French Aires Etiquette

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tonywolst

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First time I'll be trying one out, Anything to watch out for?
Normally when entering a campsite I rock up with hardcore RnB blasting away, slam on the handbrake into a J-turn wheels screeching to halt, let the kids spill out and scatter the bikes, inflatables and other toys all over the place, let the youngest pee against the ehu whilst he's plugging it in, then light immeasurably smoky bbq and yell at the misses to get me a beer, Will I blend in?:Rofl1:
I'm joking of course, but seriously any tips?
 
It is vital when communicating with the locals (telling then what you want them to do for you) that you talk SLOWLY and LOUDLY... (in English of course) :Rofl1::Rofl1::Rofl1:

JJ :Cool:

Don't forget to slip in Agincourt and Waterloo but steer clear of footy and cooking...:thumb:
 
tonywolst said:
First time I'll be trying one out, Anything to watch out for?
Normally when entering a campsite I rock up with hardcore RnB blasting away, slam on the handbrake into a J-turn wheels screeching to halt, let the kids spill out and scatter the bikes, inflatables and other toys all over the place, let the youngest pee against the ehu whilst he's plugging it in, then light immeasurably smoky bbq and yell at the misses to get me a beer, Will I blend in?:Rofl1:
I'm joking of course, but seriously any tips?
Click to expand...

Yeah swop the R&B for heavy rock :thumb:
 
JJ said:
It is vital when communicating with the locals (telling then what you want them to do for you) that you talk SLOWLY and LOUDLY... (in English of course) :Rofl1::Rofl1::Rofl1:

JJ :Cool:

Don't forget to slip in Agincourt and Waterloo but steer clear of footy and cooking...:thumb:
Click to expand...


:Angry::Angry: i am going to teach you good manners my Prince!!!!

Well ... will do that in a softy way ... promissed:BigGrin::BigGrin::Wink:


Your Princess:BigGrin:

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Last edited:
tonywolst said:
seriously any tips?
Click to expand...

Stay well clear of GB plated vans.. park with the French.. however....word of advice..
don't park with your door facing your French neighbours .. they will expect an invite and drink all your wine .. :cry:

seriously... have fun.. the French are lovely people and enjoy conversing.. just try using a little French rather than shouting :Laughing:
 
I don't know which aires you are on about, but I do know the women don't seem to shave the ones under their arms :Eeek:
 
In the same vein always slam door and shout at each other instead of talking ....

Seriously, though they are mostly sposed to be 'no camping equipment' which includes awnings, but in practice of course, do whatever everyone else does. If the spaces are marked then don't encroach - this time of year the best ones will likely be fairly packed so often there's no chance - but some or wider than others, even with hedges etc, so you can of course use whatever space you get, or there maybe a grassed area behind/in front/to the side in which case again, just use he width/length of your own van.

Quite a lot don't actually have EHU except on the borne where it's sposed to be just used for eg battery recharging, but you don't usually get a lot of time for your dosh so really aren't all that good for anything, hence why so many of us have solar panels and don't bother taking anything much that doesn't work off 12v. And in any event, even on a campsite where you are paying for and can have a proper EHU, you might need one helluva lead .... or a couple to reach the post from your pitch. And also may not often be the full 16a - I forgot the water heater was on on an aire at Le Treport second time out, I was already boiling a kettle on the one elec ring we have on the stove at the same time - and ridiculously decided to use the microwave oven too ... :Doh: just sorta forgot ... !

Couldn't reset the trip on the post but were able to plug in elsewhere under cover of late afternoon gloom! :Blush:
 
And here are some useful phrases to get wrong:

After winning a game of pool in the bar - 'Je suis le champignon' (I am the mushroom)

When thanking the wife of a fellow camper for their hospitality - 'Merci , beau cul' (Thank you, good ar*e)

When ordering a drink at the bar - 'Juste de tomat/orange etc (Equality for tomatos/oranges etc)

At the barbecue - 'Deux branlette s'il vous plait' (Two hand jobs please)

At the chemist, with an upset tummy - 'Avez vous d'huile de castor?' (Do you stock beaver juice?)

They really do work - I've used 4 of these 5 phrases to very good effect.

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Having just done 6/7 weeks in France mainly on Aires, we found no problem whatsoever. We did what we do on CL/CS's in England, i.e. treat others with respect and it is returned.
Some aires are a tight fit and even when not don't expect to be able to put table n chairs out, others have loads of space.
As has been said look at what others do and fit in. :thumb:
 
peter marshall said:
thats a good thing then
Click to expand...

Indeed, opened no end of doors, people (for whatever reason) dislike some English.

We have been to visit orchards and when the French lady identified that I was Welsh she gave me an apple. When we saw some French rugby fanswe shared a picnic with them and I gave them a 'spare' Welsh flag. In Calais we were talking to some French campers and they wanted a spare Welsh Flag.

Overall, we have been made welcome in all of France, the people are very nice, polite and overall the children are well behaved, I suspect some are brought up by grandparents.

Mrs ShiftZZ and I spent a few days in Barfleur in the company of a camper from Brittany who spoke NO English and we got on like a house on fire, common words, rugby, Cardiff is enough to start them off,

I love the place, the people and the food.

Just relax, enjoy, it will be fine...
 
TDH said:
And here are some useful phrases to get wrong:

After winning a game of pool in the bar - 'Je suis le champignon' (I am the mushroom)

When thanking the wife of a fellow camper for their hospitality - 'Merci , beau cul' (Thank you, good ar*e)

When ordering a drink at the bar - 'Juste de tomat/orange etc (Equality for tomatos/oranges etc)

At the barbecue - 'Deux branlette s'il vous plait' (Two hand jobs please)

At the chemist, with an upset tummy - 'Avez vous d'huile de castor?' (Do you stock beaver juice?)


They really do work - I've used 4 of these 5 phrases to very good effect.
Click to expand...


:Rofl1::Rofl1::Rofl1::Rofl1::Rofl1::Rofl1: Oh my goodness!!!!!:Doh:
 
ShiftZZ said:
Indeed, opened no end of doors, people (for whatever reason) dislike some English.

We have been to visit orchards and when the French lady identified that I was Welsh she gave me an apple. When we saw some French rugby fanswe shared a picnic with them and I gave them a 'spare' Welsh flag. In Calais we were talking to some French campers and they wanted a spare Welsh Flag.

Overall, we have been made welcome in all of France, the people are very nice, polite and overall the children are well behaved, I suspect some are brought up by grandparents.

Mrs ShiftZZ and I spent a few days in Barfleur in the company of a camper from Brittany who spoke NO English and we got on like a house on fire, common words, rugby, Cardiff is enough to start them off,

I love the place, the people and the food.

Just relax, enjoy, it will be fine...
Click to expand...

Yes I would agree with that, BUT that can be said of any country or people, we also have been to France and other european countries over the last few years and have not found any anymosity or trouble from the locals, and indeed shared many a bottle or two.

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TDH said:
And here are some useful phrases to get wrong:

After winning a game of pool in the bar - 'Je suis le champignon' (I am the mushroom)

When thanking the wife of a fellow camper for their hospitality - 'Merci , beau cul' (Thank you, good ar*e)

When ordering a drink at the bar - 'Juste de tomat/orange etc (Equality for tomatos/oranges etc)

At the barbecue - 'Deux branlette s'il vous plait' (Two hand jobs please)

At the chemist, with an upset tummy - 'Avez vous d'huile de castor?' (Do you stock beaver juice?)

They really do work - I've used 4 of these 5 phrases to very good effect.
Click to expand...

Im teaching the misses now, cant wait to see the reaction she gets:Rofl1::Rofl1:
 
tonywolst said:
First time I'll be trying one out, Anything to watch out for?
Normally when entering a campsite I rock up with hardcore RnB blasting away, slam on the handbrake into a J-turn wheels screeching to halt, let the kids spill out and scatter the bikes, inflatables and other toys all over the place, let the youngest pee against the ehu whilst he's plugging it in, then light immeasurably smoky bbq and yell at the misses to get me a beer, Will I blend in?:Rofl1:
I'm joking of course, but seriously any tips?
Click to expand...

You sure you aint been on one
Sure ive parked next to you:Doh:
Geo
 
ShiftZZ said:
A Welshboy in exile?

A "gog" by any chance?
Click to expand...

No, just a saes who moved to "Gods County" in '59 and stayed.
Moved to France last year, love every minute of it, miss the Scarlets tho.
 
Hi we are in France at the moment and have used several Aires if you take the one in Sarlat for example it is jam packed and not meant to leave more than a metre between vans so no room for camping stuff. It is 5eruo a night and right in city centre so really all you could expect and ideal to visit the city for night or two. We have just spent 2 nights on a lovely aire right next to river and town and loads of room for table and chairs and some others have BBQ out it has a toilet block and cost 4 euro a night which is well worth it.
 

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