WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW about Charente River CANAL CRUISES in FRANCE travel vlog
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- čas přidán 20. 09. 2020
- Bonjour! We just got back from a socially distanced boating vacation on the Charente River here in France. This is our third trip with the company Nicols that specializes in European boating holidays and canal cruises without a boating license or any experience. They teach you what you need to know so you can cruise the canal or river with confidence. It's a unique France vacation experience that lets you see smaller towns along the waterway completely at your leisure. Everything is slow moving on canal cruises in France and relaxed so sea sickness and waves aren't a concern. ;-)
I've written a lot on the blog about this type of French canal cruise boating trips, so read more here: www.ouiinfrance.com/tag/canal...
Link to Nicols: www.boat-renting-nicols.co.uk/
Link to a short drone video I did: • Drone video of our Cha...
📖 Get my eGuide "75 BEGINNER FRANCE TIPS for a STANDOUT TRIP" here: bit.ly/3gzSWY5
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Salut! I'm Diane, the American behind the living abroad lifestyle blog Oui In France. My channel's focus is "Everyday French life and beyond," so let me know what you want to see! I make videos on French culture topics, food, travel, language, and give you my thoughts about what it's like as a foreigner in the Loire Valley. Thanks for being here and if you enjoy this sort of thing, please share with friends and subscribe!
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Loved your grocery store visit as I am a Chef and can spend hours in Whole Foods. I heard from my ex pat friends that courtesy goes a long way when you don't necessarily speak much french (Im from S. Florida). Always Bonjour and since I had thought "Madame" denoted a married female, I always used "Mademoiselle". This almost always elicited a smile and polite correction. Met many lovely ladies and had a great time overall. We visited Sainte, Cognac and also Perigueux.
La Rochelle and Arcachon are nice too
The canals are one of the best ways to see the "real" France. Countryside, small towns and your hotel is mobile and always with you. I enjoyed our trip on the "Canal du Midi" in Southern France a few years ago. Just go .You won't be sorry.
Hello ! I didn't know about your channel and I imagine this was recommended to me because I live in Cognac. Your video was informative for me, I am very ashamed to admit that I didn't even know about these boats you could rent without permit. For anyone who might be interested, the Charente "département" can be nice to visit because we are not a touristic destination (however Charente-Maritime has a lot of tourists, because they have the ocean), so if you're looking for something quiet, a bit on the slower side, Charente can be a good choice. And the river (fleuve) is always very calm, almost all year long. Your channel is a great find, I'm gladly subscribing and looking forward to learn more about my own country ;-) (sorry for my English, I hope this was still understandable)
In France, you need no license to drive a boat, if you don't use an outboard or in-board, motor which is not stronger than 6 HP .... This motorization is sufficient to navigate on a canal where the maximum authorized speed is about 5 knots (8,5 kp/h)
@@jansolo55 Thanks for the information, I didn't even know that about boats here. I know I'll definitely pass that information along, and hope this can eventually help some tourists if they come back in Charente !
@@thomasdestalles603 Eh bien voilà !! Que vos touristes soient les bienvenus en Charente-Poitou, et vous pouvez même répondre en français !! 😁
@@jansolo55 Oh pardon je vous ai directement répondu en anglais, et en plus ça m'arrange bien de pouvoir vous répondre en français parce que l'anglais, ce n'est pas mon point fort ! Je pensais bêtement que seuls les engins type scooter des mers (pour les scooters peu puissants) pouvaient se piloter sans permis. Et bien entendu, sont les bienvenus tous les touristes qui souhaitent découvrir notre petit département perdu ! Nous sommes loin d'être une destination touristique, alors il y a de la place et beaucoup de choses à faire et à découvrir :-)
@@thomasdestalles603 Mais pas de pb ! 😉ça fait un moment que je n'ai pas navigué en eaux intérieures et la législation a du changer un peu depuis, mais il vous suffit de contacter un loueur, il vous explicitera clairement les textes en vigueur pour naviguer sur un canal ou sur une autre voie navigable . Le code rivière diffère du code mer car il y a plus de petits "pièges" , tels qu'écluses, passages étroits ou bas (sous les ponts...) , signalisation différente, priorités, amarrages, vitesses, etc..., et il y a sans doute un petit "bréviaire" à connaître avant de s'y aventurer, mais rien de bien méchant . Les petits house-boats familiaux sont munis de moteurs de 6cv, ce qui est amplement suffisant pour des canaux ou des rivières à faibles courants .
Love the French bakeries! France forever! 🇫🇷😍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Great drone shots! Thank you for sharing, new supporter here
Thanks and welcome
Loved the tour of the boat - it's so well-equipped! And the story about filmer vs. fumer is hilarious. Glad you were able to film in the end :)
Isn’t the master bath a “wet head” where you pull out the sink faucet to use as a shower head and the water drains in the floor? Looks like it. You might have two showers to use... next time.
One of my favorite series of books is Horatio Hornblower. In one of the books he and a couple of shipmates escape Napoleon's guards and travels down the Loire river to safety. After reading that story, I always wanted to travel by boat on a French river. Thank you for sharing your trip, and as soon as things get back to normal, we'll definitely look into something like this.
I’ve sent this to my daughter. I hope that she can leave Germany at the same time I can leave the USA! While I love your life skill programs and these are necessary, this episode and the patisserie opening are unforgettable!! Merci!
Thanks i think i have found my next trip for the eastern holidays! Merci, c'est une idée très sympa!
What a lovely way to relax and spend time with loved ones!!
You are living the good life 😘💖!
What a different way to cruise. That looks like so much fun.
Excellent video. My wife an I have made four of the canal cruises on the crewed larger barges. They appear to be a bit expensive but when one considers that everything is included (boat, housekeeping, food, booze and tours, it is not really that expensive for a week of fantastic travel. We did one starting near Strasbourg. I am an avid cyclist and the barges have bikes on board. Early one morning I took off with another passenger who was a German that had been living in America for many years. It was maybe 07:00 and we started riding. I then asked Wolfgang if he could still be good German. He asked why. I said that it was because my GPS said that we were only two KMS from the German border. So we had breakfast in Germany. When we got back to the barge, everyone onboard asked me if I was crazy. I said why? Because it is four degrees C and you are wearing bermuda shorts and a tee shirt!. We did not even feel the cold because we had cycled over thirty kms!
Hi Diane. What a neat vacation. I’ve cruised the Chesapeake Bay many times and especially appreciate the preview of the charter boat which looks like a power catamaran. I suppose its powered by a throttled back Diesel engine. The lock system looked interesting and the river beautiful. This video, like all of your videos is packed with information and your personality👍. I felt like I was part of your crew. Special touches like the visit to the bakery, French bag twist and all, is a delightful example of what makes Oui in France so special. Thank you and happy birthday to Tom. Josef.
Wow, looks like an amazing getaway! Will definitely look into this, thanks for posting!
Loved this video Diane! Wow - the river, scenery, and the boat are all beautiful. The boat looks pristine and the staterooms seem to have more storage than I recall on a similar canal cruise I have taken. Love the master stateroom! This sort of trip looks very relaxing, except for those manual locks (ugh). After some of that hard work, I would look forward to checking out the local area and sitting in a cafe sipping a glass of wine. I've never been to Cognac, but would enjoy that for sure. And the market, the patisserie selection, and of course the delicious red, ripe strawberries. Yum. I have rarely tasted such strawberries in the US. Thanks for taking the time to put this vlog together to share with us. I hope to visit France again soon!
Salut! Hope you enjoyed this travel vlog about what it's like to do a self-drive river cruise in France!
BLOG POSTS on our canal cruise boating trips in France: www.ouiinfrance.com/tag/canal-cruise
BOAT RENTAL COMPANY NICOLS: www.boat-renting-nicols.co.uk/
DRONE VIDEO I MADE: czcams.com/video/zb5e1o1_zps/video.html
NEW MERCH: teespring.com/stores/oui-in-france
Love your channel, always giving great ideas and advice. This makes me want to save even more when we visit France sometime in the future.
Your trip looks amazing. I’m going to talk to my husband and see if it’s something he would like to do!
That looks so relaxing! My parents did a cruise up the Reine in Germany a while back and they loved it. I wanted to try that, but this seems more like a true relaxing vacation and I get to discovery bits of France I might have missed. Now, to convince my husband and his friends...
Thanks for such an informative and entertaining video. The pride and skill of boulangers never ceases to amaze me so I particularly enjoyed the boulangerie part.
Interesting that you were in a chocolatine area...
Enjoyed this so much! Thanks for all your wonderful content.
Diane, I love your videos.
Thank you for all of your hard work!
hey really interesting trip, i loved the lock system thanks
Thank you so much for sharing! Added to my bucket list!
Huge thanks for taking the time to make this video happen.
A big thank you.
I am from this blessed part in France. Everywhere I live, like Paris or Morocco where I live presently, I miss Charentes.
Great video, sounds like a beautiful way to explore the country!
I love love love this! I'll be moving back to the Loire Valley next fall to be with my partner and after being a Caribbean Island girl for most of my life, I think we'll spend lots of our vacations doing this :D
looks like a lot of fun!
I love this! the only problem: I would not want to stop touring and go home.
J'aime cette idée de voyage pour les vacances...après la Covid19 Super
Très beau travail vidéo, chapeau !
Aaaahhhhhhh, merveilleuse! Un grand merci pour cette petite vacation! JDB
This was really exciting and beautiful to watch!!! New Subbie... I like your content!
Thanks for subbing! Welcome!
Diane, video is great. I came across some of these boat chartering websites last year. You actually doing it is inspired me for next year, if the piggy bank allows.
Go for it, you'll love it! Booking far in advance or last minute outside of the summer season if possible will get you the best deal if you're able to be flexible with timing.
@@OuiInFrance
Tanks Dee!
Amazing!! Thanks for the video..
very interesting. I have very close friends from the US living in Gemozac whom i have visited. Love the Charente. I take the train to Sainte from Paris when visiting.
Very relaxing place and beautiful views around Gemozac
just found your channel and wow such great videos! snowy winter day here in the western part of the USA...so this river trip video is a much welcomed glimpse of green and water and oh those bakeries! lucky you and thank you for sharing.
Welcome aboard!
Great video, very informative. Thank you.
This video just came up in my feed. I don't know how I have missed it since I am subscribed to your channel! I have been watching longboat canal videos for months! We don't know where or when we will do this but it is on our bucket list. Since we are in the states we may start with the Erie Canal this summer. Will be reading all the info on your blog!
Great vlog, really enjoyed it. Thanks.
So glad!
I loved your video. I am planning a canal boat trip for 2022 for my wife and I. This was one of the routes I have been researching. I'm not sure the wife would approve of all the manual locks but this part of the country may be worth it.
Very interesting video and ideas for the future. I also especially enjoyed seeing your Peloton shirts (another Century Club member and 3-year Peloton bike rider)
So glad you enjoyed the video! Congrats on the century club! I LOVE Peloton. If I didn't have a channel about life in France, I'd have a fitness lifestyle channel for sure. ;-)
What a cute Puppy 🐶
Thank you!
I liked this before I even watched it! Thank you!! 💕
You're the best!
@@OuiInFrance I liked this video so much I watched it twice all the way through! And sent it promptly to my family. Now my dad is sending us Charente brochures and boat information. 😄And my sister started following you on instagram and sent me your doctor/lesson learned blog post this morning! You've got a new fan club! 😉
@@Rachel-rs7jn Awww, that's so sweet. Thank you and so happy your family is checking out my content too. xx
The scenery is absolutely breathtaking 😊
And your little dog is so adorable 😍😍
Hopefully when the pandemic is over...I would definitely love to visit France..and definitely rent a boat as you and your husband did.
I would love to be on the water for one week.
Thank you very much for sharing this with all of us💓💟💓
Great and useful story about pronunciation misunderstandings. These don't just happen because we are not French- even in a relatively small nation like France, different regions have slight variations in pronunciation and diction which could potentially cause confusion!
Hi there, yes absolutely, and the masks and thick plastic barriers add to the confusion too. Thanks for watching!
nice channel here... I subbed it and big Like.. be healty and stay connected.. greetings from germany ♥
You were only at 25 km from my home when in Saintes or Cognac ;)
Would love to do this boat trip ( loved your video)now how does the lack of French go as I don’t speak French
Hi there, the Nicols staff speaks English (and I believe German) so no worries for the training. On the river or canal, you'll see groups of different nationalities and not everyone speaks French and everything seems to work out. We ran into some Swiss Germans and Germans who spoke some English but not much French. And then at Hennessy, they had tours offered in other languages.
I would love to see some life with pets how do they differ from American pets ..we love our dogs here 🥰
Do you know that really a lot of British people, but also Americans and Canadians buy a house and live in Charentes and Vendée and Poitou.
One reason is that they love the calm and the oceanic climate. Another reason is that their ancestors came from here. And there are other reasons.
Absolutely, great areas to live!!
@@OuiInFrance Other reasons why these people come to Charentes : in the past this part of France belonged to Great Britain ; the houses are not very expensive and they can meet other English speaking people.
I remember a Sunday afternoon in Châteauneuf-sur-Charente, every restaurant was closed except one, near a lock (écluse) on the river. It was an Anglo-saxon one where apparently the people meet!
Belle video! J'ignorais qu'on pouvait conduire des bateaux sans permis. Mais j'aurais quand même peur de percuter un autre bateau ou une écluse ou de m’échouer sur un banc de sable ou de m'amarrer ou il faut pas.
A 5:50 Il faut dire au boulanger qu'on ne dit pas chocolatine mais pain au chocolat
How often do you have to refill up the water for the shower, etc.?
Hi there, we had 4 people on this trip and mostly ate our meals on the boat (no dishwasher on this model) and showered daily and while we filled up when we were able, we probably only needed to fill up once out of necessity. Definitely not a daily thing even with more people. When you do fill up, it's just a simple hose connection that next to the power supply, so super simple. The reservoirs are quite big. No need to empty toilet waste either. Thanks for watching!
Life is good anywhere when you have money
You can film with an electronic cigarette in France ?
This cannot be "pains au chocolat"! You are in the land of "chocolatines" now, so speak like the locals. ;)
Notice that on the display window in the bakery, it is clearly written "pains au chocolat".
@@patricktrigory1663 Heresy! They must be northerners originally... ;)
Ahahah... Of course...
@@19Edurne
Bonne vidéo je m’abonne au passage viens voir ma chaîne je fais des vidéo de voyage 😀
Most informative thank you. I am certainly now considering it.