17 Avril

Time to depart Paris!

A short Metro trip to the friendly people at Hertz.  Of course, it was a Citroen... ironically, citron = lemon in French. Strange!

Peter took the wheel first and ventured into the Parisienne traffic.  Such bravery! or just foolery?

No real dramas initially... a couple of motorcyclists attempted suicide by cutting in front of our car. They appeared to change their minds at the last moment.  Phew!  Then the drama... ta da... a Toll Booth!  Almost instinctively we lined up on the wrong toll booth.  We had to reverse out of the gate and cut across 2-3 lanes to find a booth that accepted cash.  The reversing was a little challenging because the Citroen had some strange sort of combination lock that had to be solved to get the car into 'reverse'. No pressure!

Then it was onto the open roads. Firstly 110 kph speed limit and then 130!  Sitting comfortably on 135, we were still being passed! The open road was without any events.  Then evil loomed... another toll booth!  Having enjoyed the last experience of solving the reverse gear combination and reversing into traffic that seemed to be exiting 'light speed'... yes, wrong @#$%!!! toll booth again!! Reverse, turn right, cut across 3-4 lanes.  So much *&^%!!! fun!

Open roads again, and looking for the town of Vernon and the smaller village of Giverny (Monet's village).  Once we left the motorway a new challenge emerged... the roundabout.  It was quickly determined that aggression and a no hesitation were the best ways to approach roundabouts (and terrorise the odd French driver!). 


Navigation was sound but frequently hindered by the confused and unhelpful advice from those in the back seat.  It was a miracle that they could come up for breath from the passionate conversation on what is wrong with education in Queensland.  Comments such as "I think we are going in the wrong direction" were tollay unhindered by fact, logic or reference to maps or signs.  Notwithstanding such valued advice, we found our way to Monet's Garden.

The garden was simply beautiful!  The array and mixture of colours would compel anyone to commit paint to canvas.  Monet's talent was to capture the beauty.  Some of his most famous paintings are of his garden and the lilly pond.  The picture below can only portray some of the beauty!

After a bite to eat, it was time to venture onto French roads again.  Fortunately, no further advice or assistance was provided from the back seat. Phew!  Given that stroke of fortune, we made good time in our travel to Abbeville in the Somme Valley.  The drive took us through beautiful rural countryside that was dotted with walled chateaus and the occassional Castle.