Those just back from France ...

[LIZS]

can you pass on any tips please re. keeping costs down, driving and what to take/leave at home (self catering)

Andouillettes de Vire anyone? Mmmm. I love French sausages . We saw the Horse Show was on chocolateteapot - but dd and ds are more lapins de Hotot types so didn't go. We also didn't get down to Champrepus - is it that good?
Normandy appears to have two Monoprix - the cavernous and whiffy old one I remember so fondly in Caen, and one in Cherbourg - not a place I would describe as nice, despite the fab Cite de la Mer. So that's Normandy off the Nice Radar it would seem.
I am sure you will be fine LIZS, have a great and economical holiday. I have returned home armed with fragrant liquid soap refills courtesy of Le Petit Marseilliais - about £1 for a squidgy bottle-sized ampoule. There are still bargains to be had.

Looks like the Caen one has gone. The nearest Monoprix stores to Western Normandy appear to be in Cherbourg and Trouville
Long way to drive for your curry spices...

Le Petit Marseillais stuff is gorgeous. They do a fantastic linen and something conditioner that is way better than anything I've ever tried in the UK. I came back loaded with nice-smelling shampoo etc.

The Horse show apparently is very good and free but we were having one of those days where you just know it is better to give up whilst the going is good so abandoned St Lo and went to eat ice cream whilst watching people bungee jumping off an aquaduct . Champrepus was pretty good. The DCs loved being able to walk around with lemurs and we were pretty close to the giraffes at feeding time which they were impressed with. Fairly decent sized enclosures, could be better but have seen a lot worse. There's a play area including a couple of bouncy castles which went down very well after we'd done been round all the animals and the whole place didn't feel crowded which was lovely. I am a Normandy convert now, we had a really lovely time and I'm definitely going back at some point.

The nearest supermarket to where we were was a Lidl with an Aldi down the road - I did feel at times that I was in Germany and not France ! The DCs didn't like the sausages and the UHT milk was a big issue with them so learned a lesson there.

Ds developed a thing about spotting Le Mutant locations - budget food stores that were often signposted but we never saw one. There was apparently one in Barneville-Carteret (not a large resort) but not in any of the obvious locations. The Champion there was excellent and there were also good butchers, bakers and traiteurs nearby.
Mine don't like UHT milk either - I think that's a very reasonable stance. So ironic given that we were in France's premier dairy province surrounded by minibus sized vaches Normandes - even the "fresh" milk we obtained had a BB date of a month later...

Supermarkets close earlier than ours AND they are not open on Sundays

we arrived last Sat too late to shop but thankfully I had taken pasta & a sauce and had nice neighbours in our Gite who gave us some milk & fruit. We then hot footed it to local bakery Sunday morning

Oh and another thing....where we were (not sure if it was a local thing or not; we were on teh Vendee) all shops closed 12:00-14:30. Not a sole in sight.

made wandering around little villages pretty pointless at this time of day. We couldn't even get lunch at 14:00 in the smaller villages.

He he. One common comment amongst the French people I know who aren't very well travelled and therefore generalise about British people based on ones they see in the local towns, is that British people like to eat anytime of the day. They are by the idea of having a main meal at 3pm.

Shops closing for lunchtime is a national thing although in cities many stay open now.

Marina - there's a huge Monoprix in Trouville for starters.

Well we only like to eat at 3pm when we don't get up 'till 10am (after all we are on holiday!), and hence have brekkie at 11am, hence aren't hungry at 12pm....

We're back and survived !!(if a little bruised from a skirmish on the 4 person bike and the tree climbing circuits).

Couple of tips:-

If you go to some of the Vendee resorts at the very end of August/September the local amenities shut down fast - there were no shops, Poste, kids amusements or restaurants open within walking distance by midweek. Nearest supermarkets - Lidl, HyperU, Intermarche were within a 10 minute drive though and LeClerc a little further.

Unleaded varied betwen 1.35e and 1.55e and it paid to come off the motorways at a junction to find the nearest supermarket to fill up.

Can't really rate it as an econmomical holiday. We would have bbq'd more but it wasn't really the weather and only had a hob and microwave available. Meals out set us back about 50-60e a time and drinks about 4.50e. tbh Vendee was similar prices to the Paris which I hadn't expected.

Disney in August was busy although nowhere near as bad as the big European May bank holiday weekend (Ascension Day) we did a few years back. Did get a full day's worth though with fireworks until 11.30pm however could probably have made better use of the Fastpass to get on more rides. Interestingly ds rated Puy du Fou above it and we all felt that was a great experience even in dodgy weather.

Champion, Migros and Intermarche cheap for stocking up. Find out market days and go there for cheap, quality fresh produce. Get children to smile sweetly for free apples. (This happened to us!)

Remember everything shuts between 12 and 2, or 12 and 2.30, or 12.30 and 3 depending on where you are, even in reasonable-sized towns (although big out-of-town shopping centres stay open).

How the hell the french economy does not collapse I just don't understand. I mean, who the sweet buggery needs a 2.5 hour lunch-break? Don't get me wrong, I'd love it if we had such a laid-back approach to work over here, but can you imagine?! Lazy sods.