HELLO! Back in the USA barely two days and already France seems like a dream, albeit a really good one. For those of you who were anxious for information from the frontlines (as it were), I'm truely sorry that I couldn't post anything after my first from Provence; I had problems with WIFI connectivity, electrical adapters and, finally, my laptop stopped working. Anyway, here I am and, other than my communication challenges, our trip went more smoothly than I could have hoped without the strike (and terror) issues let alone with them. We logged 1873 KM (almost 1200 miles) before dropping the car in Caen to take a train to Paris for the final five days. Life certainly appeared normal to us everywhere we went. I have no doubt that many people were - and continue to be - incovenienced but the war zone portrayed in the media was no where to be found(though there were soldiers with machine guns at Paris tourist sites). When we left for France on the 16th of October we didn't know what to expect but we certainly didn't expect it to go according to plan. However, we got "PLAN A" all the way. We are certainly grateful it turned out that way but I don't think we were the exception. We talked to several American and British tourists during our travels and no one had encountered any significant difficulty. I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone might have about my trip. I hope I can inspire anyone considering canceling their trip to reconsider.
Posted by
Oakville, Ontario
41 posts
Hi Lisa I followed your posts with great interest as we also were scheduled to go to Provence via Paris and Marseille on October 22. I was most appreciative of your from the 'frontline' as we had seriously considered changing our plans. We are also just back and as you have mentioned in your post, did not encounter any issues. We stayed in and around Bonnieux and took day trips to Avignon, Arles, Apt, St. Remy and numerous other smaller towns. What an amazing trip. I would also be happy to answer any questions for those about to travel to this area. Glad your vacation was such a success.
Cathy
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
Lisa, Glad to hear that you had a wonderful trip! Thanks for the brief "Just Back" report. Your experiences with life appearing "normal" was much the same as what I found in Greece this year. Many people I spoke with prior to the trip told me that it wasn't a good idea to travel in Greece this year, given some of the huge riots that were shown in the media. I had no problems at all, and also found that life was pretty much "normal". Cheers!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
26 posts
That's wonderful to hear. We'll be there on Sunday and have been a little worried, mostly just for the transportation connections. Hopefully the scheduled strike on Saturday won't carry over!
Posted by
Granite Bay, CA
1930 posts
Those machine guns were present in 2005 also...so maybe that is just "normal"?
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
Lisa, On past trips to Paris, I've also noticed armed Soldiers patrolling around the Eiffel Tower and other tourist sites, so that's nothing new. That sort of thing doesn't bother me in the least. The weapons they carry are probably more accurately described as "assault rifles" rather than "machine guns" (the French military use a FAMAS bullpup-style assault rifle which has a somewhat "unusual" appearance).
Posted by
XXX
1170 posts
And they look really HOT in their uniforms :-) Sorry, I had to say that! Glad you made it back safely and had a good time. We leave on the 14th of December for Paris. Can't wait.
Posted by
Fontainebleau, France
893 posts
So glad your trip went well! We continued to have problems getting gas, but decided to trust the statements that gas was available along the autoroutes and went on vacation ourselves. We did indeed find gas at all the stations along the autoroutes and enjoyed a wonderful trip to the Bourgogne region. Thanks for reporting back!