Today we had a nice drive from Eindhoven to Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium and on into France via the Route Nationale (N2) through historic First World War battlefields and beautiful rolling Northern French countryside. Many of the French drivers gave the California MINI curious looks and there were a few broad smiles and thumbs-up. I waved to a pretty French girl in a MINI cabriolet as she flashed her high beams at me. Not only did we get to see and drive through many of the small villages that dot the landscape but by taking N2 we avoided the autoroute tolls!
Driving in Paris at rush hour while low on fuel was hectic but I soon adjusted to driving in Parisian combat mode. It's too bad we didn't get into the city until dark or we would have shot some pictures. We even managed to stop a whole group of Parisian fireman in their tracks when they noticed a car with California plates driving along the Avenue de la Republique... too much fun! However, I was pretty worn out by the time I finally got to the hotel and I'm looking forward to a good night's rest.
We're staying in the 11e Arrondissement (http://wikitravel.org/en/Paris/11th_arrondissement) near the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_Lachaise), the Place de la Republique, the Bastille Opera and the Place de la Bastille (http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Paris/Monuments-Paris/Bastille.shtml). Unfortunately our parking garage spot was taken so I had to search around for another parking garage. Luckily our TomTom 910 GPS was up to the task. I didn't want to risk leaving JCW MCS on the streets of Paris knowing how the Parisians generally treat vehicles!
Jennifer knows Paris well so I'm sure we'll have no trouble getting around.
Driving in Paris at rush hour while low on fuel was hectic but I soon adjusted to driving in Parisian combat mode. It's too bad we didn't get into the city until dark or we would have shot some pictures. We even managed to stop a whole group of Parisian fireman in their tracks when they noticed a car with California plates driving along the Avenue de la Republique... too much fun! However, I was pretty worn out by the time I finally got to the hotel and I'm looking forward to a good night's rest.
We're staying in the 11e Arrondissement (http://wikitravel.org/en/Paris/11th_arrondissement) near the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_Lachaise), the Place de la Republique, the Bastille Opera and the Place de la Bastille (http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Paris/Monuments-Paris/Bastille.shtml). Unfortunately our parking garage spot was taken so I had to search around for another parking garage. Luckily our TomTom 910 GPS was up to the task. I didn't want to risk leaving JCW MCS on the streets of Paris knowing how the Parisians generally treat vehicles!
Jennifer knows Paris well so I'm sure we'll have no trouble getting around.
Car Wash Dutch Style
Before leaving for France we decided to give the rather dirty MINI a car wash. The last several days have seen pretty foul weather for this time of year in Holland. We visited ANAC Car Wash (http://www.anaccarwash.com/) in Eindhoven and made sure that the car would be gleaming on the way to Paris.
More to come...
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