On the Road - by Ben

It's been three weeks of driving through Europe so far.
We are hiring a petrol Toyota Townace NOAH (and therefore nicknamed him NOAH!) from Wicked Campers in a bright graffiti/mural along the theme of PiL - Public Image Limited. We get a lot of stares! We approached a police road block yesterday and they all just stared at us and forgot to pull us over!
We are driving on the right in a right-hand-drive (UK) car which makes it extra challenging. Pulling out onto a highway or a roundabout requires extra neck skills. One of the scariest challenges is watching out for pedestrians who just walk out onto a cross walk without looking as they always have the right of way. You wouldn't dare do that in Australia. You actually have to brake hard for them here. It all just needs a higher level of alertness.

The aircon has handled the 39c days well. The economy is quite good at 11.5km/litre. The fuel is AUD $2.10 a litre though!

There are heaps of trucks on the highway more than I have ever seen but it is a orderly system where they will stick to the right which is the slow lane. Even slow cars stick to the right so that the fast traffic can do the speed limit which is 130 km/h (!) - there is absolutely no undertaking like in Perth - it just shows how silly some Perth drivers are! 😉

Interchanges seem complex and the merging can be quite stressful sometimes especially because I am driving on the right-hand side of the car.

I think it would be quite stressful following a map I am quite thankful for the GPS. The van is going good and keeps up with the traffic well. There are constant roundabouts - it seems to be the way to intersect minor and major roads. Sometimes the scenery is so idyllic that we want to stop to take a photo every 10 seconds.

We are now avoiding toll roads so the distance equates to a longer time and careful planning needs to be taken. It is peak season and school holiday time and France is the most visited country in the world, so everything is extra busy.

I'm enjoying the freshly made baguettes that Shamara makes with cured meats and interesting cheeses. With the high temperatures on most days, we are getting through about 6 liters of water per day. 'Careful planning kills magic' so we are keeping our options open as we travel.