Trip to France

[Pudsey Bear]

I assume that we can take whatever food we want now as it is purely for our own consumption?

this below says otherwise but what are the realities?

What Food Can I Take to France In My Motorhome? | Melling Motorhomes

www.mellingmotorhomes.co.uk

 

[trevskoda]

I assume that we can take whatever food we want now as it is purely for our own consumption?

this below says otherwise but what are the realities?

What Food Can I Take to France In My Motorhome? | Melling Motorhomes

www.mellingmotorhomes.co.uk

You could get stung by the border guards.

 

[barryd]

D923 above Gavarnie? Saw marmots there August 2018.

If thats the col de Tentes above Gavarnie then yes. Well it must be. There is only one road up there. That is where I first came across Marmots. I think it was our second day there on that very trip. I headed up the mountain on my own about 8am just for a ride out and all of a sudden one dashed out in front of the bike and then another. I can just remember thinking WTF is that!!!! Like a shaggy scotty dog with a cute face. Saw loads after that.

 

[barryd]

I assume that we can take whatever food we want now as it is purely for our own consumption?

this below says otherwise but what are the realities?

What Food Can I Take to France In My Motorhome? | Melling Motorhomes

www.mellingmotorhomes.co.uk

I think most people are finding you can take what you like despite what the rules say. In fact I think there was something on here a while back saying stuff for your own use is ok. Cant remember but I wouldnt worry about it. Anyway. your going to France!! Dont be part of the Cheddar Cheese and Heinz baked beans brigade! Like taking coal to Newcastle or whatever the phrase is.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

No just basics really, & a couple of frozen home made curries, I'm not a foodie and Liz is like a dustbin, but I do hope to eat a lot (a VERY lot) of nice local grub.

 

[mark61]

Recent trips I hardly take anything, few essentials like tea bags, emergency stuff that's been there for ages.
I'm on holiday and I enjoy food shopping, and it's much the same as it is here, want processed crap, you'll find it, want decent stuff, you'll find it. Some of the food markets are pretty cool though.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

We intend to avoid the big towns unless there are some with good architecture (heads up on those please) the small villages where they have proper old fashioned food shops and cafes, A lot of proper French bread with real and cheese may get scoffed, if I'm going to have a heart attack I'm going to enjoy the journey. I just hope the prices are not too silly like here, £3.95 for a coffee last week in Keighley ****, no we didn't.

 

[TJBi]

Define "good" architecture!
And given that you intend to cover a lot of France, the list could be long! Royan in the Charente-Maritime might be interesting.
I would certainly recommend checking out https://www.francethisway.com/most-beautiful-villages.php and considering visiting any that are close to your route.
There are also numerous natural locations that are worth visiting. Some of those on the Atlantic coast south of La Rochelle may not be too wheelchair-friendly. If near Clermont Ferrand, there is a large area of extinct volcanoes - the landscapes are superb. Also worth checking out some of the canals; towpaths are often reasonably broad and well-surfaced.

 

[barryd]

We intend to avoid the big towns unless there are some with good architecture (heads up on those please) the small villages where they have proper old fashioned food shops and cafes, A lot of proper French bread with real and cheese may get scoffed, if I'm going to have a heart attack I'm going to enjoy the journey. I just hope the prices are not too silly like here, £3.95 for a coffee last week in Keighley ****, no we didn't.

Some of the bigger supermarkets like E. Leclerc and Carrefour if you find a decent size one are pretty good for cheese, booze and of course bread. Thats all you need in France.

Most tiny villages will have a bakers and a few other little shops and oddly always a hairdressers. Im sure Ive even been to villages with virtually no houses that still had a hairdressers and a bakery. In fact if your looking for somewhere for the night these remote quiet little villages quite often have a little Aire. That time of year you may well get it to yourself. Sometimes a better option than staying in the Aire in a "hot spot" town or beach resort.

If you go for a drink, pick a local cafe or bar that the locals drink in and not one in a tourist hot spot and go in and drink at the bar, its cheaper. Wine is (or was the last time I was there) about half the price it is in a bar here but beer can be pricey. Dont drink coffee so no idea on that one.

 

[alcam]

Some of the bigger supermarkets like E. Leclerc and Carrefour if you find a decent size one are pretty good for cheese, booze and of course bread. Thats all you need in France.

Most tiny villages will have a bakers and a few other little shops and oddly always a hairdressers. Im sure Ive even been to villages with virtually no houses that still had a hairdressers and a bakery. In fact if your looking for somewhere for the night these remote quiet little villages quite often have a little Aire. That time of year you may well get it to yourself. Sometimes a better option than staying in the Aire in a "hot spot" town or beach resort.

If you go for a drink, pick a local cafe or bar that the locals drink in and not one in a tourist hot spot and go in and drink at the bar, its cheaper. Wine is (or was the last time I was there) about half the price it is in a bar here but beer can be pricey. Dont drink coffee so no idea on that one.

Quite strange to , probably, most of us . Small town , 3 bakeries , 3 hairdressers and 2 flower shops . Unfortunately sometimes no bar . If you see a bar with a PMU sign that's usually where the locals go
Depending where you are lunchtime is best time to eat many places don't do evening meals

 

[guerdeval]

D923 above Gavarnie? Saw marmots there August 2018.

When we lived in Brittany we had Marmots in the forest along with the wild boar , I once turned over a 8x4 galvanised corrugated sheet and I swear the snake hiding under it was as thick as my leg and over 4 feet long as that’s as much as I saw of it before it slowly slithered off and I’d dropped the sheet and run back in the house, I’m sure there are creatures in the wild that shouldn’t be there.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Victorian-era stuff Tom when they actually gave a crap what places looked like, I posted a cuba video just now and the old buildings there must have been awesome before they were allowed to decay, some are still great to look at though, we like nothing better than to sit outside a cafe watching the people go by and looking at nice buildings, not easy to do in the UK anymore, the Luftwaffe buggered up quite a lot.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Some of the bigger supermarkets like E. Leclerc and Carrefour if you find a decent size one are pretty good for cheese, booze and of course bread. Thats all you need in France.

Most tiny villages will have a bakers and a few other little shops and oddly always a hairdressers. Im sure Ive even been to villages with virtually no houses that still had a hairdressers and a bakery. In fact if your looking for somewhere for the night these remote quiet little villages quite often have a little Aire. That time of year you may well get it to yourself. Sometimes a better option than staying in the Aire in a "hot spot" town or beach resort.

If you go for a drink, pick a local cafe or bar that the locals drink in and not one in a tourist hot spot and go in and drink at the bar, its cheaper. Wine is (or was the last time I was there) about half the price it is in a bar here but beer can be pricey. Dont drink coffee so no idea on that one.

We won't be using the supermarkets much except for basic things, local shops are what we use in the UK, and what I did when in France before, this will be my 4th trip but first in a van.

We don't bother with booze so finding a bar isn't high on our to do list, we do drink, just don't need to.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

What about Medical, I'm building up our meds so we don't run out, and I'll make a special order two weeks before we go, but what if we fall ill or have an emergency while away we have our ehic or whatever it is called cards, but is there anything else to take care of?

 

[Jo001]

Take plenty of over the counter meds like paracetamol, cold and cough remedies, antihistamine and immodium, they are,all a lot more expensive in Europe.

 

[barryd]

When we lived in Brittany we had Marmots in the forest along with the wild boar , I once turned over a 8x4 galvanised corrugated sheet and I swear the snake hiding under it was as thick as my leg and over 4 feet long as that’s as much as I saw of it before it slowly slithered off and I’d dropped the sheet and run back in the house, I’m sure there are creatures in the wild that shouldn’t be there.

Marmots in Brittany!!! Definitely shouldn't be there!

 

[barryd]

What about Medical, I'm building up our meds so we don't run out, and I'll make a special order two weeks before we go, but what if we fall ill or have an emergency while away we have our ehic or whatever it is called cards, but is there anything else to take care of?

Doctors will see you if need be or for worse just present yourself at the nearest hospital. Doctors or dentists you can google or the Ti is usually a good bet if you need some help finding one and a translator. There is usually a charge for a GP visit but its not much. 112 is their 999.

 

[mark61]

We won't be using the supermarkets much except for basic things, local shops are what we use in the UK, and what I did when in France before, this will be my 4th trip but first in a van.

We don't bother with booze so finding a bar isn't high on our to do list, we do drink, just don't need to.

Most of the time, I think you are best off using local shops too. Same rules apply as here, and everywhere really.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I just think of all the streets we drive through with charity shops untold takeaways. These were all small businesses that the supermarkets have managed to bring to their knees, and with it the character of the streets, the nearest we got to a supermarket as kid was the co-op who didn't close any shops as they were built at the same time.

 

[TJBi]

Victorian-era stuff Tom when they actually gave a crap what places looked like, I posted a cuba video just now and the old buildings there must have been awesome before they were allowed to decay, some are still great to look at though, we like nothing better than to sit outside a cafe watching the people go by and looking at nice buildings, not easy to do in the UK anymore, the Luftwaffe buggered up quite a lot.

The RAF and USAAF made a bit of a mess of a few places in France! However, Saint-Malo's walled town was sympathetically rebuilt, unlike many other port towns/cities.