Blackberries and Bicycles

We have traveling by way of so many different modes during this journey around the world: plane, train, tram, bus, funicular, ferry, big rig, rickshaw, tuk-tuk, bicycle, and of course, our own weary feet. But after a rather extravagant week spent in Bretagne, France, we can add rental car to the list. 

Oh, I had forgotten the delights of independence you can find when behind the wheel of your very own car. The power to choose winding scenic roads instead of highways, the joy of a quick u-turn to more closely examine that old, ivy-covered stone chateau, the happiness felt in propping bare feet up on the dash in the bright sunlight streaming through the window, and the luxury of pulling over to stretch/explore/pick roadside blackberries whenever the need arises.

We looked for hitchhikers to pick up.

none.

We navigated a drive from Moncontour to Paris without a road map.

not entirely true. we had a tourist map of bretagne. when we left moncontour after we arrived in normandy we stopped at a supermarket and took photos of the sections of road map we might need. I squinted at these to determine our path.

We talked about places we've been and things we've seen and people we remember.

in bretagne we saw family for the first time in seven months; this sparked lots of conversation the multitude of dear family and friends that we wonder about and look forward to seeing.

I skimmed through radio stations.

the soothing babble of french talk radio was a favorite, followed by "nostalgia" with both french and american classics.

We didn't pay a single toll.

although the drive was eight hours longer, the distance and gas usage was the same. we never took the toll roads and enjoyed the slow country lanes instead, found much cheaper gas further from the interstate, and saw a huge chunk of France.

After visiting the Chartres Cathedral we car camped.

turning down a bumpy, dirt road in the pitch dark left us slightly unsure of exactly where we were. but the stars were bright and the night quiet. we awoke to find ourselves alongside a cornfield, mist rising from the earth in the pre-sunrise glow of dawn.

I was a pretty good navigator and N drove.

that being said, my tiny keychain compass proved to be faulty, I started feeling carsick from trying to read the map from a miniscule digital camera screen, and we both were hyperventilating as we navigated Paris with a photo-copied, blurry map and minutes ticking down for our British Airways flight. we returned the car at terminal 2F and our flight was at 2A. they are not very close together.  I was fibbing my way through an elaborate story about my invisible husband as the flight was being closed...N showed up just as the eyebrows of the ticket agent were about to pop off of her head.

In recent months I have become a huge proponent of public transportation, but I'd sorta forgotten why personal cars are so great. The independence. The power to "choose your own adventure." It is so easy to slip back into the mindset of regarding personal cars as the main (and most viable) mode of transportation. And of course, sometimes they are. My mother couldn't exactly find public transportation to Eugene (40 miles) four days a week. The New Orleans public transportation system includes lovely street cars that oftentimes take longer than walking, and public buses that don't seem to run on an actual schedule, they just rumble by when the mood strikes.

When in a land of functional, efficient, effective public transportation options, it is much easier (and oftentimes much more affordable) to use public systems. We love the bike sharing systems of Paris, London, China, and many other international cities. In fact, it seems that most urban cities of the Western world have bike-share/rent programs. Africa, Thailand, India, and Turkey were without a formalized system, but most likely have informal, community-driven programs that are not discernible to the foreign eye. 

So while we are here, still in the land of viable transportation options, we are off to use them! Though the hazy dream of that cushy Citroen rental car still lingers at the back of my mind, it's time for some sensible shoes and some London tube action!

*****

p.s. we are still sans-computer. no help has arrived. but we are SO grateful to David for the use of his computer while we are in london. be assured that our blog will be patchy until we return to our other laptop in the states (new york in twelve days).