I know I said I would continue my post on what's hot and what's not in Andalucia, but since my original intention for this blog was to record progress on the moving to France front, I will just pop in a small, very serious (!) comment about how things are progressing (ie. slowly but surely).
Firstly, I forgot to mention before that Hubby is now also unemployed, having finally finished handing over his technical stuff to the next geek to play with. This means (a) that we really have to continue with the plans - can't back out now (help!!), and (b) that we can start to get down to the serious stuff like form-filling, handing in the notice on our house, tax returns, considering how we're going to physically move our junk, and of course, the dreaded packing.
We started working on the form-filling bit earlier this week, and here's what we found....
Social services and health care
We have read / heard that when going to France it is best to get every type of form or certificate you could possibly need just in case French beaurocracy demands it. So with this in mind, we have just completed the following form for HMRC:
CA3916 - use this to obtain an E104, E301 or E205 (we don't need this one) certificate.
E104 - shows insurance for sickness and maternity purposes
E301 - shows insurance for unemployment purposes
We will also be requesting an E106 to cover us for healthcare until we're employed (and if not, for up to 2 years after we leave the UK). Phone the Medical Benefits dept of HMRC 2 weeks before you leave the UK with your address in France and a definite date of departure.
You may have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This covers you for up to 6 months in case of a medical emergency, but not after this.
It all seems quite complicated really but there are a number of places to go for information and advice:
HMRC Medical Benefits - 0191 218 1999 (for queries regarding E106 and EHIC)
HMRC Non-Residents - 0191 225 4811 (for queries regarding other forms that ma be required).
These forms can be found on the HMRC website, which also has some useful information and contact details for various sections of HMRC.
In addition, there are a number of handy books around. I found this one a handy starting place.
Will let you know how it goes with the forms, ie. will we get what we want / need from HMRC, problems or pitfalls, and if we actually need them when we get to France.
Serious bit over for the time-being.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Phew!
Got back from Spain early yesterday morning - had a great time. Visited Seville, Cordoba and Granada, and ticked off most of the touristy things (ie. tapas, jerez, flamenco, architecture, pickpocket victim, visit to the police station etc).
Here are a few of my impressions of these places, along with a couple of tit-bits of potentially useful info for the discerning traveller:
Seville
Impressions:
Friendly people, amazingly on time for everything; excellent transport system (buses, tram and cycle routes); tasty tapas; beautiful gardens and interesting Moorish architecture (although not as much as I'd expected). Feels like a 'real' city (particularly the El Centro district).
Tips:
1) Albergue Juvenil Sevilla
Otherwise known as Seville YH. Not so out of town as all that, whatever the guide books would have you believe. #34 bus takes you directly to the city centre in 10 mins or so. Get a bonobus card to make using the bus cheaper (10 journeys for 5€ (no transfers) or 6€ (transfers included)). Particularly fab as one card can be shared between several people.
Tends to be very noisy at night as there are a lot of school parties staying here, and the 11pm curfew does not seem to be imposed at all. Also, the building seems to have been designed to allow all residents the opportunity to hear a pin drop several floors and corridors away.... Other than that, the facilities are great (all 2 and 3 bed, ensuite rooms; breakfast included).
2) Flamenco
Don't pay loads to see a flamenco show - go to La Carboneria (c/Levies 18) on a Thursday night instead for the price of a locally produced Cruzcampo cerveza. Flamenco starts around 11pm.
3) Barrios
Barrio means quarter, of which there are several in Seville.
Santa Cruz is the much raved about barrio near the Cathedral. However, we found it to be a pleasant but rather false place - stuck in time, but for tourist purposes.
Triana is where the gypsies used to live and some gypsy families apparently still live there. Rough Guide raves about this area being a good place to go if you're after finding flamenco.
If you need the loo, Triana market has some, but watch out - it is also a good place to have your purse knabbed by a pickpocket...the less said about that the better, although I will just mention that at times like this it is very handy to have a Hubby who speaks Spanish.
La Macarena - didn't visit this area much but did go through it on the #5 bus (we had already walked miles and my legs were aching). Don't think there's much to see here anyway really.
El Centro - the main shopping area. Lively and pleasant. Wide range of shops and an El Corte Inglés with supermarket in the basement, should you wish to shop for a picnic in a slightly more purse-friendly environment than the Mercado de Triana.
Loos and good granizada de limón available.
4) Don't spend ages looking for a statue of Carmen around the old tabacco factory. The statue is across the road from the bull ring.
5) Trains
The train from Seville to Cordoba is very fast (approx. 45 mins) and is quite expensive if you buy your ticket 4 mins before the train departs. Ticket desk people don't seem to be able to speak; they just swipe your card through and before you know it you've spent nearly 60€ on two one way tickets. As an alternative, you can catch the bus, although this takes 2 hours or so.
6) Important Food
Churros and chocolate - a good place is Calenteria, c/Cano y Cueto 7. Murillo gardens are close by if you fancy sitting outside.
Ice cream - we had a very tasty one at Heladeria Rayas, c/Almirante Apodacha 1.
My Seville Top 10 (in no particular order):
Gardens - Parque de Maria Luisa and Alcazar Gardens
Real Alcazar
Museo Arqueologico
Casa de Pilatos
Museo de Bellas Artes
Tapas at El Rinconcillo
Cycle paths and buses
El Centro
Flamenco at La Carboneria
Churros and chocolate
Hmmm...actually feeling slightly tired now, what with reliving the experience and not being able to sleep at night due to the lack of banging doors and screaming adolescents. Will continue later, after my siesta.
Here are a few of my impressions of these places, along with a couple of tit-bits of potentially useful info for the discerning traveller:
Seville
Impressions:
Friendly people, amazingly on time for everything; excellent transport system (buses, tram and cycle routes); tasty tapas; beautiful gardens and interesting Moorish architecture (although not as much as I'd expected). Feels like a 'real' city (particularly the El Centro district).
Tips:
1) Albergue Juvenil Sevilla
Otherwise known as Seville YH. Not so out of town as all that, whatever the guide books would have you believe. #34 bus takes you directly to the city centre in 10 mins or so. Get a bonobus card to make using the bus cheaper (10 journeys for 5€ (no transfers) or 6€ (transfers included)). Particularly fab as one card can be shared between several people.
Tends to be very noisy at night as there are a lot of school parties staying here, and the 11pm curfew does not seem to be imposed at all. Also, the building seems to have been designed to allow all residents the opportunity to hear a pin drop several floors and corridors away.... Other than that, the facilities are great (all 2 and 3 bed, ensuite rooms; breakfast included).
2) Flamenco
Don't pay loads to see a flamenco show - go to La Carboneria (c/Levies 18) on a Thursday night instead for the price of a locally produced Cruzcampo cerveza. Flamenco starts around 11pm.
3) Barrios
Barrio means quarter, of which there are several in Seville.
Santa Cruz is the much raved about barrio near the Cathedral. However, we found it to be a pleasant but rather false place - stuck in time, but for tourist purposes.
Triana is where the gypsies used to live and some gypsy families apparently still live there. Rough Guide raves about this area being a good place to go if you're after finding flamenco.
If you need the loo, Triana market has some, but watch out - it is also a good place to have your purse knabbed by a pickpocket...the less said about that the better, although I will just mention that at times like this it is very handy to have a Hubby who speaks Spanish.
La Macarena - didn't visit this area much but did go through it on the #5 bus (we had already walked miles and my legs were aching). Don't think there's much to see here anyway really.
El Centro - the main shopping area. Lively and pleasant. Wide range of shops and an El Corte Inglés with supermarket in the basement, should you wish to shop for a picnic in a slightly more purse-friendly environment than the Mercado de Triana.
Loos and good granizada de limón available.
4) Don't spend ages looking for a statue of Carmen around the old tabacco factory. The statue is across the road from the bull ring.
5) Trains
The train from Seville to Cordoba is very fast (approx. 45 mins) and is quite expensive if you buy your ticket 4 mins before the train departs. Ticket desk people don't seem to be able to speak; they just swipe your card through and before you know it you've spent nearly 60€ on two one way tickets. As an alternative, you can catch the bus, although this takes 2 hours or so.
6) Important Food
Churros and chocolate - a good place is Calenteria, c/Cano y Cueto 7. Murillo gardens are close by if you fancy sitting outside.
Ice cream - we had a very tasty one at Heladeria Rayas, c/Almirante Apodacha 1.
My Seville Top 10 (in no particular order):
Gardens - Parque de Maria Luisa and Alcazar Gardens
Real Alcazar
Museo Arqueologico
Casa de Pilatos
Museo de Bellas Artes
Tapas at El Rinconcillo
Cycle paths and buses
El Centro
Flamenco at La Carboneria
Churros and chocolate
Hmmm...actually feeling slightly tired now, what with reliving the experience and not being able to sleep at night due to the lack of banging doors and screaming adolescents. Will continue later, after my siesta.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
May is the month of holidays
I am currently making the most of the surprisingly good weather we are having by going on holiday lots during May. That's not a joke by the way - I have been very busy over the past 3 months since I gave up working, honest!
Last week, Hubby (now also unemployed and having fun!) and I visited London Zoo (quite pricey but we had Tesco's vouchers to use up so no probs there). Was good actually, even though the weather was somewhat dodgy. We saw lots of weird and wonderful creatures ranging from giraffes with their adorable long eye-lashes and side-to-side chewing motion, to piranhas waiting for their next victim. Plenty of photo opportunities too, especially of Hubby sitting beneath the "amphibians" sign outside the reptile house (tee, hee...well he is a frog!!). It made me laugh anyway! Only problem is that now I have a great desire to do this.
Other favourites were the lamas and alpacas with their long necks and intelligent faces, and interestingly, also the bug-life centre. Here we saw an extended family of ants carrying huge slices of plant leaves to their nest along the predetermined route of a piece of rope. Incidentally, the rope was completely open to the elements and any prying children's fingers - and had a big sign saying, "these ants bite".
Tuesday saw us in Kent visiting numerous sights including Bodiam Castle, Dover Castle (excellent but very windy), Canterbury and its Cathedral, Richborough Castle and Reculver, to name a few (oh and not all in one day by the way - that might have been a bit much!). As you can probably tell, if you know about these things, we made good use of our National Trust and English Heritage cards. Tesco vouchers also came in handy (again) for a visit to The Canterbury Tales - fun but a little pricey (although not quite so extortionate as the cathedral entrance fee).
Other places of note that I particularly enjoyed visiting (since I seem to be producing a long list after all, and wouldn't like to miss out any of the smaller less well-known attractions) include Eastbridge Hospital in Canterbury High Street and Greyfriars Chapel with its lovely peaceful gardens and a simple, elegant chapel upstairs in the medieval building.
This week we're off to Spain for a taste of the Moorish! No doubt I'll have a few words to say about it on our return, although I've heard (from those who know) the food's not that great in Andalusia (all a bit 'tourist-quality' apparently), so perhaps I'll be focusing on the wonderful architecture instead...yeah, right!
Last week, Hubby (now also unemployed and having fun!) and I visited London Zoo (quite pricey but we had Tesco's vouchers to use up so no probs there). Was good actually, even though the weather was somewhat dodgy. We saw lots of weird and wonderful creatures ranging from giraffes with their adorable long eye-lashes and side-to-side chewing motion, to piranhas waiting for their next victim. Plenty of photo opportunities too, especially of Hubby sitting beneath the "amphibians" sign outside the reptile house (tee, hee...well he is a frog!!). It made me laugh anyway! Only problem is that now I have a great desire to do this.
Other favourites were the lamas and alpacas with their long necks and intelligent faces, and interestingly, also the bug-life centre. Here we saw an extended family of ants carrying huge slices of plant leaves to their nest along the predetermined route of a piece of rope. Incidentally, the rope was completely open to the elements and any prying children's fingers - and had a big sign saying, "these ants bite".
Tuesday saw us in Kent visiting numerous sights including Bodiam Castle, Dover Castle (excellent but very windy), Canterbury and its Cathedral, Richborough Castle and Reculver, to name a few (oh and not all in one day by the way - that might have been a bit much!). As you can probably tell, if you know about these things, we made good use of our National Trust and English Heritage cards. Tesco vouchers also came in handy (again) for a visit to The Canterbury Tales - fun but a little pricey (although not quite so extortionate as the cathedral entrance fee).
Other places of note that I particularly enjoyed visiting (since I seem to be producing a long list after all, and wouldn't like to miss out any of the smaller less well-known attractions) include Eastbridge Hospital in Canterbury High Street and Greyfriars Chapel with its lovely peaceful gardens and a simple, elegant chapel upstairs in the medieval building.
This week we're off to Spain for a taste of the Moorish! No doubt I'll have a few words to say about it on our return, although I've heard (from those who know) the food's not that great in Andalusia (all a bit 'tourist-quality' apparently), so perhaps I'll be focusing on the wonderful architecture instead...yeah, right!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Robin Hood eat your heart out!
One slightly cloudy morning a couple of weeks ago, I found myself with Hubby in the middle of someone's back garden learning about the ins and outs of archery. We'd been searching around on the internet for ages trying to find a suitable place to 'have a quick go', me being a fan of the latest BBC version of Robin Hood and Hubby being keen on anything medieval (but particulary castles).
Help came in the unusual form of a local apple day where various activities, including the long sought after archery, were on display. Opportunities were available for 'keen' people like us to try out their archery skills. Needless to say we grabbed the chance to try and shot a reasonable 3 arrows each, mostly hitting the target!
And so it was that we arrived in a Bedfordshire back garden on this particular April day, geared up and ready to go. We'd gone for the 4hr lesson option, as I said, to just 'have a go'. We started our 'education' at 10am, had a lunch break at 12 (to let the torrential rain pass) and continued until just after 2pm in the sunshine. And guess what....? We enjoyed ourselves so much we're going back for more! Just got time to fit it in before we head off to France in June.
A quick explanation of what all this is about (and a couple of tips) is probably required:
Firstly, if you want to join an archery club in the UK then the GNAS (Grand National Archery Society) state that you have to have completed 8hrs of training, hence the 4 hrs x2 that we're doing.
Secondly, Robins Reach Archery was fab because we were the only two learners, so got lots of attention from the instructor - it wasn't just coincidence; it's always like this, as the max at any one time is 4 people to one instructor.
Thirdly, it was a surprisingly relaxing experience, although do be prepared for a few bruises (plus potentially some aches and pains the next day - it was unaccustomed exercise for me!).
So for all you budding archers out there, why not give it a go? If you're interested I definitely recommend you take a look at Robin's Reach Archery.
Now all Hubby and I have to do is find an archery club in France, which apparently shouldn't be too difficult (Federation Internationale de Tir à l'Arc (FITA)). So watch this space, we may end up at a club near you...help!
Help came in the unusual form of a local apple day where various activities, including the long sought after archery, were on display. Opportunities were available for 'keen' people like us to try out their archery skills. Needless to say we grabbed the chance to try and shot a reasonable 3 arrows each, mostly hitting the target!
And so it was that we arrived in a Bedfordshire back garden on this particular April day, geared up and ready to go. We'd gone for the 4hr lesson option, as I said, to just 'have a go'. We started our 'education' at 10am, had a lunch break at 12 (to let the torrential rain pass) and continued until just after 2pm in the sunshine. And guess what....? We enjoyed ourselves so much we're going back for more! Just got time to fit it in before we head off to France in June.
A quick explanation of what all this is about (and a couple of tips) is probably required:
Firstly, if you want to join an archery club in the UK then the GNAS (Grand National Archery Society) state that you have to have completed 8hrs of training, hence the 4 hrs x2 that we're doing.
Secondly, Robins Reach Archery was fab because we were the only two learners, so got lots of attention from the instructor - it wasn't just coincidence; it's always like this, as the max at any one time is 4 people to one instructor.
Thirdly, it was a surprisingly relaxing experience, although do be prepared for a few bruises (plus potentially some aches and pains the next day - it was unaccustomed exercise for me!).
So for all you budding archers out there, why not give it a go? If you're interested I definitely recommend you take a look at Robin's Reach Archery.
Now all Hubby and I have to do is find an archery club in France, which apparently shouldn't be too difficult (Federation Internationale de Tir à l'Arc (FITA)). So watch this space, we may end up at a club near you...help!
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