Getting to the Coast- Driving in French

Ok, it might not have been the best idea to pick up the rental car in Paris.

With the maze of one-way streets, and over a half an hour of circling round and round, I finally took the drastic step of driving the wrong way, in order to finally get to our apartment to pick up the rest of the family.

Another 45 minutes or so, we drove around, trying to find our way out of Paris. Our assessment was that there were several things which made driving here more complicated. Obviously, the language, but also the street signs are sometimes covered up by cafe awnings, and they are posted on the buildings, only, not before the intersection. The intersections are often roundabouts (especially where many streets come together at once). Paris is not laid out on a grid, so its easy to lose your sense of direction. In short, it was foreign to us.

Then, another wrong detour to miss the toll road (again) and we ended up driving to Chartes on the rural roads. Which was pleasant, but took longer than we expected.

Chartres is the home of La Maison Picassiette, which is an amazing mosaic house, created by a resident of Chartres over a 30 year period, beginning in 1938. No photos are permitted but you can see more about it here: http://www.thejoyofshards.co.uk/picassiette/index.shtml This was a pilgramage for my mother, who has wanted to visit for years. This side trip, however, led to more getting lost.

Finally we got on to the tollway. The speed limit is 110. Kilometers per hour, that is. It still seems strange to see that on the dashboard.

Our car is a Citroen Picasso, automatic, diesel, which seats 7. Its smaller than our honda van, which seats 6, so with our luggage its a bit cramped, but still large compared to other cars on the road. It has an onboard navigation system, which clearly didn't help us much, and the manual is all in French.

We arrived on the coast very late, after dark, and spent about another hour trying to find our friend's house, and finally had to call for an escort. It was a long night!