...Automobiles, Try again

The automobile portion of our journey.  Cars in Europe are in general much smaller than here.  Drive down some of their streets and you can understand why!  I think I saw one full-size Range Rover, one Chevy pick-up, and one Toyota Sienna the whole time we were there.

The first part of our trip took us from Lyon down to Provence, staying in Nimes.  It was our intention to see some Roman ruins and soak up a little French culture before being bombarded with P-A-R-I-S.  (Good plan, more later.)  Renting a car gave us the flexibility and freedom to take the trip.  So, with four kids and associated baggage we rented the largest car available:

In a shocking revelation, it was big enough!  Three across in the middle, one wedged in the back amongst the baggage.  In fact, in a moment of inspired-and-utterly-reckless parenting, we negotiated that the one wedged in the back didn't have to wear a seatbelt.  Really, it wouldn't have mattered.  Deal struck, and three of the kids took turns experiencing relative isolation.

Important things about driving in France:  In the cities, it is better to have a destination like a landmark that you aim for rather than an address.  All the signs point you toward things and street names change arbitrarily.  Come to think of it, that's sort of like driving in Atlanta!  Anyway, DH got waaaaay lost on the way from the Lyon airport to our hotel, turning a 30 minute drive into a two-hour cruise.

It takes a lot longer to get places than you think! Even on the autoroutes, which are similar to our interstates.  Generally in the U.S. we can pick up an hour on a six-hour drive as estimated by MapQuest.  We never even came close to that in France.  And all of the autoroutes have at least a portion that is toll.  I think we spent at least 100 Euros on tolls driving from Lyon to Nimes to Paris.

There are rest stops called "aires" along all the autoroutes.  These have restaurants, gas stations, even hotels, all to keep you on the autoroute and paying the toll!  Some are only bathroom stops, but we stopped at a couple of places and had decent meals with prices no more than at any other restaurant we ate at.  I mean, I wouldn't have looked for it had we not been on the autoroute, but it was fine.  This was J's Crocque Monsieur at one of them:

As you drive along the autoroutes, you'll see brown signs with a picture and a name.  Then maybe a minute later that site will pop up on the side of the road.  So you don't have to wonder, "Wow, I wonder what that is?"  Very thoughtful, those French.  This is, according to the signs, "Villa de Mornay,  11ieme siecle."

Round-abouts are awesome.  They give you a second chance to pick your turn...just drive around until you feel committed.   This option works much better in towns than in cities!  Which brings me to...

No lanes!  DH drove through Charles de Gaulle Etoile in Paris, the giant round-about with TWELVE streets, including the Champs-Elysees.  I did not take this picture, but here it is.  Bill drove through it at NIGHT.  He is the man.

He considered it the crowning achievement of his driving trip.  And we have both come to the conclusion that confusion is a very effective traffic-calming device.  Lanes seem to be very optional in much of French town driving.  Like this:

No one really knows what their lane is, and they certainly can't tell where the other guys think they are going, so you just have to be kind of careful and a little aggressive all at once.  And it works.

So that is a little about how we got around in France.  Except, of course, Paris Metro and taxis.  But they'll wait, because I have to start my day.  A bientot!  (And someday I will find the keystrokes that give me proper accents and circumflexes...)

France: Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Our trip took us all over the country!  This was my kids' longest plane ride, first ever train ride, and (possibly) longest car ride ever.  Here's what we learned...

Airplanes:  For once I gave us plenty of time to get to the airport and the gate.  (The last time DH and I flew we were the last ones on the plane!)  Good move.  I was traveling alone with the kids and it was just good to be leisurely in checking in, getting dinner at the airport, and even being able to move our seat assignments around so we could be together.

All airplanes are not created equal.  Our flight over had individual screens on the back of each seat, so the kids could choose what they wanted to watch.  Coming home, we had only the screens at the front of each section, so they were stuck with what might or might not be a great choice to watch with kids.  I guess I should have known this but I didn't really think about it when we left.  It wasn't a big deal but the kids came home with no charge on their iPods, so it was a loooooong flight!  (Yes, we charged them throughout the week, but we had an unanticipated four-hour layover in Dusseldorf on the way home--there went the charge!)

Charles de Gaulle airport is HUGE when you arrive.  It takes a lot of walking to get through customs and baggage claim.  However, when you depart, it is teensy-tiny.  You can see the gate from the check-in counter outside security!

It also takes a tremendous amount of walking to get to the train station at CdG, too.  Which brings me to...

Trains:  I always loved taking trains in France.  They are easy and on-time.  However, train stations are no place to hang out.  Let me back up just a little:

I think this is pretty new because none of my guidebooks noted this station at CdG.  You no longer have to take a bus or RER (suburban commuter) train to get from CdG to the trains that will take you throughout the country; they have built an awesome train station right at the terminal.  This is great because you can take the TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse, literally "High-Speed Train") in almost any direction from one station.  In the city of Paris, there are about five main train stations, each one departing to a different direction.  So in the city you have to know where you are headed in order to pick the right train station.  Having the SNCF (French train system, Societe Nationale de Chemins de Fer, or "National Iron Horse Society") right at the airport means you can go in a multitude of directions from one spot.  Super convenient--Thanks, France!

So we walked miles (it seems) to get to the train station.  Unlike airports, people arrive at trains about five minutes before the train arrives, the train stops for about three minutes while everyone piles on and off, and then away you go.  Being cautious about our flights, though, we booked a TGV to Lyon that left about three hours after we landed.  When we realized how easy the connection was, I tried to change the reservation to an earlier departure but couldn't do it at the ticket kiosk (a problem I'll talk more about later).  The line at the service counter really long, so I thought it wouldn't be a big deal.  In hindsight, I should have waited in that line!

So we were stuck in the station with all that baggage for almost three hours.  Train stations are just about the outside temperature; in November, that means cold!  And super-boring:  remember, the smart people arrive just before the train arrives, hop on, and away they go.  Anyway, we finally got to ride on this:

This was the kids' first train ride.  I'm afraid that we have now spoiled them.  The TGV is sleek, quiet, and most of all fast.  They loved watching the countryside whisk by as they enjoyed some snacks I had bought in the station.  Chocolate and cookies in the warmth of the train cabin--that was a great way to get to Lyon.

This post is getting long, and so I'll continue with automobiles (and taxis!) in the next post.  A bientot!