Running into Snags while Visiting France, Episode 397

Today, Annie Sargent brings you a conversation with Patty Lund about running into snags while visiting to France. She's visited France many times, but that wasn't enough to avoid minor issues. There are ways to avoid these problems, as she explains. We also talk about differences about life in French cities and in rural places because we have some strange ways to conduct commerce in rural France! What are some things you should think about when you're planning to move to France? Patty gives this a lot of thought, and she's a hoot to listen to, and not just on the podcast! Running into snags while visiting France [00:00:00] Introduction [00:01:23] Thank you, supporters [00:02:31] Main intervieww [00:02:43] Introduction [00:03:43] The oddities of the Geneva airport [00:04:39] Set the GPS before you leave [00:05:24] Switzerland is not in the EU [00:06:24] Should I get full insurance on the car rental? [00:07:12] Cheaper to rent a manual car [00:07:35] How do you pay for tolls when driving in France? [00:08:05] You can avoid toll roads [00:08:30] How to plan on the price of toll roads and gas in France [00:09:30] Toll roads have rest stops [00:10:34] Do you need an International driver’s licence in France? [00:11:02] Big snag in France: getting gas [00:11:25] Grocery Store Gas Stations and Foreign Cards [00:12:26] Getting Gas with Cash [00:14:53] Not everyone has credit cards in France [00:15:36] Getting money from the ATMs in France [00:17:23] Venmo Doesn’t Work in France? [00:18:14] Credit Cards Depend on the Vendors’ Setup [00:19:23] American Express Doesn’t Work Most Places [00:20:32] Order Euros from your bank in US [00:21:12] Driving and parking [00:22:24] Paying for Parking [00:23:43] Phone service in France [00:24:14] Skiing Adventures [00:27:51] Criteria when looking for a place to move to in France [00:29:55] Some French villages pack a lot of people in a small space [00:31:51] Some old French houses don’t have good heating systems [00:32:35] Annie’s brother Bergerie [00:35:25] Do you pick the village first or the house first? [00:35:54] Some small villages in France don’t have a boulangerie, they have a bread truck instead [00:36:51] Service Trucks Visiting Small Villages [00:38:44] Food vending machines in France [00:40:17] Rural France is totally different from life in large French cities[00:40:17] How does the town vote [00:42:02] Looking for an artsy community [00:43:46] In rural France you end up cooking for yourself a lot [00:44:12] Not many ethnic food restaurants [00:46:19] Rural France is very different from Paris! [00:47:28] In rural France you do great if you talk to people and ask for help [00:48:05] Thank you, patrons [00:48:47] New tier for patrons [00:49:37] Thinking of visiting France? [00:49:54] Hire me to be your itinerary consultant [00:50:49] Self-guided tours [00:51:25] Should I get “Skip the line tickets at the Eiffel Tower”? [00:53:56] The busiest times at the Eiffel Tower [00:58:01] Covid update [00:59:03] This week in French news [00:59:44] Personal update [00:59:59] Podcasters are busy people! [01:01:15] Show notes and transcript [01:01:41] Next week on the podcast FOLLOW US ON: Email | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter Subscribe to the Podcast Apple Google Spotify RSS Support the Show Tip Your Guide Extras Patreon Audio Tours Merchandise If you enjoyed this episode, you should also listen to related episode(s): Looking for a place to call your own in France, Episode 391 Exploring the Béarn, Episode 281 Categories: France How To, Moving to France