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Want to move back to Aus

Want to move back to Aus

Old May 19th 2021, 11:05 am
  #136  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by paulry
I used to hate that slip road in Calais where if you weren't paying very careful attention (which is very easy when you're concentrating on driving on the other side of the road, in the pre-satnav days, and without a good navigator), you would find yourself entering the motorway bound for Paris and would be forced to drive something like 25kms before you could turn off and travel back the other way. That happened to me twice over the years!
Few would rate Calais very highly. But talking about motorways to Paris, we had numerous accidents , some very serious with GB drivers in the vicinity I lived. (one hour from Paris) Often mentioned to take care when A GB number plate was in evidence. as not noted as confident drivers on French roads.
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Old May 19th 2021, 2:13 pm
  #137  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by Moses2013
It certainly is an advantage and the whole area around Dover/Folkstone is a mess although even Calais felt a bit depressing. The beaches further out from Calais are good and the town centre wasn't too bad but some very ugly parts on the outskirts and the migrant crisis probably didn't help. It's been a while since I was there though and I must admit that I often try to get through France as quickly as possible. We usually arrive in Cherbourg and then drive down past Toulouse but will probably use the Bilbao route instead now it's cheaper to get there. France has a lot to offer if you're France fan and like the language but just feel more at home when I cross the border to Alt Empordà.
We caught the overnight ferry to Santander had a day and a night there (fab hotel) and them journeyed onto "Aquitaine" spent time there and then drove back to Santander via San Sebastian (one of my fav cities) we enjoyed the holiday very much but if I had the time again I prefer that part of Spain to France..each to their own though
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Old May 19th 2021, 7:31 pm
  #138  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by the troubadour
Few would rate Calais very highly. But talking about motorways to Paris, we had numerous accidents , some very serious with GB drivers in the vicinity I lived. (one hour from Paris) Often mentioned to take care when A GB number plate was in evidence. as not noted as confident drivers on French roads.
The last time I was there must have been around 2005, but from our experience, it was just a place with a bunch of not particularly convenient shops, a bit of a day out and a means to an end to stock up on cheap beer and fags.
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Old May 19th 2021, 11:36 pm
  #139  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by paulry
The last time I was there must have been around 2005, but from our experience, it was just a place with a bunch of not particularly convenient shops, a bit of a day out and a means to an end to stock up on cheap beer and fags.
Very much a place for Brit's to stock up on duty free. Still passed through many dozens of times either going to France when lived in UK or going to UK when in France. Never recall lingering long though.
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Old May 20th 2021, 4:46 am
  #140  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by Moses2013
It certainly is an advantage and the whole area around Dover/Folkstone is a mess although even Calais felt a bit depressing. The beaches further out from Calais are good and the town centre wasn't too bad but some very ugly parts on the outskirts and the migrant crisis probably didn't help. It's been a while since I was there though and I must admit that I often try to get through France as quickly as possible. We usually arrive in Cherbourg and then drive down past Toulouse but will probably use the Bilbao route instead now it's cheaper to get there. France has a lot to offer if you're France fan and like the language but just feel more at home when I cross the border to Alt Empordà.
Calais is no great shakes but the coast down from there to Le Touquet (which is a lovely little town) is quite nice. Great places to eat and beaches that are much nicer than the English side. Dover is grim - most seaports are - but the surrounding area is pretty good
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Old May 20th 2021, 11:47 am
  #141  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by brits1
We caught the overnight ferry to Santander had a day and a night there (fab hotel) and them journeyed onto "Aquitaine" spent time there and then drove back to Santander via San Sebastian (one of my fav cities) we enjoyed the holiday very much but if I had the time again I prefer that part of Spain to France..each to their own though
I'd say a lot of Brits just don't know that corner of Spain, so France via Dover is always first on the list for those who drive and easy for a short break. Many would be surprised and I always say that the North of Spain feels like NZ in parts if you take away the architecture and language. The only downside for us in Ireland is that better ferries go to France and the one to Spain is economy, so for the longer ferry journey you'd rather have the better ferry:-). It's still 670km from Bilbao to Selva comarca for us but at least you are more relaxed.
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Old May 20th 2021, 12:42 pm
  #142  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by Amazulu
Calais is no great shakes but the coast down from there to Le Touquet (which is a lovely little town) is quite nice. Great places to eat and beaches that are much nicer than the English side. Dover is grim - most seaports are - but the surrounding area is pretty good
Love Le Touquet. Back in the days when I had a life we often used to do flights from Shoreham to Le Touquet for the day. Pilots that wanted to enjoy Calvados and other delights would fly out, leaving the non-drinkers to sit in the hot seat on the way back. Deauville/Trouville was another favourite, amazing lunches of mussels, snails in garlic etc. Best days ever
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Old May 20th 2021, 1:33 pm
  #143  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by Amazulu
Calais is no great shakes but the coast down from there to Le Touquet (which is a lovely little town) is quite nice. Great places to eat and beaches that are much nicer than the English side. Dover is grim - most seaports are - but the surrounding area is pretty good
You are right and once you get out of the town along the coast it's a different world. Although further down, we spent one night in Ile de Re and really did enjoy that part.
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Old May 20th 2021, 10:51 pm
  #144  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by Pollyana
Love Le Touquet. Back in the days when I had a life we often used to do flights from Shoreham to Le Touquet for the day. Pilots that wanted to enjoy Calvados and other delights would fly out, leaving the non-drinkers to sit in the hot seat on the way back. Deauville/Trouville was another favourite, amazing lunches of mussels, snails in garlic etc. Best days ever
I used to fly to Le Touquet occasionally too. I worked for an airline that operated flights briefly from Gatwick. The schedule allowed for lunch at the airport before taking the aircraft back. The difference between the lunch offerings in the restaurant at Le Touquet vs food at Gatwick was unbelievable. It was a very popular route while it lasted, even though we couldn't drink.
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Old May 21st 2021, 4:42 am
  #145  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by Pollyana
Love Le Touquet. Back in the days when I had a life we often used to do flights from Shoreham to Le Touquet for the day. Pilots that wanted to enjoy Calvados and other delights would fly out, leaving the non-drinkers to sit in the hot seat on the way back. Deauville/Trouville was another favourite, amazing lunches of mussels, snails in garlic etc. Best days ever
Sweet. This reminds me of a trip I took my partner on back in the 90s. We went on a flight/lunch package from Lydd in Kent (I'm sure it was Lydd but could have been Shoreham) to Le Touquet. It was a great day. The flight was in a prop plane called an Islander, which carried, if I remember correctly, 11 passengers. It was a beautiful summer's day and we flew fairly low over the Channel and had a great view the whole flight. We landed in Le Touquet and were all then taken to lunch at a nearby restaurant, which was great, and then flew back to Kent in the late afternoon. It wasn't very cheap but was an awesome experience.
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Old May 21st 2021, 9:32 am
  #146  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by Amazulu
Sweet. This reminds me of a trip I took my partner on back in the 90s. We went on a flight/lunch package from Lydd in Kent (I'm sure it was Lydd but could have been Shoreham) to Le Touquet. It was a great day. The flight was in a prop plane called an Islander, which carried, if I remember correctly, 11 passengers. It was a beautiful summer's day and we flew fairly low over the Channel and had a great view the whole flight. We landed in Le Touquet and were all then taken to lunch at a nearby restaurant, which was great, and then flew back to Kent in the late afternoon. It wasn't very cheap but was an awesome experience.
Fantastic! I know they did run packages like that from Lydd around that time, we would see the planes there when we flew into Lydd - nice little airport, if rather remote. It was used a lot for training flights from Shoreham.
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Old May 21st 2021, 2:34 pm
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by Pollyana
Fantastic! I know they did run packages like that from Lydd around that time, we would see the planes there when we flew into Lydd - nice little airport, if rather remote. It was used a lot for training flights from Shoreham.
What flight training did you do? I'm probably going to start next month. I've done a bit in the past but now I want to finish it and get a licence
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Old May 21st 2021, 2:44 pm
  #148  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by Amazulu
What flight training did you do? I'm probably going to start next month. I've done a bit in the past but now I want to finish it and get a licence
How exciting, I always wanted to learn to fly but couldn't afford it when I was younger and am too ancient now. My nephew's a flight instructor at Bunbury airport, he was just about to be hired for his first commercial pilot job by Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong when the pandemic hit, so that was the end of that. He's pretty happy though, instructing mightn't bring the big bucks but at least he's working and flying.
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Old May 22nd 2021, 7:01 am
  #149  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by spouse of scouse
How exciting, I always wanted to learn to fly but couldn't afford it when I was younger and am too ancient now. My nephew's a flight instructor at Bunbury airport, he was just about to be hired for his first commercial pilot job by Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong when the pandemic hit, so that was the end of that. He's pretty happy though, instructing mightn't bring the big bucks but at least he's working and flying.
Lot's of older people flying! When I went to have a look at the flying club, I met loads of guys (and a few women) who are way older than me. As long as your eyesight is good and you've got all your marbles, you can fly

The airline industry is not one to be in at ATM - and won't be for a few more years. One of the father's at my son's old school was an A380 captain for Emirates based in Dubai - earning at least $500k tax free - until the middle of last year. Now, he's probably flying a bus and on $60k. Any pilot who's got any flying job is very lucky
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Old May 23rd 2021, 5:56 am
  #150  
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Default Re: Want to move back to Aus

Originally Posted by Amazulu
What flight training did you do? I'm probably going to start next month. I've done a bit in the past but now I want to finish it and get a licence
I just did a Private Pilot's Licence, never went on to do any instrument flying or anything like that - simply couldn't afford it. For the same reason I let the licence lapse when I left the UK and never did an Aussie conversion at all. Just used to fly for fun with a group of friends, based at Shoreham. Most of us were in our mid-late 30s but we had one younger wizkid amongst us who went on to fly for British Midland, and is now a British Airways Captain. I learnt in a Cessna 152, and went on to fly Piper Warriors.
Me, him and one of the other guys entered the Pooleys Dawn to Dusk competition in the late 90s, that requires you to come up with a theme for a flight, like flying over as many castles as possible in a day (between dawn and dusk) or maximum mileage that can be achieved in a day, We chose to visit around 15 major airports, the sort you couldn't or wouldn't usually land at in a 4 seater Piper Warrior - Leeds/Bradford, Edinburgh, Belfast, Isle of Man, Cardiff were some of them. Great experience being amongst airliners! We did approach Gatwick and Heathrow, neither would let us land (both said they were scared of the implications if we crashed and took their runways out of action!) but as we were airborne from Shoreham about 4.30am we got permission to overfly the runways at both of them - very little traffic around at that time of day. Being overhead the runway at Heathrow was a tremendous thrill, I remember hearing QF9 calling up as it came in from Melbourne/Singapore, that really was mixing with the big boys! Around 10 hours of flying, and we got back with 10 minutes to spare before dark. As we got sponsored and did it all for charity, all the airports waived the landing fees and most gave us free fuel too.
Best thing I ever achieved was that licence and I got so much fun out of it. Still take any chance I can to get up flying, usually managed a flight when on trips home if I could rustle up a mate who still had a licence. Definitely go and complete yours!
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