I made the trip there the once, and never again.
As you say, 'shithole'.
To put it another way, it was 'European City of Culture' when I went... something that has also been awarded in the past to Glasgow and Liverpool, so I think that says it all really. ;-)
Alternatively I've landed in Calais and then driven to Le Touquet for a day trip a couple of times; notably warmer than Calais, palm trees and the like in abundance, and some half decent roads down to there too.
-- JackH
Scotland is more pictureseque if you intend to spend most of your time behind the wheel, assuming you avoid holes like Glasgow.
Cornwall... I've holidayed down near Penzance the last two years running.
Plenty to do down there, but not that much you'd want to do more than once IYSWIM.
-- JackH
Yeah... it's a real bind being about 16 miles from Dover (1), I can tell you. ;-)
(1) Dover itself is by enlarge a shithole populated by what looks like some of the extras from a horror movie... but there's s*it loads of interesting and picturesque stuff on the outskirts, and by that, I don't just mean the castle.
-- JackH
"DervMan" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
From your suggested schedule, though, it's too far.
Montreuil.
"DervMan" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
Bof! C'est merde. Vous n'avez pas un deux chevaux, mon ami?
On Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:32:44 -0700, JackH mumbled:
Indeed. Can't be doing with the place!
Only two years running? Amateur :-p All my childhood holidays were spent in Cornwall around Penzance/St Ives/Mousehole or on the Scilly Isles..
I'm thinking I'll be able to spend more time in the pub, it won't be full of Scots going on about the English, and the weather will be better.
Mike
It hadn't improved from the last time I'd been unable to avoid going there something like 14 years ago, that's for sure.
I could go again this year but *really* can't be arsed to drive that far, just to see the same stuff again.
Oh, some of the pubs are worthy!
-- JackH
Yeah, I've seen those films too. (c:
I used an autoroute from south of Boulogne to Abbeville (A16), then jumping onto the A28 as it was better than the N road and only cost
6.75 Euro each way.
I'll second that BTW, even the Ibis in Reims serves decent champagne. And they have an amazing charcoal pit restaurant where they barbecue large portions of cow.
In the present day, however, if I wanted a real French experience I would make my way to Colmar. Which is a f*ck of a long way to drive for a day out. Then when I was there I would head to Molsheim for the Bugatti museum.
Hmm where are you starting from and how much do you want to spend?
From the south of England, I'd consider Portsmouth - Le Havre with LD Lines on an overnight trip with a sleeper cabin. Then you get a start at
0800 in Le Havre and you can do Rouen in a day.Alternatively if you have more money, Portsmouth to St Malo on an overnight ferry. Then you can do St Malo, a town with medieval city walls, which will probably take a large part of the day. You can also, if you have time jaunt to Mont St Michel nearby which is well worth the trip. But you *must* walk right to the top.
Or for cheapskates who live near Dover, take the Norfolk Lines ferry to Dunkerque. Don't think about visiting Dunkerque which is a shithole, head for Lille, stopping at Bailleul on the way and also visit Mont des Cats on the way. Stock up on cheese.
It would suit my relaxed style of driving, I admit...
I was inspired to watch one by Dan.
We used autoroutes for the whole trip through France. I don't remember how much (shoot, I wasn't paying, Charlie was). I do remember we noticed it, but it wasn't significant.
The French do, however, increase the tolls for the summer months. We went in April.
"DervMan" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
Eh? Nah...
I get behind the wheel of a deuche, and I grow a pair of red horns. They just inspire you to drive like an absolute loon and keep up with traffic...
I hate driving to Cornwall. There always seems to be a turned over caravan somewhere along the way that holds everyone up for ages.
Heh, I'm glad I'm not the only one. There's only one way to drive a
2cv. Revving it so hard that the engine whine is almost off the upper scale of human hearing, or leant over onto it's door handles. Or both.Damn, that's three.. they're all hilarious though
Mike P
ey
Hmm, no it wouldn't. Really.
Mike P
ey
No, it wouldn't. You'd get absolutely nowhere if you never revved it above 2000rpm..
Mike P
Last time I went was about 10 years ago. I went on the train, I wasn't looking forward to it TBH, so started drinking when we got on the train at Reading, and finished a week later, when we got off the train at Reading. I
Mike P
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