Off to the sun soon on the 'vomit comet' as some have called the speedferries super cat - but hell I travel well and how sick can a wife get in 45 minutes?
I've not been to Boulogne before so any tips welcome. I have been driving in France for 20 odd years so I don't need the sort of 'Don't forget the red triangle' or 'keep on the right' type of advice but any tips on how to avoid getting lost in Boulogne appreciated especially if combined with where to get that all important tank topping fill of fuel before returning to the UK. Unfortunately I will be returning on a Sunday night - never the best time to get cheapest fuel. Is there anywher near the port that does a good deal on fuel?
Do these new 'chip-and pin' cards work in European pumps?
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This the kind of thing satnav is excellent for.
In its absence, try www.getmethere.co.uk
Stick in Boulogne to wherever you are going and get the map up. That's stage one of your question about getting about or lost - print the map at a suitable zoom level. It does real time traffic too, but that's no good unless you have access to the web live whilst you are there. (ipaq with bluetooth and a mobile would do it I guess).
For stage two, turn on "points of interest" and choose petrol stations. Because it shows actual brands (how cool is that!) you can then pick a brand you know to be cheaper than others, assuming you DO know that.
As an aside, and ironically given the mention in your post in the first sentence, one place we absolutely loved in Bolougne was Nausicaa, which is actually a really great aquarium. If you like fish of course. We went to Boulogne especially to go there.
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Don't rely on using a UK card in those self service fuel stations. Sometimes the pumps will accept it, sometimes not. I have no idea why this should be the case.
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Don't forget the Paremesan cheese. Oh hang on, that's bolognese not Boulogne.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
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>>Don't rely on using a UK card in those self service fuel stations. Sometimes the pumps will accept it, sometimes not. I have no idea why this should be the case.
I've been told that at weekends, UK cards aren't accepted by the self service pumps but during the week they are. I tried it out and it seems to be the case. 1.01 to 1.05 euros seems to be the price for diesel off the main routes.
We've just come back from Boulogne via Speedferries this Saturday, small delay. Don't bother with the ferry food and drink or the over priced cafe/bar across from where you queue up to board. We had a good crossing but a big, big side on wave just off Dover shut up the screaming kids and had the parents taking their place! Nausicaa is amazing and the fortified old town of Boulogne both well worth finding the time for IMO.
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>>and how sick can a wife get in 45 minutes?
If I extrapolate that from the behaviour of a 3 year old, I would have to say a lot. Probably a very lot.
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i was there just last week, so here goes..........
i travelled speedferries and found them to be excellent - on time, and no troubles with a lurching stomach, even thought the sea was a bit rough on the way home.
Exiting the ferry port at boulogne is a bit odd compared to calais as it doesn't take you directly on to the motorway. But just drive slowly and follow the signs, and you'll be fine. Just before the motorway junction is a big E Leclerc with a petrol station (around 1.05 Euro for a litre of diesel)
If you find and follow signs to the Auchan centre commercial the diesel is even cheaper, and there's a big supermarket and other large shops to satisfy even the greatest shopaholic wife.
www.auchanboulogne.com
I could not use my chip and pin card at the tanks, so make sure you use the pumps that funnel into the manned kiosk lane, where it's ok.
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thanks all
I booked speedferries early in the year so I get a second free crossing as part of the deal. You have tempted me to use it for an autumn minibreak and stay in the Boulogne area - but in a couple of weeks I am off to the sun so tht means 'DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU HAVE CROSSED THE LOIRE'. All I will need is fuel and the makings of a snack when I get to Boulogne as we speed for a BB Hotel stop in Orleans. I arrive in Frane early on Thursday evening so I can't see any problems there but my main concern is getting a good deal on fuel on Sunday night before we return so I can return with a full tank to UK. I will probably be low when I get to Boulogne and I don't want to waste time, the family's patients and the last of the fuel driving round Boulogne. I recognise the uncertainties of fuel shopping in France on a Sunday so I am appreciative of the advice.
On the subject of the motion sickness perhaps I'll just slip the girls a Stugeron and let them curl up in the back with a good map so us boys can enjoy the trip in peace.
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We had a very "interesting" trip on the vomit comet a few years ago, but enough said about that. One of our daughters had always suffered very badly from travel sickness and in complete despair and as a last resort we tried "sea-bands" from Boots after somebody recommended them. They are an elasticated cuff with a little button underneath that presses on a particular spot on the wrist - feng shui, kung fu or something like that - and it worked! In fact very well indeed, no need for the handy ice cream tub after that. So if travel sickness is a problem worth a go if you can still get them.
Cheers MGs
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>>>but my main concern is getting a good deal on fuel on Sunday night before we return so I can return with a full tank to UK
I suppose you'll be saving around 20p a litre on diesel or £12 on a tank fill. Not sure I'd make it my main concern but there again that is a couple of decent St Emilion Grand Cru so .....
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>>>but my main concern is getting a good deal on fuel on Sunday night before we return so I can return with a full tank to UK I suppose you'll be saving around 20p a litre on diesel or £12 on a tank fill. Not sure I'd make it my main concern but there again that is a couple of decent St Emilion Grand Cru so .....
Thanks all for the tips.
I'm confident with pretty much all of the detail but it would rankle me something rotten to sail for Dover with an almost empty tank - it would be as bad as arriving home with room for a few more bottles still free in the boot.
In the past I have gone P&O and having paid a kings rassom for the crossing I have always made the most of the investment by ploughing off south without a thought for N France - looks like I have been missing a few things that could be achieved in a short break to use my 'free' crossing.
I love it when a plan comes together.
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Years ago when I was a flying instructor I had a student who was very queasy/sick when doing aerobatics; this was both when he was sitting thru my efforts and also during his own! I bought him some 'C' bands and they did the trick. Apparently the same effect can be achieved by puting a small peanut or a coffee bean on the inside of your wrist, tucked into your watch strap. For the best effect you need 2 so obviously, 2 watches, or layout the dosh in Boots for the real thing!
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We had a very "interesting" trip on the vomit comet a few years ago, but enough said about that. One of our daughters had always suffered very badly from travel sickness and in complete despair and as a last resort we tried "sea-bands" from Boots after somebody recommended them. They are an elasticated cuff with a little button underneath that presses on a particular spot on the wrist - feng shui, kung fu or something like that - and it worked! In fact very well indeed, no need for the handy ice cream tub after that. So if travel sickness is a problem worth a go if you can still get them. Cheers MGs
I remember using those quite a few years ago. They were really good, far better than drugs.
I can also still remember being realy aggreaved (sp?) when one of my younger brother's hypochondriac friends was in the car with us, he was fine about a long car journey before we set off but when he asked what the straps were my mam explained and asked him if he got car sick. Well of course he suddenly remembered that he did, this was a child who suffered from EVERYTHING, so my mam dutifully took one of my straps and put it on him, that really narked me, I was the one who got genuniely car sick not him! It's just not fair...
oops, a bit of suppressed childhood rage coming to the surface there! :-)
Calm blue ocean, calm blue ocean....
Blue
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Sunday night is the problem here if the chip and pin cards don't work at either the Auchan or the Leclerc (opposite sides of the motorway from memory) on the automatic pumps because the sites will almost certainly be otherwise closed. Maybe the alternatives on the drive in frrom the motorway will be keeping their prices down to be competitive.
For your less hurried trip and a bit of a blowout, I heartily recommend staying at the Hotel Atlantic at Wimereux just a few kilometres north of Boulogne. The chef/owner Alain Delpierre is excellent and they do splendid set menus of around 7 courses for around £30 a head (more if you like) but the best deal if you are staying overnight is to opt for the wine package by which the hotel chooses the wine for each course. They are not necessarily all French wines and well worth the £16-17 cost per head.
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be sure to pay a visit to the old town, walk around the top of the ramparts, nice views! have a bite to eat then get on the road.
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be sure to pay a visit to the old town, walk around the top of the ramparts, nice views! have a bite to eat then get on the road.
Nice idea for next time but I have a volcano to climb so I will be zooming off - The volcano has only been there for 200 Million years so we are in a rush to get there the next morning.
Boulogne sounds better than Calais - can't see why people would want to hang round there.
- and my sickie daughter will also vouch for the effectiveness of 'the sick bands'. About £8 in Boots but a lot less than a lifetime of tablets - Problem is they don't put kids to sleep like stugeron.
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Nice idea for next time but I have a volcano to climb so I will be zooming off - The volcano has only been there for 200 Million years so we are in a rush to get there the next morning.
Is the Volcano the "Puy de Dome"? If so, you are in for a real treat and it is well worth the drive. My missus is scared of heights so didn't go up in the coach. I was so gobsmacked by the view and scale, I had to use my mobile phone to call someone and tell them.
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The coach only takes you so far, you need to get out and walk the last bit for the best views. Take your own sandwiches, the cafe at the top of the mountain has a captive audience...
Worth going into Clermont Ferrand and looking at the cathedral.
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Thanks - guess we are talking about Puy le Dome - We fully intend to take a walk and as we are stying in CF we will inflict another cathedral on the kids - Does it have a labyrinth like Chartres and Amiens?
I am looking forward to the next day 2000ft up on that bridge outside Millau - 'This is your captain speaking - We are currently at 2,000ft' - Not the usual sort of announcement you get in a Picasso. The kids will find it intollerably cheesy but I will be on holiday so best they 'cut me some slack'.
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Not sure about the labyrinth, can't remember.
Bear in mind that when on the Millau bridge, you can't stop and won't see anything - so I've been told.
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Not sure about the labyrinth, can't remember. Bear in mind that when on the Millau bridge, you can't stop and won't see anything - so I've been told.
That is a disappointment- I didn't expect to stop but I did anticipate some view.
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There is a stopping place before you cross over the bridge.
www.viaducdemillaueiffage.com/
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There is a stopping place before you cross over the bridge. www.viaducdemillaueiffage.com/
Wow - love the web cam image - an empty road.
I wonder if they have a webcam on the portway bridge at Bristol on the M5
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This is all making me nostalgic for another drive in la Belle France! God, I love driving over there! Never a chore.
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This is all making me nostalgic for another drive in la Belle France! God, I love driving over there! Never a chore.
- Unless you are lost in Orleans
Seriously this must be my 20th trip but I am as excited as always. There is so much to France: beaches, mountains, decent weather, open roads, history, modern stuff, great food and cheap booze. I don't go to the coast anymore - too many of the wrong sort of Brits - [the wrong sort being 'not my sort'] - but that still leaves more than a lifetime's worth of things to do and places to go. Journey's end this year is Nant about 75 miles north of the Med. 24 miles from where we stay is a mountain with a 360 mile view from the top. On a clear day it is said you can see from the Alps to the Pyranees.
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Having just returned from my first driving holiday in France I can only add to the favourable comments about French roads and driving.
I can'nt wait to return to the traffic free autoroutes,and cheaper diesel.
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For me, as the driver, there is no better way to start a driving holiday than a P&O Ferry Dover to Calais, priority boarding, breakfast (a Big Boys brekkie & expensive) in Langans at the sharp end of the boat, relax in the 1st class lounge, priority off the boat, drive for 3/4 hour to the stop on the motorway where the wind turbines are for a quick 1/2hr doze, then thrash on with a french radio station on just to get in the mood. I let those mad french folk overtake/undertake at whatever speed they like, sit on my tail or whatever. It's funny, but their antics do no bother me at all in France. Anyone in the UK tries that when I get off the ferry gets the middle digit! I am sure that driving in France reduces blood pressure!
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Just done two weeks in France and yes its still a Joy. Used my Fav crossing (Portsmouth / Caen). The roads are still brill, and French drivers are improving a lot. Got flashed twice by French speed cameras, ugly things - a large grey box (not on a pole) in the middle of the central reservation usually hard to spot untill you get to recognise them. Still who cares. ;)
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Just done two weeks in France and yes its still a Joy. Used my Fav crossing (Portsmouth / Caen). The roads are still brill, and French drivers are improving a lot. Got flashed twice by French speed cameras, ugly things - a large grey box (not on a pole) in the middle of the central reservation usually hard to spot untill you get to recognise them. Still who cares. ;)
Get yourself the IGN France Routes No 951. It has all of the fixed speed cameras on it. I found one in the local Intermarche and find it much better than Michelin, which I have always used.
I was flashed by one on the N 138, past Le Mans, on the way from Caen. The route from Caen to Chateauroux,via Alencon, Le Mans, Tours is dreadful. Took me ages to get to the Lot. Did the return leg via the N 154 from Orleans and skirting Rouen. It's much, much quicker.
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I was flashed on the Nantes periphique (90kmh limit) and the N137 just north of Nantes (110 kmh limit)
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I was flashed on the Nantes periphique (90kmh limit) and the N137 just north of Nantes (110 kmh limit)
I was flashed at in the local public toilets but thats another story entirely!
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>>Journey's end this year is Nant about 75miles north of the Med. 24 miles from where we stay is a mountain with a 360 mile view from the top. On a clear day it is said you can see from the Alps to the Pyranees.
Co incidence time, we visited Mt Aigoual last year while staying at Camping val de Cantobre near Nant. Did not get the full view but well worth the drive nonetheless.
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Co incidence time, we visited Mt Aigoual last year while staying at Camping val de Cantobre near Nant. Did not get the full view but well worth the drive nonetheless.
That is where we are staying too - Thanks for the recommendation relating to the trip to Mt Aigoual- Sometimes these things look good in the guidebook but the reality can disappoint. We have one week at Val de C before off to Soliel Plage on the banks of the Dordogne - Poor name but a great site.
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I drove across it going north a few weeks back and you can clearly see the valley below as the protective side barriers are transparent. Clearly you can't see straight down but you're aware that you're very high up. The viewpoint on the northern side is quite a detour but well worth it. The most dramatic approach would be heading south. It's a thing of beauty and wonder and a credit to the French.
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Sorry it's not obvious but the above spiel refers to the Milau viaduct
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If anyone is interested, I know it is not as stupendous as the Milau bridge, but the wife and I walked to the summit of the Pont de Normande last year. Equivalent I guess of walking up the Dartford Crossing....only nicer!
There is a very narrow walkway of about 1metre, then a small kerb stone between you and the traffic!
I found it quite exhilirating. I can't imagine for a moment that the health and safety nannies would let you walk up the Dartford Crossing (even if it was worth doing)
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Sydney harbour bridge is well worht doing the bridge climb on too
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Crossed this twice in the last fortnight. Kids were v. impressed. You don't really get a feel for how high up you are, the scale of the thing would probably be more impressive from down in the valley looking up. It's looked good throughout its construction anyway.
We didn't get out for the viewing platform - we queued for over 45 minutes at the peage (which is on the north side only) on the busiest day of the year for French roads. Anyway the old way through Millau used to have at least an hours traffic if not more, so it was definitely worth doing.
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British architect/designer though!!
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Which Chirac didn´t mention at the opening ceremonie BTW....
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Which Chirac didn´t mention at the opening ceremonie BTW....
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Was that because he was 'french managed' perhaps.
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I can now answer my own question.
As other members have indicated UK cards are a real chocolate fireguard in unmanned fuel stations. L'Eclerc is easy to find but unmanned out of hours - like a Sunday night. Fortuntaely there is an Esso about 400m past McDonalds - It was manned at 2000 tonight.
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