Driving in France-Vroom Vroom

Still in Colrado Springs!

Just got my AAA International Drivers License, so I can drive in France. The picture is not so great ( the tripod for the camera at AAA was missing a leg...I guess that makes it a "bi-pod"!). The lady taking the picture used magazines to prop it up, (very professional, ha ha) but she still took the picture from a funny angle and I'm sure I DON"T look like that. Well, as we say in my family, "who knows me in France anyway?!"

...pack early and pack light. And don't worry if it doesn't "matches".

Woo Hoo! At least they drive on the right there (unlike my adventure in Scotland where I went 20 miles out of my way trying to avoid going left around their roundabouts, and totally pitted up my sweater on my first attempt... but that's another story.). I did some research and leased a brand new car (www.autofrance.net) which I will sell back at the end of my trip. It's cheaper in the long run if you use it for 17 days or more, with better all inclusive insurance coverage.

I just purchased a Michelin Yellow Driving Atlas of France (from www.languagequest.com), although I plan to stick to the smaller rural roads. Less traffic, less pressure, and you cetainly see more. I call it "doodling", since I never go in a direct or straight line, and it's much more fun than a super highway. I'm spending my first night at the airport and picking my car up after a good night's sleep ( driving sleep deprived and in a foreign language just doesn't sound like a good idea!). Besides, it looks like getting around and away from Paris is going to be the hard part of the trip. Stay with me, and I'll let you know how it goes when I get there.

I also had to buy a new suitcase, since, thanks to American Airlines, my luggage was lost earlier in August, with, of course, ALL my favorite summer clothes and shoes in it! I chose red this time, so it won't be hard to pick it out of a sea of black roller bags, and hopefully will make it to my destination ( because it's harder to lose a screaming red bag...well, that's my theory).

Gotta go dig through my drawers to see if I have any euros hanging around. Today I start laying out clothes to pack, so I don't do my infamous "stay-up-all-night-the-day-before-I-leave" packing thing. I'm also trying to pack light, but I'm afraid it will end up being an all black and white trip, and I'm really so fond of color. But then I get into "this needs to match that", so maybe I'll be better off if it doesn't match ( or as my daughter Meg used to say..."it doesn't matches").

So, a couple of "firsts"...pack early, and pack light!

Talk later. :-)