Our driving adventures have now taken us into the country of France. It is at this point that we’ve decided to expand our travel technique to include more driving. The freedom to go wherever, within reason, we want without nearly as much logistics. It also gives us access to places we never would have seen and most tourists or even travelers haven’t heard of.
The tiny hamlets and villages just off the main highway.
A roadside spot where it widens just enough alongside to pull over, get out and wander further.
A single lane road with grass growing over much of it that takes you between two farms or rural hamlets.
As Americans we were used to driving in our cars all the time. During our travel, we fell in love with public transportation but have found some limitations. We have decided to intentionally do more travel by renting a car more frequently.
We will add another article as appropriate if a claim must be submitted through the insurance we purchased through a third-party website when we rented the car. After a handful of extremely nervous nights in Oklahoma, when I decided we’d just use the credit card insurance coverage, we’ve made the decision to always add the insurance. The car got hailed upon a couple times, but luckily it was marble and pea sized in comparison to the baseball size 10 miles away. No. The credit card insurance would not have covered the brand-new vehicle that would have been totaled by that kind of weather. Check your coverage!! Always. So even if they want payment this time, we should get reimbursed by the insurance company.
Renting a car can be a nervous experience for anyone. It still requires both of us to double check one another and the contract each time. The worry over damage, tickets, and tolls has at least become just one more question and consideration when booking. Any logistical time spent securing transportation is well outplayed by the awe-inspiring moments it has provided us at times. One need only read back through and look at the pictures of our time in Portugal to see the large number of locations and experiences we had that we otherwise wouldn’t have come close to seeing. Portugal found us wandering the coastline lazily one afternoon, turning onto smaller and smaller roads and towns until we literally ran into the cove near Carvoeiro.
In France we drove the official Cider Route and the official Cheese Route. These were roads through the Normandy countryside which connected small villages and individual farms that grow and create wonderful products to be purchased and sampled. We have had so many unique day trips like this one that makes it worth the extra expense and effort of renting a car.
The wonderful, unplanned getaways and the planned excursions with our own set of wheels does come with other issues that travelers need to consider. It isn’t just the money, it is the risk of damaging a vehicle or worse, while in a foreign country. As I write this, we are waiting to hear from the latest company to see if they are going to assess a fee for minor scratches on a wheel rim. It is extremely common for people to “curb” a car they are unfamiliar with, especially when faced with foreign traffic patterns, signage, law differences with Right of Ways, etc., all in real time.
One last candid note to keep this brief and transparent. Driving together and navigating with glitchy internet at times and very different road conditions has been the only time we’ve both become irritable with one another. It takes patience and understanding. Having sat in her seat, and her sat behind the wheel has given us each an appreciation for how “easy” it is for the other person. Pack your patience and be prepared for some U-turns, repeated trips around the block, Right or Left?!, honking horns and arms waving out the window. It happens. We are getting better at laughing and shrugging our shoulders now. We aren’t in a race.
So, get your motor running and head out on the highway kids! It won’t be every day or every location, but we will be doing more of it in our longer stays.
