Want to move back to Aus
#136
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Perth
Posts: 6,765
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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!
#137
BE Forum Addict
Joined: May 2007
Location: England
Posts: 4,206
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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 .
#138
Banned
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 22,348
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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.
#139
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2008
Location: Perth
Posts: 6,765
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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.
#140
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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 .
#141
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 6,148
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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
#142
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,787
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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
#143
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 6,148
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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.
#144
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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
#145
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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
#146
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,787
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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.
#147
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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
#148
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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.
#149
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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.
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
#150
Home and Happy
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Keep true friends and puppets close, trust no-one else...
Posts: 93,787
Re: Want to move back to Aus
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!