French Road Trip

Trip Start Jun 29, 2008
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Trip End Nov 27, 2008


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Saturday, July 26, 2008

This week it came time to head outside of Paris, and Mont St Michel was our main aim.  Apparently Mont St Michel is the second most visited tourist site in France after the Eiffel Tower (although, we believe numbers through Notre Dame would be right up there).  We decided to hire a car, mainly for ease of visiting the D-day beaches after Mont St Michel.  We hired our car from the airport - all the regular small cars were hired out, so they suggested a Smart Car (1L engine) until they heard how far we were driving - they then recommended the Fiat 500 as a better option (larger and 1.2L!).  Our first stop was to be Chartres, so we had to head around the Paris ring road in order to head off in the appropriate direction.  Unfortunately, there was no map with the car, and Jan's France Map was completely unhelpful in negotiating the roads around Paris.  None-the-less, after only a minor false start, we made it to the Versailles area as we hoped, in the SE of Paris, and were only slightly disturbed when, after 1.5hrs of driving, we rounded a corner and went over a small rise to be afforded a view of the Eiffel Tower!!  We did find our road to Chartres, however, and we were finally off!

Chartres was a delightful town, with streets of cobble-stones and charming stone bridges spanning a small river.  The main site, the Cathedral of Chartres, is visible at a great distance, and pleasant to look at from both far and near.  Known for its gothic style and stained-glass windows, we were also impressed with the carvings within.

For the next leg of our journey, we needed to cover many km, and we decided to use the toll roads which bypass towns and allow a speed of up to 130mph (yes, the car could just manage that - we didn't have a lot of luggage you see!).  It ended up time efficient, but also very expensive - all up we spent 25 Euro on the toll roads.  This brought us in good time, however, to Mont St Michel, which appears like an apparition on the sky-line, rising from the surrounding fields.  The closer you get the more magnificant it becomes - but beware, on arrival, you become acutely aware of its role as a major tourist attraction - and we felt this despite the fact that the tour buses had all departed by the time we arrived.  Yet the history and setting of the place is impressive, and the abbey was open until 23.30, so there was plenty of time to stroll through and enjoy it.  Strangely enough, large numbers of tourists who visit the Mont don't even visit the abbey, which means they must just visit the tourist shops, as that is all there is besides!  After our tour of the abbey, we enjoyed a lovely seafood dinner followed by tha almost obligatory creme brulee.  Hard to complain really!!

The following day we toured the D-day beaches and Bayeux.  Although not as poignant for us as our visit to Gallipoli had been, you can't help but be moved by the site of the war cemetaries.  We visited the American cemetary, which has been tended with great care - the rows of crosses, with the occasional fresh flowers placed at their base, brings home the waste of so many young lives.  Bayeux, yet again a delightful town, is the home of the Bayeux tapestry, described by some as a magnificant piece of Norman propaganda.  It is a remarkable piece of work that has survived well, and the museum has been put together thoughfully, with some great models and even a film, in which they bring to life sections of the tapestry - I'm sure those who gowned up in costume and brandished their swords for this budget production had great fun. 

Following this, our final challenge was to head back to Paris and the airport.  To increase the challenge, we decided to avoid the toll-ways, which at one stage did get a little tricky and Ben was almost ready to give up.... when we found our way to the other side of the Seine and subsequently found our alternate route.  All in all, a fairly successful 2 day journey.  A word of caution though ... if you want to avoid issues with food throughout your travels, remember that only poor food options are along the roadways in general (eg McDonalds) and as elsewhere, the French don't like to start work until 10 or 11am.... so take a picnic basket with provisions!!
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