Driving south from Paris, we took some smaller roads that wound through small towns rather than taking the toll road. Incredibly charming. It was really surprising how many beautiful tree lined roads there were. I couldn’t help but take pictures through the windshield and out the side windows. So while the photos are not good, I still posted them to give you a feel for the road trip through France.
We have been using Navagon Europe navigation and we can specify whether or not we want to allow or restrict toll roads. Since we restricted toll roads for the first couple days, we went through many small towns with old churches and other buildings that you just don’t see in the states.
It is pretty awesome seeing signs illustrating castles or other amazing things.
Another tree lined road. Ahhh, I just love this!
One thing about taking the smaller roads, are all the roundabouts. I think that we probably did close to 100 roundabouts on the trip from Paris to the border of Spain.
This charming village is Gannat. We stopped and got some chocolate croissants at a little boulangerie! Yumm!
I am not sure what that is up on the hill, but it looks medieval and awesome!
We came upon and passed this old castle so quickly, that I just barely had time to grab the camera and snap a quick photo. I cannot even remember where it was. But it was so amazing, I would love to go back and check it out someday.
Towards the south of France, we wanted to make better drive time, and did a navigation check for both with and without toll roads. The difference was about 4 hours of drive time. So we chose to use the toll roads. I cannot remember the exact amout of toll we paid, but it was close to 25 euro, at about 1 euro to $1.40, that is about $35. But because of the time savings, it more than paid for itself in the gas savings. At an average of 1.45+euro/liter, gas is not cheap. But hey, we are having the time of our lives!
I have to say that a road trip through France is really amazing. If we weren’t so anxious to get south, we would have stopped frequently to visit many incredible places more thoroughly. Vineyards, hills, quaint little villages. Wow, it would be fun to spend a long time getting better acquainted with France. This just whetted the appetite.
I am so thoroughly enjoying your adventures. Having never been anywhere but “down on the farm “, I have never seen a mountain or ocean, so seeing all these fascinating places through the eyes of a family (almost) member is great. Look forward to it every day.
Hello Dottie,
Thanks so much for your nice comments! We are having the time of our lives and love to share our adventures! Nancy
It’s amazing how much older everything is in Europe. We really are a new country in the U.S. in comparison. I loved your pictures!
Thanks Susan! I wish I could send you some of the delicious fresh bread from the boulangerie. I know you would love it!
Awesome
Nancy, you are doing an incredible job with your pictures and notes. Just wish I could be a little mouse in your back seat so I could see it all, too.
Thanks Pat! We are having a great time!
Why are you in such a hurry to head south? to beat the bad weather? I suppose it’s starting to get cold there too.
Love seeing the castles. That one looked so huge it looked like it could house a small city in there.
After spending a hot summer in the southwest, our personal thermostats have adjusted and now we think we are freezing when it gets down in the 70’s. So we were anxious for some warmer weather!