Buying the wine in France – is it worth it?

A couple of people have commented on the trip I had with my friend Liz (alas no poor Josephine) to stock up on wine for the wedding. Comments have been around how organised I appear to be and that it’s a long way off yet – a good 7 months in advance – but also with corkage and travel costs do you save any money?……

Personally I think if you are paying corkage or if you are not then the answer is a huge yes! (Within reason obviously)
Why?

We’ll let me try to explain…….

The hypermarkets will pay for your crossing so the ferry or train is often free, your only travel cost is your petrol and we spent 60quid in diesel.

The Prosecco we bought was £6 a bottle cheaper than it was in the Uk and I bought 90 bottles. That’s a saving of £540

The white wine was a £4 saving per bottle so a saving of £120 on 30 bottles

The red wine again was a £4 saving per bottle so a saving on 40 bottles of £160

So just on UK prices (shop bought) we saved a total £820. Factor in corkage and petrol that’s got to be seen as impressive!

Some venues we spoke to had a £10 per bottle of sparkling wine corkage costs. This is not only ridiculous! But means at £16 per bottle instead of the hotels £25 a bottle it’s still worth considering. Other venues charged per head so cheaper still!

The supermarkets have many offers too so there were bottles of wine for as little as £1.75 and deals like 3 bottles for £6

I would love to hear from anyone who agrees or has found an obvious fault with my maths! ( I am the worst maths person ever – Liz can verify!)

Always a chance to learn something new – Driving in France

Obviously after a day in France I am an expert on the driving rules and top tips………………

OK obviously I am not, so here are some very interesting bits I picked up on the way there (and back) that are well worth taking note of if you are thinking about popping over to Calais like we did!

1. You have to have a full driving license and you have to be over 18.

2. You have to have the vehicle registration document to show proof of ownership (V5C document) in the car with you

3. Proof of insurance has to be with you. Also note that even if you are full comp in the UK you may only be third party in mainland Europe so check you are covered at the level you want to be.

4. Headlamp adjusters – Because we drive on the other side of the road to France our headlights dip to the left. This can cause problems for other drivers so you can get kits to fix this while you are away. You may or may not need these on your particular car model so worth checking.

5. French law states you have to have a spare set of bulbs. Its actually the law and matters not if you cant even change the bulbs yourself. I am curious to know if anyone has ever been asked to show their light bulbs?

6. Breathalyzer kit – Used to be a penalty if you didn’t have one but now there isn’t. You are supposed to have 2 for each person. (Also worth noting the low tolerance on drinking and driving its about 1/2 the limit in the UK) This means you cant go crazy testing the wines at the supermarkets if you have to drive (as Liz found out)

7. Hazard warning triangle – for if you break down and you have to have one in the car

8. Yellow or orange high viability vests. They are not allowed to be kept in the boot they have to be in the car so you can pop them on before you get out of the car

9 They have really fancy speed cameras that you can not even see so watch the speed limits. They have set high targets of numbers of people they want to catch.

10. Just because you are abroad does not mean you can drive and talk on your phone. You will get a 130euro fine if you get caught! Do not talk on your mobile and drive

11. Children under 10 have to sit in the back seats unless there aren’t any and babies can go in the front but have to be in a rear facing car seat with the airbag turned off.

12. Diesel is really cheap in France but petrol is not too much different

13. The wine stores and major supermarkets were open 8am to 8pm but check before you go!

We got a brilliant kit to take with us on Amazon and the AA one is really good with everything in it.

Planning the ‘Cruise’ of a lifetime

One of my bridesmaids is always going on about how brilliant a cruise is so I have decided to go on one.

Its not a hen do cruise nor is it honeymoon planning, we are off to France to raid the supermarkets for plonk!

The wonderful Josephine (Hurstbourne Priors ) and my good friend Liz offered to come with me to check out the duty free Prossecco and how could a girl refuse an offer like that!

Josephine has a ticket for the Eurostar and the need for speed, so it would of been rude to have refused her kind offer. Liz and I have a brilliant pallet for wine tasting so we obviously make the A team!

I have booked us into a fantastic looking hotel called Hotel Maurice.

The rooms are brilliant

We have a room like this!

and it has secure parking which is a must when you have a car fool of booze.

I will fill you in on how we get on. I am expecting this to be an epic journey (just to get to the train will take hours and hours).

Better go polish up on my poor GCSE french! Oui?

Any tips for the trip will be much welcomed!