Mailing Postcards from Provence Post Offices

La Poste in France has changed dramatically since many of us visited there in our youth. It is now very easy to send those postcards to friends and family back home!

First, all villages and towns have post offices that are now open much of the day and on Saturdays (some still close for the long lunchtime). Many of the larger towns and cities now have small post offices scattered across the neighborhoods in addition to the large central office. Look for the bright yellow and blue sign "La Poste".
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Second, stamps can often be purchased from La Poste at an easy-to-use 'English-optional' self-service machine or from the walk-up counter at the Poste Boutique. The postcard rate is now standardized, so you can buy stamps for future use and then just drop the cards in the yellow post box outside even when the post office is closed (the mail from these outside boxes is actually collected each day!!)

Third, the Post Office is now also a bank for the french. The benefit for visitors is that there are now, normally, separate lines for simple operations like stamps and more complex time-consuming transactions in which the french may want to engage. Also, the post office is now able to accept your credit card (or ATM card) to pay for your transactions.

Lastly, it is much easier to send packages. No need to wrap the boxes in brown mailing paper anymore! Pack things securely, write your return address in the corner and put an X through it to show that this is not the mailing address. Write the mailing address in English if you like, be sure to add the zip and USA.

If it is under 2 kilos (about 5.5 pounds) you can simply send it by 'service economique' for 2-week delivery or 'service prioritaire' for 7-10 day delivery. Do not be convinced that you must use 'colissimo', which is much more expensive! It is not required for packages under 2 kilos.

Oh, one more things, if you are using a french cell phone, you can purchase a 'recharge' at La Poste, in order to extend your talking time!

You may even encounter an agent willing to speak English with you. At our local Poste, the agent took a trip to California with her Harley-Davidson group and reported the entire adventure to me in a mixture of French and English!