Living abroad tips and hints for money savers

droopsnout

Yes, the doom-laden metaphysical does tend to put a dampener on parties ... Sorry, all.

Glad you had a good lunch and natter with the d-gs. And if they're reading, have a good time, you two! J'espère que vous avez pratique votre français!

Mmm, Normandy ... Lovely dishes with cream, and cider ... They can keep the Camembert, though. (I camembert any cheese at all!)

Edit: Had to edit to get rid of the ! that appears whenever I type an e-acute. Savvy_Sue, is there no hope of correcting this anti-swear thingy? Seeing an "e" where it should be an e-acute doth offend mine eye. Yeah, I know ... I shouldn't write in French. Ah well ...

donny-gal

Bonjour Tous

Oui je serai à coup sûr

Don't worry DS my French is carp enough to handle missing e-acutes.

Nice and sunny between Le Tourquet and Abbeville about 10 kilometers from the coast until Saturday morning when we move on to Normandy. Yes I have heard about the cream, cider and Calvados, and I do like the Camembert, though my waist likes it too much.

Just finished erecting the awning, and waiting for the kettle to boil before going back outside.

DH managed to "forget" to pack the stand for the satellite dish, so no Wimbledon unless I find a way to get it on here (free wi-fi on site and reaches to the 'van just!).

Have fun all.
DG

Francophile

More news to dampen the spirits - the euro is at 1.16.. today.

droopsnout

Ah, the Calvados, yes ... Yum! There's a bottle in the bar here ...

So whereabouts will you be staying? I like Fresnay-sur-Sarthe and round there, and the Suisse Normande, and ... and ...

Happy holiday memories!

Only two Brits left in Wimbledon now, anyway. Stick the telly in the wardrobe and enjoy those lovely warm evenings around a glass-laden table.

droopsnout

Francophile wrote: »

More news to dampen the spirits - the euro is at 1.16.. today.

It has gone down, but xe.com is quoting 1.1762 at the moment, so not too bad.

sandy2_2

Have just treated OH to a new watch from Ebay. It´s being sent over from Texas to Spain, but I understand I might have to pay import duty/tax and even VAT, which will add considerably to it´s overall cost.
Does anyone have any idea what % taxes are likey to be of declared value or any suggestions on how to save money and fees

Sandy in Spain

droopsnout

Can't help you there, Sandy, but it could be that you also have a fee to pay the post office for collecting the taxes.

seven-day-weekend

Just a funny story about the word espere. (used by droopsnout above)

When I first came to live in Spain, I knew no Spanish but did remember some smatterings of French from my schooldays.

One day I went to the cashpoint, put my card and PIN in. A message then came on saying ESPERE. Now I remembered that this was the French word for hope. I thought the cashpoint was telling me I had to HOPE I got my money.:eek:

Later I found out that in Spain it is pronounced es-per-ay and means WAIT.:o

I was SO pleased to realise this!:rotfl:

sandy2_2

They use Espere on door bells and intercom entry systems. In the beginninh I thought it meant hope as well. So you´re not the only one:-)
Sandy

gfplux

hello Donny Gal,
A tip for your satellite problem. A good few years ago when I first experimented with an old Sky dish and an old box in the South of France I but the dish in an old washing up bowl!!. yes truly and it worked.
I removed the "L" shaped pole from the back of the dish. I then placed the dish in an old, large washing up bowl which I had placed on a table in the garden. The round dish and the oval bowl made it easy to manually site up to the satellite. You will have to have line of site to the satellite.
It took quite a long time but I did it and I hope you can.
In those days it was an analogue signal. Today's digital signal is a little more tricky but I used exactly this technique two years ago when having some dish issues, so I know it works.
Good Luck