Back to Valencia

The drive back was much better.  We took the more scenic road and passed through a bunch of small towns and big towns.  Some were pretty neat, some were okay.  One looked kind of like it was dying.  Of couse, it was near an industrial park.  There was some great scenery.  There were a lot of orange orchards outside Valencia.  And we went by the park below Valencia. I think it's some kind of wetlands or something.

We made our way back into town, on the street on the opposite side of the Turia from our hotel.  How easy was that!?  If only we could have found it on our way out of town.  It was after 6 pm by now, so we went to our room to rest up before supper.

We'd had 2 paellas so far but not the true Paella Valenciana.  So we wanted to find out how it tasted.

Alicante

Alicante was fairly nice.  It's a big city, but we figured since they had an esplanade along the beach, and were known for the beach, that there would be parking near the beach.  Nope.  We drove past the beach, then past the marina, then turned around.  We almost turned into a parking garage on the back side of a building, but it looked like a pedestrian pathway.  Frank turned there and I was like "Is this a road?"  Turns out it was a brick road behind the building.  But it was too far from the beach so we kept looking.

We finally found a parking sign I'd spotted before and turned in there.  Anyone who's driven in Europe knows what comes next.  You realize why the cars are so small.  Because the damn parking garages are tiny.  (Yes, I know it's really because the roads are so tiny between all the old buildings.)  A parking spot is slightly larger than a small car.  That's it.  And every few spaces there's a square pillar holding up the garage.  Which eats into that space.  Frank did a good job parking.  There was a couple in something the size of a Geo Metro that had to back up about 6 times to get into a space.

The pedestrian exit for our parking garage was up a staircase, which took you to a kid's version of Coney Island.  I kid you not! (Pun intended.)  It was called something like World of Kids.  There were the regular carnival games like where you shoot the water gun to make your whatever go up the wall the fastest.  But it was short, for kids.  There were mini foosball tables and mini pool tables.  A single swing.  Like those rides at amusement parks where everyone gets on an individual swing and then it goes up in the air and turns so that you're swinging.  This was the single version of that.  Coin operated.  Everything there was coin operated.  Mini go kart track, mini bumper cars.  One of those mini carousels with 3-4 horses on it.

After leaving Coney Island we were on the walkway around the marina.  We followed it, then crossed over the esplanade.  It looked like marble, in a wavy pattern, and there were palm trees down either side.  The center was basically a midway with shops and people hawking things from something they were carrying.  There was also a McDonald's and a Burger King.  Yuck!

We kept going and crossed back over where the end of the marina made way for the beach.  It was packed!!!  There was a long "peninsula" with a hotel on it so we walked down that side and took pictures.  It's beautiful.  The Med was several different colors of blue and there was a huge wind.  Frank had to hold his hat.  I managed to keep mine on, but it's woven.

We stopped for lunch there because we were hungry and really liked the view of the sea. We both love the seaside, we're just not beach people.  Lunch was okay.  It was at a hotel restaurant, so it was a bit overpriced.  We had prawns in garlic as an appetizer.  It was good, but it was small shrimp like you'd get in NWA.  Then we split paella mariscos.  Seafood paella.  It was okay, but not as good as the organic place.  We sat for a while, then headed home.

This was when we discovered that Spanish parking garages do not work like American parking garages.  When you go in, you get a ticket from the machine.  That's the same.  But when you leave, there's a machine near the exit, somewhere.  You have to get out of your car and put your ticket in this machine.  Then you pay, and it gives you a ticket that lets you out of the garage.  So you get back in your car and go to the garage exit and can leave.  We caused a small backup and excited the attendant because we didn't know that.

Driving to Denia

My feet have been hurting and it's been so hot, that today we decided we'd drive to Denia......so we drove to Alicante.  Navigating in Spain is not the same as navigating in the US.  In Valencia, sometimes the right lane is for buses and taxis only.  Sometimes it's not.  When you stop at a red light, sometimes the lanes across the intersection don't line up with the lanes on this side.  And if you're turning at a major intersection, it's a scrum.  When we first got here, we thought people just couldn't stay in their own lanes.  Now we know better.

So we left the hotel, trying to find the road to Denia.  We couldn't find any road numbers, so thought we'd head towards Alicante, which has a big interstate.  But all we saw were roads to Barcelona and Madrid.  Since Barcelona is north, we took Madrid.  Eventually it said Madrid-Alicante-Airport.  The problem is that they have a sign saying, "Go this direction."  You do that and then the road forks, and you maybe see it in time to take the correct fork.  But then your fork forks, and you can't see the sign for which way to go until you're past it.

It was a pain and a half getting out of Valencia and on to an interstate.  It took us several tries to get on the correct one, and it was heading towards Alicante.  So we decided that today we would drive to Alicante. It looked pretty interesting, with mountains and stuff.

The mountains were great!!!  It looks just like New Mexico.  On the way back we even saw what looked like Sandia Peak.  There were also mountains like the Organ mountains towards Las Cruces.  The Spaniards must really have felt at home in New Mexico.

We even got rained on in the mountains.  There was rain, and cool peaks, and tunnels, and switchback roads.  We had to stop at a gas station convenience store for the restrooms.  That's where we discovered that they are the same the world over.  Ovepriced and the coffee sucks.

We finally turned off the interstate around Villajoyosa.  The good roads aren't free here and it cost us almost 15 euros.  We took the smaller road I'd originally been looking for the rest of the way to Alicante.

Day 13: More Driving

We got up and had our Ibis breakfast, then headed out. I will say that getting out of the parking lot was much easier than getting in. Mom walked behind the car and helped direct me.

So we got on the road, heading towards the airport.  I'm going to cut my writings a little short, and just say that eventually, we got to our hotel.  We've discovered that the French don't navigate by roads, they navigate by towns.  So when you're in a town, looking for a particular road, you need to know where that road goes.  For instance, if you're in Little Rock, and you want to go west to Russellville, you look for the road to Fort Smith.  You don't look for a big sign saying I-40 West.

Once we figured out how to navigate, things got easier.  We still ended up going around and around the town of Meaux, looking for a cafe and a bathroom.  Eventually we gave up and mom remembered a Lidl was nearby, so we drove there.  Lidl is like an Aldi.

Next door to the Lidl was a restaurant!  It's Leon de Bruxelles.  It was weird.  It's a Belgian chain of mussel restaurants.  Almost everything on the menu was mussel related.  We had the lunch special, which was the "starter buffet," a hot dish, and a dessert.  The starter buffet was small and interesting.  There was lettuce, tomato, hard boiled egg, shredded carrots, pasta salad with krab, couscous with salad dressing in it, pickles, boiled shrimp, salami or something like it, escargot, and some kind of salad that looked like mini pieces of corn.

For out main dish, I had the fish and chips, and mom had the bacon omelet.  Which, of course, came with fries.  Dessert was creme brulee for me and ice cream for mom.  And all that was 11 euros and 20 cents!  The bread was also delicious.  It was chewy on the outside, but not hard, and soft on the inside.

So we survived our driving and headed towards our hotel, which is at the airport.  The traffic got really bad at some points and was really stressing me out.  There were a couple of hairy roundabouts.  We finally made the hotel and dropped off our luggage.  Now the adventure was returning the rental car.

The agency had told us to head into the airport and follow the signs.  So we did.  And there were no signs.  We circled and finally I pulled out the paperwork.  It said Terminal 2D.  So we headed there.  I followed the signs and ended up circling through a bus terminal, then finally got the correct road.  Once we got near 2D, there were signs for the rental car.  We had to circle 2D though, to get to our road, because we couldn't access it from our side.  

So we finally get to the rental return.  It says park the car, and there was a hut with computers in it.  But no people.  It said it was open from 7am-9pm, but it was locked up tight.  The sign said go into the terminal, so we followed another guy returning his car and walked to the terminal.  We got there and handed in the key, and they were like, okay, bye.  So we left and took a taxi back to the hotel.

We napped a little before supper, which was when the hotel restaurant opened at 7pm.  Another expensive meal, but I kind of like the options.  They have a starter buffet, a hot dish, and a dessert.  You can choose any individually, or get 2 of them for a price, or all 3 for a price.  The hot dish was a buffet.  There were noodles, beef stroganoff, cod in butter sauce, and something we couldn't identify.  The starter buffet was a bunch of different salads.  The desserts were creme brulee, cheese cake, and a bunch of other stuff.  I had some kind of chocolate cake with whipped cream and cherries.

Day 12: Driving Montargis

So we come into town.  The road starts to split, and I don't know which way to go.  Mom is driving and we just sort of take one of the roads.  I finally see on the map, that we need road XYZ to get into town.  I tell mom, and the road splits in two.  We head toward XYZ, but the other road says it actually goes into town!  This has happened all the time in France.  You're on road D111, which on the map goes through Town1 and then connects to D222.  But then before you get to Town1 the D222 road pops up out of nowhere and you don't go through Town1 at all.  If you do, you've missed the road and have to turn around and go back. It's like the maps are just a suggestion in France.

So we miss our road and keep driving.  Our road went right, so we figure a left turn will take us toward the other road.  And it does.  So we're in the town.  Looking for a hotel.  Thus begins our odyssey.

We had seen a sign for the Best Western on the big highway, so we knew there was one somewhere.  We were hoping for that, or an Ibis, our Paris hotel.  We're on this roundabout somewhere and all of a sudden a Best Western sign shows up!  Huzzah!  It shows 2 roundabouts and a right turn.  We follow the directions.  We end up heading towards the center of town.  And near a Domino's, there's a Best Western sign with a right arrow.  We miss it.  So we have to drive down, turn around through a parking lot, get back here, and get the road.  The road is a little tiny 2 way road through a bunch of houses.  No hotel.  We drive.  And drive.  Then we give up and eventually wind our way back to a roundabout, and back to the Dominos.  I took a photo of the sign.  It does exist.  We drive down the road again.  No hotel.  We see a kid walking by and ask directions.  He doesn't know the Best Western, but he knows Ibis!  He says go back where we were and keep going right.

We wind around and get back to where we were.  Again.  We go right.  More center of town stuff.  It's a big place, and we're enjoying the sights.  We go past a huge cemetery and church on a hill.  Then we see a Best Western sign!  So we follow it.  It says go right.  We do.  No more signs.  We keep going, and keep going, and nothing.  So we go back.  On the way back, I see another Best Western sign, pointing left.  But we miss it, so we have to continue on, then turn around by our previous Best Western sign.  We head back to where I saw the new sign.  You can't see it from our direction, which is why we missed the turn.  It looks like the sign for our side is covered up by some random banners.

So we make our turn.  Now we're going through some tall apartments, and everyone on the street is Arab or black.  And more kebab restaurants.  We keep driving and looking.  And the streets get smaller and have more apartments.  So we turn and try to find a way back.  Again.  By this point we were both laughing hysterically.  I was making jokes about how the Best Western signs were a ruse for criminals looking to rob tourists.

We get back, and head back into town, passing the cemetary and church on the hill.  This time we ignore everything Best Western and just continue on into the center of town.  And there it is!  An Ibis!  After only an hour!

Day 12: Driving France part deux

Overall it was a pretty good day. We left Sarlat about 10 am and headed north towards Hautefort.  We had decided to take a different way back. We made it to Limoges, the porcelain place, then headed north on the autoroute, until we hit one heading east.  We headed towards Montlucon. 

It was about 1 pm by then, so we decided to stop for lunch in the first little town, which was La Souterraine.  We drove all over and could not find a cafe or bathroom!  So we got back on the interstate and continued heading east.  

We were passing a few "rest stop" areas, so we decided to pull over at the next one.  Don't ask me how, but we managed to pick the worst one.  I am not kidding!  It was full of graffiti.  There were 2 Arab toilets and a lidless toilet in the women's room.  The sink didn't work.  Outside the bathroom was another sink, which did work.  The walls didn't meet the ceiling, which meant the weather got in.

We continued on, and the next "rest stop" was a BP gas station.  Gas, food, coffee, clean restrooms, play ground, picnic grounds, etc.  I tried to take a picture of it.  It was amazing!  Especially compared to the last one.  

We continued on.  Gueret was a neat city.  Most of the places we passed were.  Many of them had old churches and stuff.  We got off the autoroute at Montlucon.  That only cost us 7.40 euros!  After Montlucon we headed north towards Bourges.  We took a regular road, instead of the autoroute. 

There were a lot of trees on the side of the road.  By trees, I mean, like, orchards or something.  The trees were close together and tied to stakes, like a really big vineyard.  And there was a sort of netting that could be spread over them.  We think they may have been fruit trees.  We saw something red on a few trees, but couldn't make it out.  Hopefully my picture came out.

We made it past Bourges and took another small road towards Montargis.  Somewhere around Henrichemont we had to stop for a few minutes.  The police were stopping everyone, and then they let us pass.  Then an ambulance flew by us, heading that way.  We're guessing there was a bad accident down one of the roads.

We made it to Gien around 4:30, and went through.  It's on the river.  There was a huge old building up on a hill, so we decided to go back and find it.  We drove around and finally got up to the hill.  It was the Church of Joan of Arc and some kind of Chateau.  They also had a toilet!  It was a square building outside the church.  You go in and push a button to say it's in use.  You use the toilet, then there's a sink area.  You hold your hands out and it squirts soap.  Then you move over 6 inches and it turns on the water for you.  Another foot and there's an air dryer.  When you leave, it flushes and disinfects everything.  I'd heard of these, but this is the first I've seen.  And yes, I took pictures.  Do you really have to ask, at this point?

We had driven along the river before finding the church, so we drove back and looked for food.  It was only 5 pm, and most places don't open until 6.  We passed a kebab place with an open door, so we parked by the river and went in.  It's run by a Turkish guy.  Most of the kebab places we saw everywhere were Turkish.  We got a kebab plate, which was basically a shwarma without bread. We had meat, lettuce and tomato in tzaziki sauce, and fries.  With a side of bread slices.  Not bad.

After Gien, we continued on to Montargis, hoping to stop there for the night.

Day 4: Driving Sarlat

Thus begans the next part of our saga.  Chips had given us directions to her house, but we couldn't find it.  We stopped in the middle of Sarlat, to tell here where we were, which is when she realized we had come in from the opposite direction than she had thought.  So she gave us new directions.  We tried to follow those, but they didn't work either.  So we're looping around the middle of town, several times.  This time we ask a man in one of those flourescent vests, and he says our road is ahead on the right.  But we can't find it. 

We keep looping and I'm turning random directions, hoping to find a landmark we can use.  We pass a hospital and a cemetery.  I finally pulled over and turned on my phone to try and google her house, but I couldn't get any telephone service! 

We had passed a sign for an Ibis, the hotel we stayed at in Paris, so we go there.  Mom went inside to pee and ask directions, while I tried to connect to wifi.  But the wifi was different and needed a password.  But we lucked out!  There was a local woman working at the hotel who knew exactly what we were looking for, and gave us a town map and directions. 

So we follow the map and end up getting really close to our destination.  It turns out the man we asked was correct.  Our road was up ahead on the right.  But you had to turn onto another road which became the road we needed.  The one Chips had given us the name of.  So we finally get around the corner from her place and she comes out and we've arrived!  Huzzah!  Then it's time for drinks and later, supper.

Day 4: Driving France

So we finally made it out of Paris.  I cannot tell you the joy we felt at that moment.  Paris did not seem to want to let us leave.  Now we're on the A10, heading to Orleans.  We figure we'll stop there for lunch, because it's getting on to that time.  Then we pass through a toll booth.  This is the first one, where you get a ticket, which is when we realize this is a toll road.  Luckily, Orleans is one of the first towns on the road. 

We're driving along, all happy, and get to Orleans.  We exit.  There's the toll booth, and I insert our ticket.  And I'm not sure about the price.  I put on my hazard lights so nobody pulls up behind us, and then I finally find a speaker phone.  I call the people and ask if they speak English.  She said yes, but didn't understand me when I asked the price, so I ask again in French.  Ten euros and 70 cents!  Mom and I are freaking out.  We insert some bills and coins and pay the toll, then bitch about it all the way into town. 

Orleans is pretty.  It's on a river, and we headed into the center of town to find some food.  We found a cafe and tabac shop, but the parking lot was full because it was next to a flea market.  So I turned around and decided to drive up the one-way side street by the cafe.  There's a parking spot!  So I got to parallel park, on the left.  Thank goodness for automatics!

We had the plate lunch, which was a stewed/roasted chicken, with English peas, and yummy bread. It was really good.  And I had the creme caramel for dessert.  The bathroom was interesting.  You walk in, and on the left, against the front wall, is a sink, and hand dryer.  Facing it were 2 doors: a hamam (Arab toilet) and a toilet with no seat.  Straight ahead, there were urinals against the wall of the toilets, with a small tile half-wall covering the urinal area.  So you could stand and pee, and if you leaned in close, the person coming in the door wouldn't see your junk.  There was a guy washing his hands when I went in, and one washing his hands when I went out.  I guess I should be happy about that!

Then it was off again.  This time we took a small road to the next big town, so we could see more.  And it was worth it!  We went through picturesque town after picturesque town, until we got to Vierzon.  I had fallen asleep by then, and we got on the interstate again to make up some time.

There was no toll at this point, but another ticket booth showed up later, and mom and I both grimaced.  We kept going, and hit Limoges.  We had to exit the toll area here but luckily it was only 2 euoros.  Then we took the road south to Souilac, and headed west to Sarlat.  This road was beautiful!  Small and windy through hills and small mountains.  And foie gras stores everywhere!

Day 4: Driving Paris

Day 4 was pretty neat. We checked out and walked down to the taxi stand, only to find no taxi in sight.  So we stood there, trying to figure out what to do, and a taxi turns the corner and starts towards us.  Yay!  He took us to the car rental place, in the Air France building. He also wished us luck with driving.

The car rental went well.  We ended up getting an automatic, for free.  He also said it had a GPS, for free, but it turned out not to have a GPS.  It had a GPS booklet and the car had German markings, and the manuals were in German.  It's an Astra Opel wagon, Frank - and it rocks!

So we get the car paid for.  Then I have to walk 2 long blocks down the road, to get to the car park, which is underground.  I had an elevator code to take me down to the 5th floor underground.  Then, I had to unlock the car to find it, because the guy couldn't figure out where it was parked.

I finally get the car, get the seat adjusted, and head back to the main office to pick up mom.  The wagon held both our large suitcases, side by side.  So we've got our Paris map, and a route out of town, and off we go!

We couldn't figure out how to lock the car doors.  In the US, some doors lock automatically after you start, but these didn't.  And there was no lock button.  Eventually, we realized the lock and unlock buttons were above the radio.  And when we stopped for a break, I accidentally hit the little pull-up locky thing on the door with my elbow, and all the doors locked.  I think the car is smarter than us.

So we're driving out of Paris.  At first, it's okay.  I'm trying to follow the car in front of me, because sometimes lanes are just a suggestion and sometimes there are no lines for lanes.  We're trying to read street names, so we stay on the correct boulevard.  Then we get to a turn, and I go straight instead of right.  Which takes us over the river, heading back towards our hotel.  I'm thinking, that's okay, it's on the edge of Paris.  We'll hit the periphery road and head back towards our route.

So we get towards the periphery road, and I'm trying to follow the signs.  But the signs are so close to where you exit that I miss the periphery and head out east towards Port Bercy.  Then I have to exit the "interstate," turn around, head back towards our periphery interstate, and catch it.  Which is packed with cars and not moving very fast.

So now we're on the periphery interstate, heading southwest towards our exit.  We see signs saying A10, which is our interstate.  But it says A6 (A10) so we think we have to get on A6 to get to our A10.  Then mom tells me that A10 is the wrong road and goes to Bordeaux, not Limoges where we're going.  And I try to explain it is the right road, that Bordeaux is the end of the line, and we do need that road.  And while we're arguing we drive right past our exit.  Crap!

So now we're heading west.  I decide to take the next big exit, which turns out to be the Orly Airport.  So we end up looping around the airport, and then heading back east, hoping to catch our exit.  We see a big sign for our exit.  It's over the left-hand lanes, with 2 arrows pointing at those left-hand lanes.  And then, suddenly, the exit is on the right, exiting right now.  So I cut across traffic like a maniac, or a Parisienne, and manage to catch the exit.  Phew!  That was only 1 hour getting out of Paris.