The way travel is today, it is about a quarter of the price to fly between England and the South of France than it is to drive. When we were children, flying would have been the expensive option and it was cheaper and more usual to drive. I remember one such trip, couped up with quarrelling (or singing, not sure which was worse) siblings in a small cramped car with a couple of stop-overs in a camping site along the way, until we reached our destination of Grasse. Today the trip can be done in a day, thanks to the Autoroute and the Channel Tunnel and this is what The Artist, His Daughter and I recently did on our way back from the UK.
We left Ealing, London at crack of dawn and headed off to Ashford to take the tunnel crossing to France. I love going through the tunnel, its all very efficient and very entente cordial between the English and the French. You leave the English customs people (for some reason they always pull me over for a check and I’m always grateful I don’t have a couple of Scotties, in the back that I’m smuggling out of the country!) and drive onto the train, where you are greeted by French staff waving you on to your parking spot. Its sort of like a hand-over from the British to the French (and if you know anything about Anglo/Franco history, for this to be in any way cordiale is a miracle). You then sit back in your car for the next twenty minutes and catch up with a bit of shut eye.
Sooner than you know it, you are in France and driving on the right. From there onwards its a hard 10-12 hour drive down the Autoroute. The Autoroute (motor or freeway) is a toll road and costs about €76 one way, but the roads are usually (outside of August, when every single French person goes on holiday) un-congested and the facilities clean and efficient and they even give you free eau de cologne in the toilets. How very French!
The first place we stopped was near Troyes and when I saw that they were serving real food in the restaurant, cooked on site, I was sorry we had brought a picnic. But when I saw that the Régionales Spécialités were Andouilette de Troyes Lentilles vertes à la créme de moutarde à l’ancienne, Intestines sausage with green lentils cooked with cream and mustard,
I was quite pleased after all that we had opted to bring our own lunch bought from Marks and Spencer’s the day before. But also on offer was Jaretton Braisé, pork knuckle, Entrécôte ‘grillé, steak, roast chicken, Toulouse sausage, burgers, rice, potatoes and green beans as well as Coq au vin, which actually looked quite tasty.
What I love about the French, whether, on the train, or on the motorway, there is no concession made to modify thier 4 course midday meal, just because they are on the move and not at home.
The meal typically starts with some cold meats.
or even a salad
The Main course is then followed by cheese, nothing processed.
Followed by dessert. A choice of Ils Flottants, Strawberry tart, Lemon Meringue pie
Tarte Tartin, an Egg flan, Yogurt or Fresh fruit.
And just because they’re driving, there’s no reason to let the side down and not have their lunch time bottle of wine (if not for the driver, for the passengers at least!)
Of course, if you decide to DIY and bring your own picnic, there are plenty of tables and benches laid out under the trees for your use.
And the coffee you buy in the coffee machines, is excellent
You can even choose which country you want it from
Another thing I love about the motorway, is that inside the shops, they have a section of Produits régionales, which means you can pick up a bottle of Champagne, whilst driving through the Champagne region
Mustard when passing by Dijon
Wine from Bourgogne
And you know when your getting close to home when you get to Montélimar, the Gateway to Provence and they are selling herbes de Provence
Alongside their famous nougat.
I always have to remind myself that all these things are available to buy in my supermarket and that buying them in a motorway service station, does not constitute buying a souvenir from somewhere I have been.
After the long drive (and I hope I haven’t lost you on the way with too much detail) we finally came to the sign we had been longing to see.
We were finally home.
OMG….the difference between road travel here in UK and France !! – it’s embarrassing…..what’s on offer here in the UK; McDonalds or Burger King, or processed sarnies….or anything with chips…..hideous! Ange – keep up the good work, and sell this piece of the daily mail…they’d love it! x
Can’t wait to get back there. So much better than the Burger Kings and McDonald’s on the u.s. motorway.
Ange, another really fun post. Glad you made it home safe and sound, even if you had to drive on the left to get there!
xx
very interesting – who knew? i wanted to know how long it took door to door ang?
About 14 hours, but thats with various pit stops. If I’m on my own, I do it in about 12 – 13 hours
Nothing better than the sign pointing homewards…..xv
Glad your trip was better than mine. Definatley stick to the tunnel, not an expensive ferry whose entire occupants can be ill due to the often very rough crossing. Not me though! Phew….
Bonjour to all,
it is interesting to read a foreigner’s point of view on our motorways . As a french citizen who travels rather extensively on southern Autoroutes (don’t call them ”freeways” as the toll is atrocious and that’s why they are not often congested), I find the food expensive and not so tasty. If you got an hour to spare, my piece of advice is to get off and reach a local town where you can have some ”real ” food instead cafeteria food. However you can find here and there some ”Paul” bakeries are worth a pit stop. For those who worry, yes we do have Mc Donalds on our motoroways rest services as well. Kudos for the clean toilets though, it is nothing short of a miracle in France!
Thanks for commenting Bernard, I agree that the food is not always so good, which is why I had packed a picnic. But this particular resto stop looked quite tasty for a motorway service station, in the UK we only get hamburger chains or ‘all day breakfast’ type places, nothing regional to let you know what part of the country you are driving through! Of course getting off the motorway is always going to be better, if you have the time!
Angela,
I find your blog very comprenhensive and well written and although I am from here, I am getting to learn quite a few interesting facts!
I did not know that on UK motorway the food was so dull. This sounds like what I came across in the US when I lived there as a student: restaurant chains all over the place. The only thing I would recommend against onf rench motorways is the awful packed sandwhiches (the triangle ones) unless you have to. For the rest, I had warm food a few times and it was decent especially near Arles (on RN113) and somewhere on A7 near Valence. Sometimes you get local dishes even here in Provence like bull meat (pretty tasty indeed).
PS: I apologize to all the readers of this blog for my rusty English (the blog master is welcome to edit my posts and correct my mistakes!).