll road to the area we want, and then have more time to explore the area when we get there.

i would assume that ye don't understand much french and that ye don't drive a bay window.............. :rollin


They should have been trying to get to that other French town

'Autres Directions ' :rofl :rofl :rofl

Cordialement,

:ok
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82JEW75
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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

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Image

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oorwullie
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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by oorwullie »

82JEW75 wrote:Image

this is why the boxer motor was designed............. :P
ochaye thenoojimmyhaudmaheedtillastickmabunnetoanit

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cal
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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by cal »

Hi Guys,


We are now back from France (well have been for a week now but only now had chance to get on the net...) and all I can say is HUGE SUCCESS!! Thank you to all of you who gave feedback and had an input in the journey. Sarran, so sorry I couldn't stop by. We passed your area at 13:15 and I know yhou said nobidy would be there untill 7pm

We went from le Havre to Bordeaux, Through pyraneese (left to right on map) and stayed at the most beautiful place I have ever seen by a huge lake and wild horses, we were the only ones there from about 7pm to 11am and it was amazing. We only actually payed for one campsite (in bordeaux which was really nice with villas etc) and I am so glad we didn't pre-book campsites as everytime we used the satnav to find one we always passed a much nicer spot that we could park up at and stay for free with nobody else around! (Although noticed a sign when leaving one of them saying we could have been fined 1034 euros - close call haha!... I will post all thousand odd of our pics soon lol), from the Pyraneese we went through Tours, Limoges, Oradour Sur Glane, Rouen and finally back to Le Harve ... yup, 1800 miles in 1 week and we loved every inch of it!! ... I will say mind - Not too sure the auto routes are worth the money, one cost 25 euro, another 45 euro and others between 2 - 10 euros (Very much doubt you'd spend that much extra in fuel if avoiding them) plus we found the non auto route roads so much nicer to drive on simply for the views and the french feeling. The autoroutes were just like motorways here .... booooorrrrrriiininnnng ............. I DEFINATELY prefer driving on the right hand side of the roas, don't ask why it just feels so much more natural lol!

Any questions or promts for advice send them over and i'll be happy to help! ... Too much to right everything I learned and all tips I have so just prompt me

Cheers again guys, you all contributed to an absolutely extrodinary get away!


:ok
Cal
"Nature and wisdom never are at strife." (Plutarch)

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sarran1955
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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by sarran1955 »

Hello,

Well you got close.... :)

Maybe next time...

See... it was worth all the effort and planning... :wink:

Cordialement..

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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by Ralf85 »

Cal
I am so glad you had such a great time. It is amazing that you and Ghost123uk were there at the same time and yet had completely contrasting experiences! One particular serious error he made was to rely upon an AA map. That is a no no and thrice no option. AA maps are rubbish. If you want to find your way around and also get out of driving problems effectively and find out of the way places you must buy a Michelin large scale road atlas!!! There is no substitute.

Perhaps next time you might try and go over a bit earlier in the year (June is the best - Summer weather but without the July/August school holiday hustle and bustle). I look forward to seeing your holiday snaps!
:ok
Patrick

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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by ghost123uk »

Hi Cal, glad you too got back safe and sound and enjoyed it :)

We too hardly used the Autoroutes (Toll or not) except for the first and last bits of the journey in the north.

1800 miles in one week = Wow, that's twice the weekly mileage we did, and we seemed to be driving more than we had intended !

We did see a British blue T25 going round the same roundabout as us (in a small town) but were a bit surprised when the driver did not stop to say Hi, wasn't you I hope ! We spoke at length to one British couple in a T25 who had never heard of Club 80-90, naturally we recommended they sign up !

Ralf85 wrote:Cal
I am so glad you had such a great time. It is amazing that you and Ghost123uk were there at the same time and yet had completely contrasting experiences!

I suppose it depends on what you are looking for. It's not that we did not enjoy it, we just didn't find what we thought we would.

Ralf85 wrote:One particular serious error he made was to rely upon an AA map. That is a no no and thrice no option. AA maps are rubbish.

Nah Nah, Patrick, we hardly looked at the map, except to get a general feel for where we where and where to go. We used a TomTom GPS with latest Euro map and it was GREAT :). It really helped us get to where we wanted and when we kind of deliberately got lost (looking for rural village charm :? ) it got us back on track with little or no fuss = highly recommended for a trip like this.
Got a new van, but it's a 165bhp T4 [shock horror] Accurate LPG Station map here

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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by Ralf85 »

Your experience over there was so different from mine (and Cal) every Summer (and other times) it almost seems like you were using a different ferry service and visiting a different country.

I have never had the delays you described when going over on the Ferry. We did have a two hour delay once when we were transferred from the old Hoverspeed service to a normal Ferry (bad weather), but in over thirty five visits to France that was the only delay I've experienced.
I am sure that I warned you about Aires. They are fine for some people, but if you are a softie like me who likes some home comforts and electric hookup and a shower every morning then campsites are the way to go.
At lunch times most restaurants are open in most places. However, I recommend a good baguette sandwich for lunch and save your self for a good value quality fixed price menu of goodies in the evening. How you could not find quality fixed price meals where you have been astounds me. It's never been my experience. The odd less interesting meal perhaps but normally excellent.
If you buy baguettes and goodies from a local baker's shop the bread is normally excellent. If you buy it from a supermarket its normally pretty poor.
Your reference to Pizzas and hamburghers at lunchtime suggests you were buying snack stuff which they do have there. The best pizzas I have ever had have been made in wood fired ovens but in Southern France. As good as Italian ones any time.

Lastly I am never glad to be back. If I could retire and had the dosh I would stay there for a lot longer. Probably the thing that would have changed the whole experience for you, would have been if you had gone in the Summer when it was dry and hot rather than Autumn, then you would have shared the outdoor shorts and T shirt experience with lots of other people, who are now mostly back at work.
Shame.
:?

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cal
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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by cal »

sarran1955 wrote:Hello,

See... it was worth all the effort and planning... :wink:

:ok

Definately!! Although I have got to say we made a massive school boy error ... we arrived over their and realised we hadn't actually printed out / programed or route into the satnav!! :evil: ... we pulled up on the side of the road in Le Harve and all I can say is thank goodness I posted it up for you guys to see!!! :D I logged on to here on my phone and 5 mins later (and £34.00 worth of 3G) we were all programmed and ready to go! :ok

Ralf85 wrote:Cal
Perhaps next time you might try and go over a bit earlier in the year (June is the best - Summer weather but without the July/August school holiday hustle and bustle). I look forward to seeing your holiday snaps!
:ok
Patrick

Yeah definately go over their a bit earlier next time - would have this year but there was no way of doing it unfortunately ... Saying that though it was sunny most of the time there, I believe it rained about 2 days out of the 8. 8)

ghost123uk wrote:Hi Cal, glad you too got back safe and sound and enjoyed it :)

We too hardly used the Autoroutes (Toll or not) except for the first and last bits of the journey in the north.

1800 miles in one week = Wow, that's twice the weekly mileage we did, and we seemed to be driving more than we had intended !

We did see a British blue T25 going round the same roundabout as us (in a small town) but were a bit surprised when the driver did not stop to say Hi, wasn't you I hope ! We spoke at length to one British couple in a T25 who had never heard of Club 80-90, naturally we recommended they sign up !


Hi Ghost,

Yes was brilliant thank you, sorry to hear your experience wasn't quite as positive but hope you still enjoyed the break!? Yeah seems a long distance but to be honest doesnt seem like we drove that far as we broke it up with things to do and tried to do most in the morning so that we could chill in the evening ... It was also good to have a constant change of scenery :D

Nope, definately not me lol! Mine is cream and burgandy (In my icon thingy).

We also saw a couple that were touring from Holland, they were retired and travelling for 6 weeks. We enjoyed a bit of van inspections, I also recommended they join the site, had a spot of lunch in the sun and moved on lol.

Ralf85 wrote:
I have never had the delays you described when going over on the Ferry.

I am sure that I warned you about Aires. They are fine for some people, but if you are a softie like me who likes some home comforts and electric hookup and a shower every morning then campsites are the way to go.
:?

We had around an hour delay getting on the ferry uk side but not much of one coming back. They were doing quite a few vehcle searches on the french side coming back ... Thay searched every car in front of me but to my supprise missed me out lol!!

I didn't even use Aires ... I just found places that looked nice and parked there lol ... Don't know if I could have got into trouble for that though??

Cheers :ok

Cal
"Nature and wisdom never are at strife." (Plutarch)

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Re: France in 3 weeks!! TIPS PLEASE :D

Post by gimpey »

have you got a big trailer to carry everything you put down, have you got a roof rack to put the wife,(no room inside) :P :P , a blacket to keep her warm :rofl ,,, it will take you three weeks to get their, im going in november im taking stuff out :rollin

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