WELCOME TO FRANCE LAND OF FOOD AND WINE


TIP:  THE FRENCH BROUGHT OUT A LAW LAST YEAR REQUIRING MOTORISTS TO HAVE A BREATHALYSER IN THEIR CAR.  WE BOUGHT OURS AT THE CAR FERRY TERMINAL BEFORE BOARDING THE FERRY.  THEY COME IN PACKS OF TWO AND COST ABOUT SEVEN POUNDS.  THE FRENCH HAVE NOW DECIDED THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE PASSED THE LAW THEY ARE NOT GOING TO ENFORCE IT.  JUST IN CASE THEY CHANGE THEIR MINDS WE WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU BUY A BREATHALYSER  BEFORE TAKING YOUR CAR TO FRANCE.


Weather Bordeaux
TIP:  THE FRENCH DO NOT WANT YOU SPEEDING ON THEIR ROADS.  THEY HAVE STARTED TAKING DOWN SIGNS ALERTING YOU TO EXISTING SPEED CAMERAS AND ARE BUSY PUTTING UP A LOT MORE UNMARKED ONES.  IT IS ALSO ILLEGAL TO HAVE A DEVICE IN YOUR CAR SHOWING THE LOCATION OF SPEED CAMERAS.  IF YOUR SAT NAV SHOWS THIS INFORMATION YOU MUST BE ABLE TO DISABLE IT.  TALK TO THE MANUFACTURER IF YOU CAN'T.  WE HAVE ALSO NOTICED THAT A FAVOURITE PLACE FOR ROADSIDE SPEED TRAPS IS IN WOODSIDE CLEARINGS AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WHERE IT IS DIFFICULT TO SEE IT AHEAD.  MORAL---WHEN IN FRANCE MAKE SURE THAT YOU OBEY THE SPEED LIMITS



 

Biarritz with the casino on the right.  A very clean, very expensive resort. Worth visiting but do it out of season because the hotel prices rocket up in the main holiday months.  The restaurant below the casino was reasonable but the prices in the shops were 2-3 times U.K. prices.  There is no poundland or 99p. land here.  This is the home of surfing and you will see plenty of that.




 
The French seaside resort of Royan in the rain.  It probably looks great in the sun.  This photo was taken from the Golf Hotel which is a pleasant place with friendly staff.  It has its own parking and the side street is also quiet.  Royan is at the end of the Gironde estuary about 80 Km Northwest of Bordeaux.  There is a car ferry across the mouth of the estuary allowing access to the Medoc area.
 

There are a number of beaches at Biarritz.  This is one of the smaller ones on the way round from the Casino area towards the main surfing beach.  There are a number of restaurants and cafe's overlooking this beach.


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Mont St. Michel is similar to Mount St. Michael in Cornwall.  The Cornish Abbey was actually ruled by this French abbey.  To get to the top of the Abbey there are 285 steps.  The abbey is set on an island with a causeway linking it to the mainland.  There is a large car park, loads of hotels and restaurants as well as campsites on the mainland end of the causeway.  There is a shuttle bus service to the abbey entrance.
 

Inside the Abbey compound a street circles up towards the main Abbey.  The street is lined with cafe's and tourist shops.  As you would expect nothing is cheap here.





 

They get everywhere don't they?  An Irish pub within the compounds of the old town in St Malo.  Though St. Malo is a ferry port and most visitors get straight off the ferry and continue on their journey without exploring the town it is worth spending a day here
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There is a high wall surrounding the old town of St. Malo (left).  It is interesting to walk around it.  Within the old town are a number of interesting shops and some very good restaurants.  There is a car park at the entrance to the old town.




 

Reims at night.  The main street is thronged with outdoor eating places and includes this interesting fountain.
 

St Omer a small market town in the North of France with its typical French market selling a wide variety of fresh produce at keen prices.. Parking is available at the back of the shops in the main street




 
The luxurious interior of the EU Parliament Building in Strasbourg..  It is hard to believe that this building is used for less than a week each month.  When not used it is heated and lit. The other EU Parliament Building is in Brussels.  The waste in having two EU Parliaments is amazing!  Do you need any
better reason to join UKIP?  www.ukipsolihull.org
  or www.ukip.org/westmidlands
 

The exterior of the EU Parliament building in Strasbourg..  It has fine architecture and an imposing presence but EU citizens pay dearly for it.  There are a number of other EU institution buildings to the left.  What a good example of needless empire building.
Roll on the referendum!
  www.ukip.org




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