Host Jazzbeau in France

As I mentioned in a post the other day, DW and I are in France doing a 10-day driving loop before our AMA Rhone cruise. I won't promise to do a "live from" but will file a complete report when we get back. Just wanted to mention a few highlights from today. (1) We saw a bunch of Viking tour groups going through Rouen today. They were all going in the same direction, on each other's heels. Not good spacing to avoid congestion. (2) We had the best dinner tonight (and I'm a real foodie, who has twice been disappointed at Blue Hill at Stone Barn which IMHO doesn't live up to its reputation -- or prices :eek:) at Bistro des Artistes in Honfleur. It's recommended by Rick Steves and even exceeded his praise.

I wish I could convince DH to take a driving trip in Europe. Would love to spend time in central and northern Italy and also parts of Austria, stopping in the smaller towns that are hard to get to by public transport. But being the designated driver for a week or two is something he just does not find appealing :D.

Have a fabulous trip!

As I mentioned in a post the other day, DW and I are in France doing a 10-day driving loop before our AMA Rhone cruise. I won't promise to do a "live from" but will file a complete report when we get back. Just wanted to mention a few highlights from today. (1) We saw a bunch of Viking tour groups going through Rouen today. They were all going in the same direction, on each other's heels. Not good spacing to avoid congestion. (2) We had the best dinner tonight (and I'm a real foodie, who has twice been disappointed at Blue Hill at Stone Barn which IMHO doesn't live up to its reputation -- or prices :eek:) at Bistro des Artistes in Honfleur. It's recommended by Rick Steves and even exceeded his praise.

We are taking this cruise next August. Will let you enjoy your trip and wait for a full review when you return. Then the questions!! Safe travels!

Jazzbeau, have a great time! Your trip sounds like so much fun. We're not too far behind you, but we'll be in Germany with my new Audi S6.

Caviargal, hope that DH changes his mind some day. Chris and I do fine, as long as dinner is within "walking" distance of our hotel!

Have a great trip!

I wish I could convince DH to take a driving trip in Europe. Would love to spend time in central and northern Italy and also parts of Austria, stopping in the smaller towns that are hard to get to by public transport. But being the designated driver for a week or two is something he just does not find appealing :D.

 

Have a fabulous trip!

We did this 6 years ago, and it was fabulous. The key is to let him buy a car in either Stuttgart or Munich, it is called European Delivery. Mercedes has some captivating web stuff as does BMW. Other German brands may as well. Suddenly being the driver seems like a reason to go.

jc

We saw a bunch of Viking tour groups going through Rouen today. They were all going in the same direction, on each other's heels. Not good spacing to avoid congestion. .

We were in Bayeaux last week having spent the night there and saw a tired looking group under an Avalon flag at 9:30 in the morning outside the tapestry - I don't know what time they left their ship !

Normandy at leisure is definitely the best way !

Mind you, when I was in Paris in July at the end of a trip, I overhead a fellow traveler ask if they could get a private day tour to Mont St Michel (and that is at the western border of Normandy !)

davidrw and any other Brits reading this: when we arrived at Bayeux this morning, the parking lot was filled with antique English cars: an MGTx (F?), an MGA, a Jag XK1x0, a Rover saloon [sorry, my knowledge of English cars is a little vague when it comes to exact models unless they say so in big letters!], and 3 Rolls Royces only the newest of which I would have recognized without the RR on atop the radiator [i think that one was the equivalent of an "R-type Bentley"]. [i hope I don't sound too much a fool with these vague descriptions!] But it was a stirring sight. And the smell, of course, brought back all those leaky clutch fluid smells of antique English cars. [i know I could be shot for this, but then we rounded the corner and saw the final and best-ever English sports car: a Mazda Miata :)]

To Caviargal

Just drive yourself! That's what I do. My DH doesn't like to drive so I am always the driver. We leave Sunday for 2 weeks in central Italy. We are staying in Montepulciano and Castellina in Chianti. Will take day trips out from each of these hub locations. Nothing will be more than 50 miles from our hotels. But we will have drinks and dinner back in our hub town so we don't have to drink and drive. Always like to be able to walk to dinner.

To Caviargal

Just drive yourself! That's what I do. My DH doesn't like to drive so I am always the driver. We leave Sunday for 2 weeks in central Italy. We are staying in Montepulciano and Castellina in Chianti. Will take day trips out from each of these hub locations. Nothing will be more than 50 miles from our hotels. But we will have drinks and dinner back in our hub town so we don't have to drink and drive. Always like to be able to walk to dinner.

I have driven in Italy and Germany in the past and managed well. However, it was something I had to do and not something I wanted to do.

I absolutely hate to drive and have zero interest in doing something on vacation I do not enjoy. I drove for some years for work, constantly, that now is the last thing I have an interest in doing.

I think its time to see if any of our good friends would be interested in a driving vacation.

Have a wonderful trip! Italy is my favorite place in the world.

To Caviargal

Just drive yourself! That's what I do. My DH doesn't like to drive so I am always the driver. We leave Sunday for 2 weeks in central Italy. We are staying in Montepulciano and Castellina in Chianti. Will take day trips out from each of these hub locations. Nothing will be more than 50 miles from our hotels. But we will have drinks and dinner back in our hub town so we don't have to drink and drive. Always like to be able to walk to dinner.

My DH won't drive when we are in Europe, so I do all the driving. From Rome we took the train to Chiusi where we picked up our rental car.

We stayed in Montepulciano in a wonderful agriturismo. It was a great home base for visiting many of the Tuscan hill towns.

Driving in Italy was easy compared to England and Scotland. In Italy they drive fast, in the UK they drive on the "wrong" side! :)

Enjoy your vacation!

I really must object we in the UK and quite a few othe countries drive on the correct side of the road. Mind you I understand that there is only one roundabout in the USA so they may be a bit confusing driving round Europe and even more so over here. Still life is a learning curve, have fun.

CC

I really must object we in the UK and quite a few othe countries drive on the correct side of the road. Mind you I understand that there is only one roundabout in the USA so they may be a bit confusing driving round Europe and even more so over here. Still life is a learning curve, have fun.

CC

Love this! You are right about the roundabouts, or lack thereof, in the USA.

Driving on the opposite side (is that better?) is much more difficult than you would think.

Don't mean to hijack Host Jazzbeau's thread. Cruise Critic is a fun place to learn about travel - including driving.

Carry on!

Whoa--Canal Archive!!

I live in Massachusetts and I can think of at least a dozen roundabouts (we call them rotaries) within 1 hour of home!!!

Problem is, most drivers do not understand what "yield the right of way when entering the rotary" means--they enter without looking at traffic and avoid eye contact with other driversd!!

I really must object we in the UK and quite a few othe countries drive on the correct side of the road. Mind you I understand that there is only one roundabout in the USA so they may be a bit confusing driving round Europe and even more so over here. Still life is a learning curve, have fun.

CC

From me sorry for the hijack. I must admit I thought the only USA roundabout was in Miami but then I have only driven in Florida, Texas and California my husband got a ticket in California the police were furious that they had caught a tourist, it was speeding, and hubby phoned the court to tell them we would be on the plane home when he was supposed to be in court, the lady said it would come up before the judge and if a fine was incurred he would hear about it and what he did about was up to him and his conscience. We never did hear anything but we're a tad concerned when we next went to the USA but our various American friends reassured us and it was okay. Your system of filtering sometimes confuses me but then it could be just a few senior moments.

Happy cruising & driving CC

Hello hostjazzbeau,

I hope you have a great time in France and get to see the Pont du Gard. That and the amphitheatre in Arles really stick in my mind from my land trip years and years ago. Those Romans, they knew how to build. These days bridges on the Rhine only last forty years before major repairs are due. :(

Sorry for joining in the hijacking...

Those English roundabouts, riiight, I went round one in Stockport three times before I found the right exit, although I had my SatNav switched on.

Here is one for you Canal archive:

What is the biggest car park in Britain called?

....

....

....

The M25! :D

notamermaid

Whoa--Canal Archive!!

 

I live in Massachusetts and I can think of at least a dozen roundabouts (we call them rotaries) within 1 hour of home!!!

 

Problem is, most drivers do not understand what "yield the right of way when entering the rotary" means--they enter without looking at traffic and avoid eye contact with other driversd!!

Yea - There are a ton of roundabouts in the US. http://www.roundaboutsusa.com

There were a ton of NJ when I lived there 20 years ago. Even in the midwest, we have many. They just announced they are building a $20 million dollar elevated one in Lincoln, NE.

According to our city government, we get federal funding when we build roundabouts so we built quite a few :(

According to our city government, we get federal funding when we build roundabouts so we built quite a few :(

Maybe it is a safety consideration. My DH spent a couple of weeks in Abu Dhabi two years ago. Entire new sections of the city are built with roundabouts/rotaries instead of regular intersections so no one needs to make a left turn!

Not that roundabouts are always safer. When we lived in Belgium in the mid-90s the rule at roundabouts was "priority from the right" (i.e., to vehicles entering the roundabout) that resulted in many, many accidents involving foreigners. I was the only one of my friends that made it thru more than 3 years with my car unscathed - but my nerves were a wreck. I don't know if Belgium has changed their rules in the past 20 years to match most of the rest of the world or not.

Host Jazzabeau the Pont du Gaurd is fantastic what engineering and Honfluer is so atmospheric there are so many remarkable places to see and things to do in this world it's hard to decide what to do next.

Off piste again if anyone wants to try what is most probably the most fiendish roundabout system in the world try the 'majic' roundabout in Swindon people have been rumoured to have got lost for hours on it. We still use what were Roman roads i.e. the Fosse Way no contours for the Romans just head in a straight line til you get there.

On Guernsey one of the Channel Islands at roundabouts and junctions it used to be one and one may also have been like on Jersey don't know if it still is but they are small islands so not so much traffic.

CC

I hereby declare this thread an official "off-topic" zone. Continue to amuse yourselves in my absence! :D

I hereby declare this thread an official "off-topic" zone. Continue to amuse yourselves in my absence! :D

Good for you. Enjoy your vacation

I hereby declare this thread an official "off-topic" zone. Continue to amuse yourselves in my absence! :D

You may be the best mod ever at CC.

jc

How is the car rental process in Europe? We are going to travel to Les Baux on our own at the end of our Rhone cruise and I was thinking of renting a car at the Avignon train station. My travel agent said it can be hard to get a car with automatic transmission, and alas we do not know how to drive standard. Also, my husband is 6'5 and I worry about the small European cars.

Should I still look into car rental? There isn't an easy way to get to Les Baux using public transport. Thanks!

Dbncsuvet, it's easy. Not really any different from the US. True, more manuals than automatics but you can almost always rent an automatic if you need to. I have rented cars in Europe plenty, though a stick doesn't bother me...

Don't worry. It's a short trip so he'll survive being a pretzel - but you can also rent a larger car if you're worried.

Thanks JP!