brianagain

1 Yes. mine (SANEF) is registered to a Nationwide Debit card. 2 Yes, including the Millau viaduct and the Pont de Normandie 3. No, although the battery life is a factor. I've used mine intermittently for over two years so I'm now wondering if the battery is due to run out soon - fingers crossed for the entry on the A16 south of Boulogne next week when I'm due to use it again. At least if it fails there, I should be able to exchange it at the SANEF office there?? Brian (again)

There is an artisanale brewery at Arcambal (Brasserie Ratz) near Cahors which brews a top-fermented (ale) blonde (pale) beer "Bière d'Olt". Their beers were on sale in Cahors a couple of years ago when I was last there. La Lutine brewery at Limeuil also produces a similar beer but I have not yet tried this so hesitate to recommend it. Not sure how far either of these are distributed into 47. Top fermented French beers can usually be distinguished by the words haute fermentation somewhere on the label. One of the best examples is also my favourite "3 Monts" which I am pleased to see is now quite widely distributed in France; it's sold in 75cl bottles and at 8.5abv so has to be treated with care. Brian (again) http://www.lalutine.com/ http://www.bieredolt.fr/

Ryanair have just announced increases for checked in bags (now £16 per bag) and a check-in fee of £8 per return journey, both effective from May 5. Seems this is a ploy by Ryanair to discourage passengers taking too much luggage in order to make their aircraft lighter and so use less fuel. (others may see this as an attempt to raise revenue to counter increasing oil prices, while still keeping the headline fare on offer as cheap as possible). Brian (again) ref: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/apr/28/ryanair.theairlineindustry

In this context (an expression of quantity) "en" is substituted for a phrase/item already mentioned or intimated, and means essentially "of it/them/these" For example, when I have several of the same heavy items in the trolley at the supermarket checkout I will hold up one of them (such as a large bottle of beer or water) and just say "J'en ai six" - in other words "I have six of these" The person at the checkout then usually leans over to confirm this fact. Brian(again)

There is, of course no shortage of British beers on sale in the various outlets in Calais which cater to the cross channel trade. Good selection in Oddbins and Sainsburys from the major UK brewers such as Greene King, Shepherd Neame, Black Sheep, Adnams (my favourite beer is their Broadside), etc. You can also buy things like Bud though why anyone would want to remains a mystery to me. Surely Bass is famous in France, featuring as it does in Manet's painting "Bar at the Folies-Bergère" British style real ales are also brewed in Brittany by Brasserie Coreff - served on handpump in pint glasses. This brewery dates back about 20 years from its beginnings in Morlaix by two local rugby players who were inspired by the beers  (Double Dragon?) they drank when playing against teams when touring in South Wales. Same again with the various British style brewpubs in Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux i(Frog and Rosbif, etc) Brian (again)

In Sainsburys yesterday I noticed a small range of 'British' goods (baked beans, etc) but otherwise Sainsburys Calais (like nearby Tesco's, Oddbins, Majestic, etc.) is essentially catering to the cross channel booze trade or tourists on their way (back) to the UK. Interesting to note that Sainsburys prices are currently at €1.44 = £1. You can pay at the sterling rate at the checkout but in cash only. Not sure how long this will last given the current low exchange rate (€1.29 = £1). As Baz says above you can check current prices on their website. Brian (again)

Travelled back to UK today via the tunnel.  Junction 8 to 9 still closed southbound this afternoon with a long tailback approaching junction 8 as lorries are sent down the M20 to be "stacked/filtered" down to Folkestone and Dover, and other traffic is sent on a diversion on the A20 towards Ashford before joining the M20 again at Junction 9. Wasn't too bad when we went out late morning last Sunday, but looked much worse this afternoon as we passed on the way back.  Allow extra time for this diversion. Also if you are heading to the tunnel in France be prepared for diversions on the A16 from both north and south as traffic there is affected by the French version of 'Operation Stack'. Having called in to Sainsburys at Coquelles we were diverted south down to J38 before the diversion allowed us back north to the tunnel at J43. Brian(again)

Many years ago during my time in the Royal Navy on returning back to the UK we always had to clear customs onboard (often embarked at Gib enroute to Devonport) and the advice given then still stands in good stead, If the customs officer (or whoever) asks a question it is always better to agree or give a polite answer. eg He says "this Seiko watch / Olympus camera / gold bracelet / etc. looks to me like a cheap imitation sir". You agree yes. Don't argue. If an imigration officer asks where I have come from/been I'm happy to say "the Moselle Valley / Drome Provencal or whatever" - being pleasant to officious or otherwise officals costs nothing. Just because someone has a boring job shouldn't be a reason to get yourself (and others) uptight. Either that or pressure your MP to get the UK to sign up to the Schengen agreement. Brian (again)

There are  2/3 direct services daily from Nantes to Lille (either Lille Europe or Lille Flandres) taking 4 to 5 hours. Travelling by TGV can be far more rewarding and relaxing than flying especially if you book early enough (prems) and can get cheap first class tickets. Eg. my daughter is travelling next May from Paris to Macon first class return at £47 (second class at the same time was £46). Booking early and being flexible is the key. As Baz says, the DB site is good for checking what services are available but booking online at SNCF (or Raileurope) or your local station (Nantes?) 3 months before travelling will get you the best deal. My advice: if possible go first class TGV to Lille if the price is right then look for the best Eurostar deal to Ebbsfleet (the 15 min from here to St Pancras seems to be mainly underground or industrial wastleland). Having just travelled return Lille/Nimes in first class I am impressed that the first class compartments are pretty much always fully booked (unlike many similar services in the UK).  My wife liked the fact that on Duplex carriages there are separate Ladies and Gents toilets (don't ask!) Don't know about others arriving in St Pancras at present but I'm not impressed at being offloaded into what appears to be a confusing shopping / food  mall with little clear signage to exits / taxis or other rail services etc. Brian (again)

The Logis de France (http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/) website allows you to input preferences (incl. animals allowed in rooms & animals allowed in restaurant) under the option using selection criteria. Brian (again)

[quote user="Gardian"][quote user="dave21478"]Gatwick to luton though is a lot easier than I thought[/quote] That's the good news. The bad news is that the rail fare is £119.78 .......................  one way! [/quote] The rail service between Gatwick Airport and Luton Airport Parkway is a direct service (no changing trains, etc,) and a standard single costs £23  while a first class single costs £36.80. Service is with First Capital Connect trains. Brian (again)

No actual experience but you could look up GLD Lines (Grimaldi-Louis Dreyfus) who had a service in 2007 from Toulon to Civitavecchia. Brian (again)

If I had to make this trip I would probably choose to go by train - TGV to Paris and then on to Munich via TGV/ICE and then on to Salzburg (about 12 hours from Poitiers) - details in the db (deutscheBahn) website Driving would also take about 12 hours assuming there is more than one driver (check viamichelin) As for flying you could choose Ryanair via Stansted or Flybe via Southampton but timing and costs are up to you to research. Brian (again)

ErnieY; I did realise I had misspelled Kaysersberg (Ger; Kaisersberg) early on but at least you failed to pick up my original misspelling of Ribeauvillé. (so there!) Powerdesal; Kaysersberg does have a pay car park at the bottom end of the town (surrounded by low evergreen hedging, outside what may have been the original town wall).  Approaching from Colmar the road skirts Kientzheim, a lovely little walled wine village. Many of the street signs in the area are indeed in French and Alsacien. With my London accented French the locals assume that anyone speaking French with a 'foreign' accent is German so often a request will elicit a rely in German; can be confusing! Bonne année Brian (again)[:D]

I guess I should double check my references before posting replies; apologies but the photograph was taken in the nearby wine village of Kayserberg (67) in Alsace (we visited both on the same day in June 2005, that's my excuse). The description given by Steve certainly fits Kayserberg which has a castle overlooking it, a river through the town and a mill race as described. If you go to Google Earth, select Panoramio on the left hand panel and then zoom in on Kayserberg you can view photos posted by visitors to confirm the location. Sorry that it doesn't solve the mystery of how you took (or acquired) a photo of a place you've never visited. Brian

Pads Sorry for the delay in replying Open Google Earth: go to the left hand menu panel and check or select Geographic Web and then a check against Panoramio. Now home in on a specific point of interest; as you get closer you should see blue dots appearing and when you get really close a camera icon indicating where someone has placed a photo. If you select/open a photo you will see in the bottom right hand corner "Upload photo". This involves creating an account (like Bucketshop?) which allows you to place your own photographs into Panoramio to be (eventually) viewed by anyone else. Good luck if you go ahead. Brian

This is a photo taken by me in Ribeauvillé in June 2005. Brian (again) [IMG]http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj74/hommelbier/P6240027.jpg[/IMG]

Pretty poor clues -  the photo shows the wine village of Ribeauville in Alsace! To my mind the Alsacian region is one of the most scenic parts of France yet strangely missed by many visitors from the UK Brian (again)

I read this week that the EU has demanded Credit card companies slash the fees they charge for authorising sales. "The EU ruling should mean a fall in prices of up to £1bn a year in the UK" according to one British newspaper. I've checked the Ryanair website as they are usually quite keen to report anything which might be of consequence to their customers but it fails to get a mention as it may be even harder to justify their credit card fees in the future. Brian (again)

As the UK still remains outside the latest Schengen changes (as well as the eurozone which also increases considerably from January) I doubt it will really impact in the UK any more than at present. However, it is interesting to note that a poll in today's Figaro shows that a large percentage in France (70%/30%) are worried about the effect of the open borders in France. Brian

Over the past few days I have uploaded several of my own photographs, mainly taken in France, but also elsewhere in Europe, to Google Earth hoping they might be eventually added (it takes several weeks before they are reviewed and possibly added). In the meantime perhaps other forum members might think it worthwhile looking to add their own photos, especially if they are of places not already covered on Google Earth. If not, you can always check out where you live. Brian

Can I echo the responses by both Baz and Will and suggest that you fill up at Portsmouth before embarking. We now always top up at Tesco in Ashford before taking le Shuttle, as, frankly, for the peace of mind and extra expense (if any) it is just not worth doing otherwise (and we get the Clubcard points!). Brian (again)

Recently while driving to Valkenburg in the Netherlands we were intrigued by the different names given to places depending on which country we were. Our journey through France towards Belgium took us past Dunkerque (eng,. Dunkirk) towards Furnes. However once across the border we had passed Duinkerk and were heading towards Veurne before turning off on the N8 towards Ieper (Fr. Ypres). Later we passed Kortrijk (Fr. Courtrai) north of Rijsel (Lille) and Doornik (guess) towards Aken in Germany (D and Eng: Aachen and Fr: Aix la Chapelle). There are no doubt many more examples of confusing names (due no doubt to history) but is it not time that we had some kind of directive from Brussels/Bruxelles/Brussel (?) which made it a sensible idea to adopt the official name of each town/city as the norm. Firenza instead of Florence and Brugge instead of Bruges?. We British would agree to call the French capital PARIS if they could call the British capital LONDON (plus Canterbury not Cantorbery). It would at least make road signs a bit more understable in border regions. Brian

Just back from Aachen again. In the past we have visited Christmas markets in Lille and Rouen plus Valkenburg (Netherlands) and they are enjoyable but having more recently been to Christmas markets in Cologne and Aachen, I am convinced that you really have to visit a German market to experience the real thing. PS Aachen is also called Aix la Chapelle in French. The Dutch call Lille, Rijsel and there are countless similar examples (Dunkirk/Duinkerk/Dunkerque). Is it not time for a European directive whereby each place name is also known internationally by its own proper name. eg. the French would call the English capital city LONDON while the British would reciprocate and call the French capital PARIS. On a serious note this would make road signs much more easy to understand especially in border regions. Brian

http://forums.ifdg.net/lofiversion/index.php/t4106.html He looks pretty cheerful here (and it's all for charity!) Brian