Driving in France

On 10/31/2011 5:12 PM, Doug Anderson wrote:
et writes:

James Silverton wrote:
On 10/31/2011 2:51 PM, Doug Anderson wrote:
Cathy writes:

We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

I rented a car for 4 days in August. From Avis in Nice, returned to
the train station in Orange. I rented in advance, from the US.

It was easy. I did _not_ drive around Paris and environs though.

Second that, especially at rush hour. After once renting a car from
a Paris agency and bringing it back during the rush hour, I resolved
never again.

But couldn't you say the same for rush hour traffic in ANY large city,
ANYWHERE? (Not only Paris, London, Los Angeles or New York, but even
Phoenix AZ.)

Certainly driving around big unfamiliar cities at rush hour is no
picnic.

But not all large cities at rush hour are created equal. To name two
I happen to know: Portland and Seattle.

It is much easier to recover from a mistake in Portland than in
Seattle.

I don't know what Paris is like to drive around in first-hand, but if
I wanted to compare with another large European capital city: I'd
rather be driving around Berlin than Paris or Rome or London at rush
hour.

Also, for me, my French is adequate for touristic purposes, but it is
slow and I'm not especially familiar with traffic patterns and signs.
So I don't like to be in situations where I would have to react
quickly.

Parisian traffic circles have to be experienced! Other cities like
London and Frankfurt are bad but don't compare with Paris. If you've
ever seen someone step off the kerb near a rental agency and be wiped
out, as I did, you'ld never rent in Paris.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm *not*

James Silverton writes:

On 10/31/2011 5:12 PM, Doug Anderson wrote:
et writes:

James Silverton wrote:
On 10/31/2011 2:51 PM, Doug Anderson wrote:
Cathy writes:

We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

I rented a car for 4 days in August. From Avis in Nice, returned to
the train station in Orange. I rented in advance, from the US.

It was easy. I did _not_ drive around Paris and environs though.

Second that, especially at rush hour. After once renting a car from
a Paris agency and bringing it back during the rush hour, I resolved
never again.

But couldn't you say the same for rush hour traffic in ANY large city,
ANYWHERE? (Not only Paris, London, Los Angeles or New York, but even
Phoenix AZ.)

Certainly driving around big unfamiliar cities at rush hour is no
picnic.

But not all large cities at rush hour are created equal. To name two
I happen to know: Portland and Seattle.

It is much easier to recover from a mistake in Portland than in
Seattle.

I don't know what Paris is like to drive around in first-hand, but if
I wanted to compare with another large European capital city: I'd
rather be driving around Berlin than Paris or Rome or London at rush
hour.

Also, for me, my French is adequate for touristic purposes, but it is
slow and I'm not especially familiar with traffic patterns and signs.
So I don't like to be in situations where I would have to react
quickly.

Parisian traffic circles have to be experienced! Other cities like
London and Frankfurt are bad but don't compare with Paris. If you've
ever seen someone step off the kerb near a rental agency and be wiped
out, as I did, you'ld never rent in Paris.

We had a rental car in England, and were trying to get to Avebury.
Somehow we ended up in the famous Swindon roundabout (which I'd heard
of, and seen pictures of, but was emphatically _not_ on my list of
sights to be seen:
http://www.swindonweb.com/index.asp?m=8&s=115&ss=289 ).

Somehow we got out unscathed (on top of everything else, all the
traffic seems to be going in the wrong direction), and headed in the
right direction.

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:20:46 -0000, "JohnT"
wrote:


"Cathy L" wrote in message
. ..
We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

Why should it be difficult?

There are no bathrooms in French cars.

You surprise me. Are the French really that unhygienic?
--
JohnT

Try French!
On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:33:05 +0100, Runge 131 wrote:

Oh Irwell can understand french ???


"Irwell" a écrit dans le message de groupe de discussion :
...

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:28:23 -0400, Cathy L wrote:

We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

Cathy L.

It's not too bad if you bone up on the traffic signs
and invest in a little French language lesson.

Second that, especially at rush hour. After once renting a car from a
Paris agency and bringing it back during the rush hour, I resolved
never again.

But couldn't you say the same for rush hour traffic in ANY large city,
ANYWHERE? (Not only Paris, London, Los Angeles or New York, but even
Phoenix AZ.)

Being stuck in rush hour is one issue. The trouble is if you're stuck
and have no idea where you are. Being stuck, not knowing where, and this
in a city that grew over 2000 years and was made for pedestrians and a
handfull of horse carriages - that's hell

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:05:48 -0700, Irwell wrote:

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:28:23 -0400, Cathy L wrote:

We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

Cathy L.

It's not too bad if you bone up on the traffic signs and invest in a
little French language lesson.

Many very nice places can only be reached by car. If you like to visit
the countryside, which is a nice complement to city centres and
monuments, driving is a must.
Using motorways, you can reach any point in France in just one day. But
if you have some spare time, you spend some time on the local road system
and discover a completely different country. Some regions and some
seasons are more favourable for such a discovery. Buy local tourists
guides, Michelin green guide is monument oriented, I like Gallimard
guides for their nature and landscape coverage.

http://www.michelinonline.co.uk/travel/

http://www.decouvrez.fr/fr/

More tourists' guide there (regional guides list on left)
http://livre.fnac.com/s1388/Tourisme.../Guides-France


GPS systems make the adventure considerably easier now. Nevertheless, it
is never pleasant to drive in urban areas at peak hours. In big cities,
switch to the public transport system.

Oh good thinking duh

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" a écrit dans le message de groupe de
discussion : ...



James Silverton wrote:
On 10/31/2011 2:51 PM, Doug Anderson wrote:
Cathy writes:

We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

I rented a car for 4 days in August. From Avis in Nice, returned to
the train station in Orange. I rented in advance, from the US.

It was easy. I did _not_ drive around Paris and environs though.

Second that, especially at rush hour. After once renting a car from a
Paris agency and bringing it back during the rush hour, I resolved never
again.

But couldn't you say the same for rush hour traffic in ANY large city,
ANYWHERE? (Not only Paris, London, Los Angeles or New York, but even
Phoenix AZ.)

Lol stoopid amelicans...

"James Silverton" a écrit dans le message de groupe de discussion :
...

On 10/31/2011 5:12 PM, Doug Anderson wrote:
et writes:

James Silverton wrote:
On 10/31/2011 2:51 PM, Doug Anderson wrote:
Cathy writes:

We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

I rented a car for 4 days in August. From Avis in Nice, returned to
the train station in Orange. I rented in advance, from the US.

It was easy. I did _not_ drive around Paris and environs though.

Second that, especially at rush hour. After once renting a car from
a Paris agency and bringing it back during the rush hour, I resolved
never again.

But couldn't you say the same for rush hour traffic in ANY large city,
ANYWHERE? (Not only Paris, London, Los Angeles or New York, but even
Phoenix AZ.)

Certainly driving around big unfamiliar cities at rush hour is no
picnic.

But not all large cities at rush hour are created equal. To name two
I happen to know: Portland and Seattle.

It is much easier to recover from a mistake in Portland than in
Seattle.

I don't know what Paris is like to drive around in first-hand, but if
I wanted to compare with another large European capital city: I'd
rather be driving around Berlin than Paris or Rome or London at rush
hour.

Also, for me, my French is adequate for touristic purposes, but it is
slow and I'm not especially familiar with traffic patterns and signs.
So I don't like to be in situations where I would have to react
quickly.

Parisian traffic circles have to be experienced! Other cities like
London and Frankfurt are bad but don't compare with Paris. If you've
ever seen someone step off the kerb near a rental agency and be wiped
out, as I did, you'ld never rent in Paris.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm *not*

Pas de difficulté, Irwell, aucun problème.
Duh.

"Irwell" a écrit dans le message de groupe de discussion :
...

Try French!
On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:33:05 +0100, Runge 131 wrote:

Oh Irwell can understand french ???


"Irwell" a écrit dans le message de groupe de discussion :
...

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:28:23 -0400, Cathy L wrote:

We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

Cathy L.

It's not too bad if you bone up on the traffic signs
and invest in a little French language lesson.

martin the old fart...
"Martin" a écrit dans le message de groupe de discussion :
...

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:48:03 -0000, "JohnT"
wrote:


"Martin" wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:20:46 -0000, "JohnT"
wrote:


"Cathy L" wrote in message
...
We are thinking of taking another trip to France. Do you think it is
easy to just rent a car and drive around?

Why should it be difficult?

There are no bathrooms in French cars.

You surprise me. Are the French really that unhygienic?

Cathy and Bill think so.
--

Martin