Well, fancy that!
Almost as soon as France pulled up the drawbridge, the EU let it down again.
Within the next few days France will be allowing visitors from the UK and the US into the country as long as they have proof of two vaccinations and a negative Covid test result within 48 hours of travelling.
The gates are open once more for us to go to France.
At a cost, of course.
We are getting organised to go as soon as we can. There is a lot to work out and get done before we go. The PCR tests can be done at a centre about forty minutes' drive from home at a cost of £120 each and we can get the return tests done (day 2 and day 8) in the UK for £175 each. That's nearly £600 worth of Covid testing in the UK, plus the cost of the test required in France before returning. I have no idea how much that one is or where or how we would get it but we should have plenty of time to work it out while we're there - unless France goes onto the "green list" during our stay, which would save a lot of money.
I'm sure that at £600+ per couple a lot of people will be put off travelling to France or any other country on the "amber list".
Daisy can travel at no extra cost on her French passport but we will need to get an AHC (animal health certificate) for Hugo. We have found a new local vet who offers them for £65, which is a bargain compared to the £150 quoted elsewhere. Once he's there we will get our French vet to issue him with a new French passport so that in future he won't require an AHC and both of them can then travel for free - or rather, for just the cost of their ticket as before!
We have yet to work out what we can and can't take with us. Ham sandwiches for the journey are a no-no but lettuce and tomato (no butter) should be ok.
The clincher has been being able to avail ourselves of new travel insurance which, for an extra premium, still covers for travel to "amber list" countries where travel is not advised, as long as that advice is only for Covid reasons. For another additional premium we can extend the usual 50 day duration of stay to 100 days, to allow for us to take the whole of our Schengen allowance of 90 days in one go. Normally we would have split that 90 days into two halves and return to the UK for a couple of weeks half way through, but with the cost of each trip now costing so much extra we decided to do it just once. You can get a lot of nice lunches for £665+.
There is so much to think about that it's exhausting!
There is still much to do. We have to rearrange our UK house insurance for the longer absence, finding a policy that allow for more than the 60 days we have had before. No doubt that will cost extra too! Getting the Covid test before we go and making sure the result arrives in time is the biggest worry and timing the crossing so that it all dovetails together has taken some doing.
Oh for the days when all we had to do was to book the crossing, pack the car and off we went! And when we could take the unused contents of the fridge with us and some ham and cheese sandwiches for the road! Still, considering that only two days ago there was serious doubt that we would get there at all this year, I'm not grumbling. I'm so excited, like a little kid on Christmas Eve. Our house in France is calling to us and we'll be there before very long! We just want to make sure we get there before either government changes its mind again!
Bon Weekend !!
(All the pictures were taken in the medieval town of Levroux, in June 2017.)
I do hope it works out for you - with all the family issues you've had to sort out over recent months, you must be desperate to get to your French home and relax!
ReplyDeleteAngela, it will be so good to be there. All the things we took for granted, but never will again.
DeleteWell done you _ I'm off later this month. I'll be very interested how your ferry trip goes. My guess is taht September will see a lessening of quarantine requirements IF all goes well.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your pre-departure PCR test there are some centres you can drive to and be tested on site with results same day - they are on the government website. There is one in Cardiff and the cost was £80 from memory. It's a bit more tan the posytal test but not much - and might be worth it to be certain perhaps?
Mark, since I wrote the post I've seen a chart suggesting different timings and that a much cheaper antigen test that gives a quick result is acceptable. That would make the outbound testing a lot cheaper and much less fraught.
Delete"I have no idea how much that one is or where or how we would get it but we should have plenty of time to work it out while we're there "
ReplyDeleteI am sure that Dr. Molinier or the Pharmacy will have all necessary info for you.
And we are both looking forward to you coming for a drink or two in the new walled garden!!
T&P
Tim, I'm looking forward to seeing you both again. I'm sure you're right, if testing in France is still required by the time we leave we should be able to get it locally.
DeleteWe have never had restrictions on bringing food to France with us when we fly back from the U.S. In the other direction it's an entirely different story.
ReplyDeleteKen, I need to look into it properly but meat and dairy products are not allowed post Brexit I believe.
DeleteThe rules aren't necessarily the same, but I've brought back cheeses (Vermont cheddar, for example) and meats (North Carolina pulled pork barbecue...) many times. Once I was even stopped at customs and agents rummaged through everything I was bringing back from the U.S., including a lot of food items. No problem.
DeleteI think you're right. New restrictions are now in place. But the fact is, when coming through CDG airport from the U.S., we are almost never checked and searched. In fact, that has happened to me exactly once over the past 50 or so years that I've been traveling from the U.S. to France. Maybe it's more frequent when you are traveling by car.
DeleteThe FB group for travellers to France that I follow is full of reports of people going straight through with cars, caravans and trailers. The paperwork is checked but it seems that belongings are not. The question is, would we risk it?
DeleteHaving done some research, meat and dairy of any kind are not allowed, including pet food. Hugo and Daisy will have to have snacks of biscuits until we get to the shops in France. As we usually stop at a Le Clerc en route to refuel the car we should be able to get some there.
DeleteI can't help thinking that this is all really stupid and benefits nobody - just like all the other effects of Brexit.
Those restrictions also apply to people coming in from the U.S., but Americans won't be surprised because the same restrictions have always applied to people arriving from overseas at U.S. airports. The information I've found said that disallowed products will simply be confiscated and discarded.
DeleteExactly! Before Brexit we had the privilege of being able to come and go as we please and take anything we like to France and back again. We are now treated as aliens just like people from the US and any other non-EU country.
DeleteUnfortunately, it's exactly what the British people have voted for, albeit a minor majority.
DeleteElgee, sad but true. None of it was emblazoned on the red bus, even in small print.
DeleteWelcome back to alienhood.
Delete....or as some would say, "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone". We felt instinctively that Brexit would be bad for people from the UK who live full or part time in France but to have it foisted upon us by such a narrow margin still rankles. A lot of people have lost rights they enjoyed that were no burden to anyone else but those who thought Brexit was a good idea have made life complicated and expensive for them, for no benefit to anyone that I can see.
DeleteThe negative effects are not just limited to people who live part time or full time in France, I'm afraid. Think of all the businesses that are affected in the UK, but also in several EU countries, or people who live on the continent and have relatives in the UK, like my husband. We can't travel to the UK with our dog the way we were able to before, and there are many more examples.
DeleteElgee, it's clear that many voted on a couple of very basic issues without considering the bigger picture. It never occurred to some that loss of freedom of movement would work both ways.
DeleteIt was a quick turnaround by France, obviously realised they were going to miss out on U.K. tourists. It makes it easier for us to drive back to Italy if and when we get back to Yorkshire. Once you get in the road you will forget all the hassle and when you finally reach your house you will sigh deeply and relax. Have a wonderful summer.
ReplyDeleteJenny, I'm sure you're right, once we're on our way we'll be fine.
Deletegood luck to you on all this!
ReplyDeleteMichael, thank you, it's all making my head spin at the moment.
DeleteAll the best for everything working as planned. The only time we where checked by the bored custom officers leaving CDG baggage was when baggage allowed 2 bags each, and I was taking two large cardboard boxes with styrofoam inserts for 24 bottles each, to bring wine home. They saw us with the boxes and motioned us over for inspection. My wife speaks pretty good French so she did the talking. What’s in the boxes they asked? She replied ‘nothing’, which made them pick one off the trolly. They weighed almost nothing, and the surprised officers wanted to know the purpose, to which they where told the hubby was going to bring wine back to US. Ah, they said, gave us a Gallic shrug, on said have a good holiday.
ReplyDeleteWilliam, that's a good story!
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