h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

All a large number of Brits have seen of france have been the Ferry terminals, the bus to town and the hypermarket. When there was duty free booze cruises were an extremly common occurance and national papers even ran a series of coupons to give you a free trip over. The British being easily swayed by cheap beer and wine and spirits jumped at the change.

Evne though Duty is now paid the prices in France are still sufficiently cheap to enable Brits to travel acroos and load up and still come out on top. Hurrah for the French Hypermarche.

Well, I'm an American, so I didn't know about the bus and the hypermarket. My wife and I, on our first trip to London last summer, took the £5 ride on the hovercraft, Dover to Calais. We got off, walked through customs, around the building and back onto the hovercraft. That's what you get for £5. But my passport does have a "France" stamp, now

All things considered, France was not as bad as I'd feared.

I'm confused, though, about the booze ... there was a LOT of beer going INTO France - a tribute to UK brew, I suppose?

Especially so the Brits can go over and buy it up cheaply.

Ok ... the beer goes onto the hovercraft through the "beer" gate (I have pictures of that gate), then into France, then the Brits get on the hovercraft to France and buy it, load it on the hovercraft back to the UK, ...

Is that the way it works?