I thought I'd say a few things about driving in Marseille, before I become too normalised to it. After returning to Sydney from 'the country' late last year, the traffic instantly got to me. Whilst complaining about it to some French friends, I was told 'wait until you drive in France'.
The initial drive down from Dijon on the Autoroute was a breeze, a demonstration of how people SHOULD drive on a highway. Coming into Marseille was a different story. Nik had advised me to park illegally outside his apartment on arrival - because that's what everyone else does. At least on weekends anyway - when the parking inspectors (that is to say - the riot police) are on their days off. The city is a seething mass of small cars parked with centimetres to spare. As Nik advised me 'people actually use they're bumper bars to park here', which I've seen a number of times.
I find I have to look on some events from a third person view to appreciate how comical it is, at least compared to the norm in Australia. While walking up the street a few days ago, I saw a car driving along then bump up and down and continue without slowing. I assumed there must have been a bump or rut in the road, but upon closer inspection they'd gone over a traffic island from the lane that was meant to turn left. One favourite is the road with the lane where arrows are painted in both directions. Indicators almost always indicate an out-of-towner. Two wheeled travelers rarely heed which lane goes what direction - a gap is a gap. The traffic lights are nearly impossible to see - it's very easy to drive through a red unknowingly!
I find I've adapted fairly well to the 'style' of driving here, and a certain part of me enjoys it. Traffic becomes a singular, continuing entity that you're a part of, as opposed to a mass of big, individual objects as in Aus. I also like the size of the cars. Perhaps the street sizes take away any choice in the matter, but 90% of the cars here are small, and in my opinion it's bloody smart.
Last week I took the car up the the Ardeche to meet a friend of a friend staying in an old little farmhous, 'Le Cros'. It was great to get out of the city - driving through the gorges to get to Le Cros was a pleasure to the eyes. The house is quite high up, and there was still plenty of snow around. My hosts, residents of North America, were fantastic and I had a great couple of days there walking, reading, drinking wine by the fireplace, and also got a day of climbing in when the sun finally came out.
On the return journey I stayed away from the Autoroute and drove back south via the Ardeche Gorge - another wonderful drive through dozens of quaint little towns nestled within valleys, then the steep, deep, limestone gorge proper. It would be even nicer enjoying such an area from a more laid back mode of transport - a bike? A boat? I really loved the area - but I also realise it's more or less my first and only trip outside of Marseille since being here, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the other regions offer, and of course the other countries!
The initial drive down from Dijon on the Autoroute was a breeze, a demonstration of how people SHOULD drive on a highway. Coming into Marseille was a different story. Nik had advised me to park illegally outside his apartment on arrival - because that's what everyone else does. At least on weekends anyway - when the parking inspectors (that is to say - the riot police) are on their days off. The city is a seething mass of small cars parked with centimetres to spare. As Nik advised me 'people actually use they're bumper bars to park here', which I've seen a number of times.
I find I have to look on some events from a third person view to appreciate how comical it is, at least compared to the norm in Australia. While walking up the street a few days ago, I saw a car driving along then bump up and down and continue without slowing. I assumed there must have been a bump or rut in the road, but upon closer inspection they'd gone over a traffic island from the lane that was meant to turn left. One favourite is the road with the lane where arrows are painted in both directions. Indicators almost always indicate an out-of-towner. Two wheeled travelers rarely heed which lane goes what direction - a gap is a gap. The traffic lights are nearly impossible to see - it's very easy to drive through a red unknowingly!
I find I've adapted fairly well to the 'style' of driving here, and a certain part of me enjoys it. Traffic becomes a singular, continuing entity that you're a part of, as opposed to a mass of big, individual objects as in Aus. I also like the size of the cars. Perhaps the street sizes take away any choice in the matter, but 90% of the cars here are small, and in my opinion it's bloody smart.
Last week I took the car up the the Ardeche to meet a friend of a friend staying in an old little farmhous, 'Le Cros'. It was great to get out of the city - driving through the gorges to get to Le Cros was a pleasure to the eyes. The house is quite high up, and there was still plenty of snow around. My hosts, residents of North America, were fantastic and I had a great couple of days there walking, reading, drinking wine by the fireplace, and also got a day of climbing in when the sun finally came out.
On the return journey I stayed away from the Autoroute and drove back south via the Ardeche Gorge - another wonderful drive through dozens of quaint little towns nestled within valleys, then the steep, deep, limestone gorge proper. It would be even nicer enjoying such an area from a more laid back mode of transport - a bike? A boat? I really loved the area - but I also realise it's more or less my first and only trip outside of Marseille since being here, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the other regions offer, and of course the other countries!
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