Greetings from the team at France For Families and welcome to our fifth newsletter.  We've had an incredibly busy start to the year with trips to the Alps, Paris and the Nord Pas de Calais - look out for new content soon!  The website has been developing rapidly with a major update to our Lot-et-Garonne section as well as adding new attraction information for the Côte d'Azur, Dordogne, Eastern France, the Loire and Paris.  And we're particularly proud of our new low cost airline page - we reckon we have listed every possible low cost airline flying to regional airports in France.

In this edition of the newsletter we bring you tips and advice on family holidays with a difference, latest travel information, important information about reciprocal health arrangements, shopping tips and information on some major events being held in France in 2005.

Not booked your summer holiday yet?

Activity Holidays - another new section in the France For Families website is based around activity holidays for families.  There are many different ways to have an activity holiday in France, here we'd like to introduce you to Country Kids....

Country Kids is a concept created by Stuart and Tracey Scher, both of whom gave up high flying city jobs in the UK for the peace and tranquility of rural France.  Now they run a small farm in the foothills of the Pyrénées, where they offer a nice cocktail of activities for family holidays.  They have a luxurious self-contained farmhouse for families to stay in and, with all the farm animals, kids can really experience the fun of living on a farm.  There is a great pool, a trampoline, a large climbing frame and lots more for kids to do.  Family activities (such as horse riding, quad biking, jet skiing, fishing and mountain biking), babysitting, a daily cleaner and an on-arrival shopping service (all included in the price) provide for a unique outdoor family holiday.  The beauty of Country Kids is their flexibility - you can choose the activities that interest you.  And if Mum and Dad want some peace and quiet, they can just relax by the pool while the kids burn off their energy!  For more details, you can contact Country Kids via their website, by email, or by telephone on 00 33 561 69 14 97.

Family B and B's - in recent years we've had some great overnight stays in French Chambres d'Hôtes (B and Bs) whilst travelling to / from the south for our annual summer holiday.  We've always enjoyed staying with French families to learn more about their culture and to practice our stuttering Français!  However there are an increasing number of B and B's being run by English couples (no need to be afraid of the language difficulties!) and some of them are catering specifically for families.  One such B and B is Okalani in the Haut Languedoc regional park - perfect for a family holiday!

Gîtes Pages - don't forget that France For Families links to a wide range of gîtes in Brittany, the Dordogne and the Loire.  From our interactive maps you can go direct to the owner's website and book directly - much better than paying a middleman!

Up to date travel information and advice:

Re-numbering of motorway exits on the A16 - If like ourselves you don't buy a new French touring road atlas every year you may be somewhat perplexed by the exit numbers on the A16 as you head south towards Boulogne from Calais. The exits have all been renumbered - so for example around Eurotunnel, exit 14 has become exit 41, and exit 13 is now 42 etc..).  We've no idea why - if anyone knows the reason, we'd love to hear from you!

Ferry trouble in Calais - There have been problems docking ferries in Calais since the February half term holidays.  This was caused initially by damage to some of the docking equipment in the port and has been exacerbated more recently by industrial action leading Kent police to implement Operation Stack - closure of the M20 to enable it to be used as a lorry park.  See our section on crossing the channel for more information about Operation Stack.  Although Speed Ferries is theoretically un-affected because they sail to Boulogne, you still have the problem of reaching Dover.  Eurotunnel is a reasonable solution, however during Operation Stack the M20 is usually closed at junction 11 and Eurotunnel is just beyond there.  So expect delays and leave plenty of time!

To check the latest travel situation call:
Hoverspeed on 08705 240 241.
Norfolk Line on 08708 701 020.
P & O Ferries on 08705 20 20 20.
Sea France on 08705 711 711.
Speed Ferries on 08712 227 456.

Price war in the Channel!  While the technical and industrial problems continue, the cross channel operators are desperately trying to buy market share - P&O recently reduced its price for a return crossing for car + passengers to just £60.  Meanwhile Speed Ferries have responded to what it calls "predatory pricing" by offering a limited number of "fight the pirates" crossings for an incredible £7.50 each way (car & up to 6 people)!

Reciprocal health arrangements and the E111:

We could write a newsletter on this subject alone, however we will try and keep it brief and focus on the main points - the detail you can find elsewhere.  There have been some important changes to the E111 which have not been well publicised:

From the end of 2004 all existing E111 forms expired. This means that travellers now have to re-apply for individual forms (as they are no longer being issued on a family basis), which will be valid until 31st December 2005. This is to pave the way for the introduction of the new plastic European Health Insurance Card which will replace the E111 form at some point during the course of 2005.

The application forms for the new E111's are available from Post Offices. The form (found at the back of the information booklet) includes a tick box which, if ticked, will allow for the automatic issue of the new plastic card to all persons listed on the form. In addition to the application form individual E111 sheets for every person applying need to be completed and validated by the Post Office.  Our local post office was out of stock when we discovered this recently - if you have any difficulties obtaining these forms a printable version is available online from the Department of Health.

Shopping tips and advice:

Day Trip Shopping Extravaganza!  How about this for a day trip from heaven!  Take the afternoon Eurotunnel train - head one junction south on the A16 to the new Designer Outlet Store (Marques Avenue) for a bit of retail therapy (coming from the tunnel you don't need to even touch the A16, but simply take the first exit off that initial stretch of dual carriageway and follow the signs to Cité d'Europe).  Then go further south to the Auchan at Boulogne (much more relaxed than the Cité d'Europe hypermarket) followed by an early meal at the Restaurant du Cap.  If needed you can have a stroll along the clifftops to burn off some calories afterwards!  Then return to Calais and stock up with wine and spirits at EastEnders (follow the A26 to Calais, take junction 47 towards the car ferries, come off at exit Nº3 turn right at the roundabout and right again at the second roundabout).  Eastenders is cheaper for alcohol than Auchan - check their websites for latest prices.  Finally take an evening return crossing to Old Blighty.  Well not everyone's cup of tea we must admit!  Other day trip ideas from France For Families are available online here.

Credit Card Advice - During a recent visit to an Auchan supermarket in St. Omer (Pas de Calais) we were asked for our passport when paying for our food shopping by credit card. It may be useful to bear this in mind when on similar shopping trips - this was a first for us!  Actually the whole issue of credit cards can be a nightmare - we would advise never to be caught short of cash - we've had the experience where we have been driving down the autoroute and our MasterCard worked at one toll booth but not at the next.  And we've had the same experience with Visa.  Also we've shopped at places where our PIN worked fine and other places where it didn't work at all.  Be prepared!

Using ATM machines in France - On a recent skiing trip we started to run a bit short of Euros (too many Chocolat Chauds!) and so we decided to try using an ATM.  We used a Credit Agricole ATM which was marked with the Maestro symbol (see left).  We were really impressed - you can select English as the language on screen and using our normal PIN we were able to withdraw a few hundred Euros with no problem at all.  On return home we were even more surprised to see what we had been charged - the fixed charge was just £1.75 and the exchange rate applied was a quite reasonable 1.41.

Major events in 2005:

Tour de France - If you are thinking of planning your 2005 holiday then it may be useful to know that the 92nd  3500km Tour de France takes place this year from 2-24th July. The tour starts on the island of Noirmoutier off the coast of the Vendée in the west of France. It then heads north east through Tours, Blois and Chambord (all well-known Loire Valley châteaux towns) to the medieval town of Troyes. The route passes next through Nancy before reaching Germany (Karlsruhe and Pforzheim). This is followed by sections in the Alsace and Lorraine regions.  Three days of gruelling alpine cycling follow, with the route headed next SW towards and then through the Pyrénées, before turning NE through the Pyrénnéan lowlands from Pau to Revel and Albi. The penultimate sections are in the Massif Central with the race finishing in the Ile-de-Paris.

Other events:
10th April - Paris International Marathon  www.parismarathon.com
11-22 May - International Film Festival in Cannes www.festival-cannes.fr 
19-21 May - Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco  www.monaco-tourisme.com
24 May - 6 June - International Tennis Championships in Paris www.fft.fr
18-19 June - Le Mans 24 hour race www.lemans.org

Well that's it for this edition of the France For Families newsletter.  We're getting so many suggestions for the newsletter now that we've decided to increase its frequency and issue it every two months.  Please keep the suggestions coming in and be patient if we don't publish your input immediately!

In the meantime...Enjoy La Belle France!