Hi we are travelling from Monet%26#39;s house in Giverny to Ver-sur-Mer on Wednesday 20 May. I have a few questions:
1. Is there anything we shouldn%26#39;t miss on the way. 2. We are not driving on the main roads is there anything we should know about the roads (obviously driving on the other side to what we are used to in Australia).
3. On the Thursday we will be going into Bayeaux and also looking at the d-day beaches then travelling down to Sacey, Brittainy to stay o/n then tour Le Mont Saint Michel on the Friday. Is there anything else we should see on the way or elsewhere?
Any input would be welcomed.
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If you are interested, Liseux has a large basilica built to celebrate the saint, Terese of Liseux, also known as The Little Flower. Her remains toured Australia a few years ago.
Make sure you see the Bayeux Tapestry.
Be prepared for overwhelming emotions at the beaches.
Mt S Michel has enormous numbers of tourists and can turn into a human traffic jam. Going up via the ramparts rather than the one road is often easier. Food on the island, at least for a proper meal, is not good. Lots of snacks available though.
French roads use many, many roundabouts. There is a tendency to look right as you turn right. Make sure you look left.
The injunction of one of our newspaper columnists here to %26quot;keep your wife in the gutter%26quot; is good advice when making turns. It ensures you end up on the right side of the road.
Aires are rest stops. The signs to indicate facilities are self explanatory. Many petrol stations are unmanned and you need a credit card with a chip to work them. Some of the big Aires have manned petrol stations. Often the cheapest petrol places are attached to Carrefour, Leclerc or Mousquetiers supermarkets and you pay as you drive out. Diesel cars are considerably cheaper to run.
Lots of places, including many supermarkets and sights close for lunch anywhere from 12 to 2.30 or 3pm. Stop at the breadshop or supermarket early to pick up some picnic fare and carry basic knife, breadboard, corkscrew picnic set for roadside lunches.
While speciality shops are heaven, they sell what they sell. The boulanger sells bread, not butter and soft drink. You may need to go to several shops. The supermarkets are usually on the outskirts of towns and have unbelievable food for a supermarket. Rows of local cheeses, beautiful terrines and cold meats and so on. No toilets though!
Toilets are really hard to find. If you ask at any bar they will allow you to use their toilet. It is courteous to buy a drink in repayment. Be prepared for some toilets to be squats, or to have no seats and many do not have toilet paper (carry a bit in your pocket or handbag) The big aires along the autoroute have sometimes good food, sometimes pre-packaged rubbish, but clean toilets.
I could go on but I am digressing from the original question. Have fun.
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Hi Lynnb48
Thanks heaps for your very informative post. I have not travelled through Europe so I didn%26#39;t even think of 1/2 of what you said. It makes soooo much sense. Also how do we get one of those cards for the petrol? I can see we (three ladies) are going to be thrown in the deep end in France!! Please if there is anything else you can add that would be so helpful, I don%26#39;t care how long you go on for I am soaking it all up and taking it all on board!
Thanks heaps!
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The card we use is an ANZ Visa Platinum with a chip embedded. Sometimes it was difficult to know what to do at the pumps as the instructions are of course, in French. But we managed most of the time. Nevertheless, I recommend filling up at the supermarket pumps wherever possible.
Next, this Visa card has a wonderful extra. If you pay for $250 worth of your holiday OS on the platinum card it gives you free trip insurance, as good as what you would normally buy and covering everything from medical to stolen items to the excess on the car insurance should you hit anything. I really urge you each to get one if you are unrelated. Even so, it is probably a good idea for you each to have one as there have been a few reports of people not being covered if they were not together with the person who owned the card. So use it to buy your air tickets or some accommodation or car hire (which is cheaper on-line from Australia than it is OS) and make sure you have a record of having spent the minimum on the trip. Husband got pneumonia 5 days into the last trip and while I paid on the spot, everything was reimbursed and they were fantastic.
I will send a PM re some personal odds and sods we found helpful.
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