13 Mar 2015. <FR> Peyrehorade, Landes, Aquitaine; Toulouse, Midi-Pyrénées; Aire des Issarts, Montans, Tarn —
A wet day, good for driving, but not much else. We're running out of time in the Shengen area — only have another 3 weeks before we have to get out to the Balkans — so a travel day is probably a good thing! (But our time in Spain was precious, taking us to parts we hadn't visited before.)
It has been raining solidly overnight and into today. The deep ditches that Suzie complains about at the sides of the country roads were running bankers with water. We now know why they are there!
We skirted the north of the Pyrenees, moving towards the Cathar towns of Albi and Carcassonne.
On the way, we passed through Toulouse. Bad move! The traffic was appalling! We estimate we lost over an hour in bumper-to-bumper traffic through Toulouse. Much of the problem was that, regularly, two lanes merge into one, while other lanes are still feeding in behind the merge! The traffic problems should have been addressed decades ago, but they've only been allowed to get worse. Those who criticise the roadworks (and tunneling) currently happening in Brisbane should look at cities like Toulouse, and then quietly slink away!
The 'Tractor Factor' is a feature in France too!
Must say that driving through the south of France, we've felt very much at home — we could just as easily be in Victoria. On the country roads you find avenues of mature trees — you see them in French films! — they're all mature deciduous trees, and matched in size, as all the trees in each stretch were planted at the same time. The difference between Victoria and France is that the trees in Oz are often gums, whereas in France they're usually chestnuts — and, of course, the quaint rendered French villages and the
châteaux that appear out of nowhere off the road! The fields are now becoming amazingly green — winter is coming to an end!
We stopped off at the end of the day in the
Aire des Issarts, on the A3, about 20km short of Albi, tomorrow's destination.
Distance driven — today, 201 miles ( 324 km ); to date, 15,765 miles ( 25,372 km )
Wet was the word! Do the drains drain off into storage areas or is the water jus run off to the rivers and sea? I'd love to see them along Australian roadsides, wouldn't you?. I think it is a great idea to have good music or an audio book to listen too in that sort of traffic. We see that sort of scenery with the Tour de Francais don't we? I watch it for the scenery rather than the riders. France sure is a lovely country to view. Why the rush to the Balkans? A good place to stay away from isn't it? Which parts do you plan to visit? Chestnuts sound much more productive than eucalypts! But they need the water, don't they? Oh well, have fun, much love cathy
ReplyDeleteWhy the Balkans? Remember the time when Europe was a collection of independent countries -- you could spend 90 days in one, then go on to the next, ad infinitum. Now the verdammte European Union -- and the Shengen Treaty -- has turned it into one huge conglomerate, visa-wise, and we can only spend 90 days in Europe before having to get out for at least 90 days. That's why the Balkans and, hopefully, Turkey!.
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