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N O R T H E R N  F R A N C E
After a little bit of fumbling around trying to find Avis in Chartres (we eventually took a taxi), we began our adventure throughout Northern France with no schedule, no itinerary, a full tank of gas, and an AAA map to lead the way. We rented a cool little blue, 5-Speed "Picanto" which served us well over 1367km through the Loire Valley, up through Le Mans to the Northern coast, across into Brittany, back across through Normandy and up to Le Havre and Etretat, and finally back to Chartres passing through Rouen. The U.S. Military Cemetary and Normandy beaches were very emotional, but we got a quick pick-me-up with our only stop at a McDonald's in Caan (with Tony Parker plastered on every wall). We played a round of golf at Golf'd Etretat, then met some new friends and ate "Tex-Mex" in Rouen. We were also treated to "ringing bells" from the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen as Pope Benedict XVI was elected just after we checked into the hotel in Rouen. Over the course of our journey, we met many new friends (especially gas station attendents), we survived the hectic city traffic and we couldn't get enough of the traffic circles.
Date Time Location Highway Notes
M O N T P A R N A S S E  T O  C H A R T R E S  (+/-)
April 15, 2005 9:30 Depart Montparnasse Ter Train
10:29 Arrive Chartres SNCF (TER)
C H A R T R E S  T O  L A V A L  (+/-)
April 15, 2005 11:30 Chartres N10 Avis - Kia Picanto (3958km)
12:00 Chartres N10
12:40 Châteaudun D924
13:45 Blois N152 Aux Tros Clefs
15:40 Blois N152
16:31 D31 cutoff D31
16:21 Chenonceaux D764 Chateau at Chenonceaux
18:00 Chenonceaux D764
18:40 Amboise N152
19:00 Rochecorbon N152
19:10 Tours N152
19:50 N138 cutoff N138
20:40 Le Mans N138 24 Heures Moto 2005 at Le Mans
21:55 Laval N157 Ibis Hotel Laval
L A V A L  T O  S T - B R I E U C  (+/-)
April 16, 2005 10:45 Laval N157
11:30 Ernee D31 Champion Supermarche
11:52 Ernee D31
12:30 Fougères D798
13:12 St-James D998, N176
13:30 Portaubault N175
13:50 Pontorson D976
14:00 Mont-St-Michel D976 Abbey at Mont-Saint-Michel, Au Pelerin
17:30 Mont-St-Michel D976
17:40 Pontorson E401
18:10 crossing point at Golfe de St-Malo E401
18:20 D794 junction E401
19:00 St-Brieuc N12 Dinner at Le P'tit Bouchot
22:10 St-Brieuc N12
22:30 St-Brieuc - Yffiniac N12 Etap St-Brieuc Yffiniac
S T - B R I E U C  T O  S T - M A L O  (+/-)
April 17, 2005 9:15 St-Brieuc - Yffiniac N12
9:33 Lamballe D791
9:53 Pleneuf Val-Andre D791
10:35 Erquy D34, D786
10:57 Matignon D786
11:17 Dinard D768, N137
11:30 St-Malo N137 Citotel Hotel du Palais, Le Bourhis, Restaurant Ramparts, L'Encrier
S T - M A L O  T O  H O N F L E U R  (+/-)
April 18, 2005 9:54 St-Malo N137, N176, N175
10:41 Avranches N175/E03
11:02 Percy D999
11:25 St-Lo N174/E03
11:47 St-Jean de Daye N174/E03
11:57 E46 junction E46
12:07 La Cambe E46
12:14 Grandcamp Maisy D514 Omaha Beach, US Military Cemetary & drove over a bottle which thankfully didn't pop the tire
13:42 US Military Cemetary D514
13:52 N13 junction N13
14:00 Bayeux N13/E46
14:30 Caen N13 Lunch at McDonalds
14:53 Caen A13 €2.80/A13
15:30 Pont Evêque junction A13
15:35 A29 junction A29 €1.60/A29
15:45 exit A29 A29
15:50 Honfleur D513 Hotel des Loges, La Chaloupe
H O N F L E U R  T O  R O U E N  (+/-)
April 19, 2005 9:32 Honfleur D513
9:35 Pont de Normandie Bridge D929 €5.00/D929 (bridge toll)
9:40 cross bridge D929
9:50 Le Harve A131
10:00 D940 junction D940
10:04 St-Adresse D940
10:25 Etretat D940 Golf d'Etretat (11:20 tee time)
16:15 Etretat D940
16:35 Fecamp D926
17:10 Yvetot N15
17:35 Barentin N15
17:46 Rouen N15 Hotel Alba, Hotel Alba Bar, L'Equateur, Bells rang from Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen as Pope Benedict XVI was elected
R O U E N  T O  C H A R T R E S  (+/-)
April 20, 2005 9:26 Rouen A13
9:45 A13 junction A13 €1.80/A13
9:53 Louviers N154
10:08 Evreux N154
10:25 Nonancourt N12
10:36 Dreux N154
10:42 Dreux N154
11:06 Chartres N154
11:42 Chartres Gare N154 Return Picanto (5325km)
C H A R T R E S  T O  M O N T P A R N A S S E  (+/-)
April 20, 2005 13:41 Depart Chartres Ter-train Sarl Le Chatelet
14:50 Arrive Montparnasse SNCF (TER)
N O T E S  (+/-)
Driving to the Abbey at Mont-Saint-Michel It's easy to find the turnoff to Mont-Saint-Michel off of D976 (not to mention you can see it out on the water from pretty far away). There are parking lots to the right for individual cars (€4.00) as you drive toward the abbey on the causeway (tour buses park on the left). Double-check the tide times so make sure your car isn't submerged when you return from the abbey.
Driving through Le Mans If you're planning on stopping in or driving through Le Mans, you should check the racing schedule to see if there are any races scheduled (http://www.lemans.org). The N138 through town is relatively small and there is a central traffic circle with the race course being one of the turnoffs. This entire area is totally nuts on race days. As luck would have it, we hit Le Mans the evening before the 24 Heures Moto 2005 at Le Mans (a 24 hour motocross race). It was sort of fun to see all the people, bikes and traffic, but we couldn't find a vacant room anywhere.
Driving in St. Malo This small walled city seems impossible to drive through, but if you make it past the entrances and stay along the perimeter, it really calms down. I didn't think I would be able to drive through this city, but I survived. Double-check with the hotel or restaurant, but we were able to park our car in any unmarked "space" that would fit our car (and I'm not referring to a "parking space", but just a "space")
Driving Toll Roads (autoroutes) You pay your toll before you enter the toll section of a highway, and you pay as you go. Another option are "routes nationales", which do not charge tolls. The A13 from Caan to Paris, which is one of the largest autoroutes, is about as wide as the 280 in SF or the 710 in LA.
Navigating Through Larger Cities We found that when navigating through larger cities and traffic circles, it's better to look for signs to the town you're heading toward (or next large town) rather than highway or road numbers.
Navigating Traffic Circles Take your time in the traffic circles. If you miss your exit, just go around again (and it's kind of fun). Don't forget that merging traffic has to yield when entering the traffic circle.
Fashing Headlights Signal Police Checkpoint We found this to be totally true. Oncoming traffic will flash their headlights when a police checkpoint is approaching.
Ibis/Etap Hotels These hotels are clean, affordable and located throughout Europe in major cities and highways. Ibis is a nicer "budget" hotel, many with restaurants & bars. Etap is an automated hotel owned by the same company as Ibis. At an Etap hotel, you just need a credit card for the machine to get a room code. (http://www.ibishotel.com) and (http://www.etaphotel.com).
N O R T H E R N  F R A N C E