Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
doesn't really need, but which can suddenly appear vital. They should be browsed for
books, clothing, gifts, interesting foodstuffs, ceramics - I could go on.
If the need to buy an urgent gift has arisen, this is the obvious place to look. Then there
is the stock stuff but none of it was needed on this trip because our hampers were still burst-
ing with goodies. That said, our first loaf of extra-fresh French bread
had
to be savoured
at the first stop. I attempted to slide the metre-long offender into the car without Jack noti-
cing but unfortunately my battle with the car door frame failed. Crumbs flew everywhere,
nicely fielded by the dogs, but it was worth the grumbles. When in France, a light covering
of crusty scraps is generally unavoidable.
For the Internet user with a smartphone, service stations generally offer free Wi-Fi
access, which is useful for cutting down on extortionate roaming charges. Jack sees these
technological conveniences quite differently and continually curses the arrival of smart-
phones.
“I've already got a camera and I've got a computer. I just wanted a phone. One that
makes phone calls. This thing's got a mind of its own. Every time I touch it, it does
something I don't want it to do. Why can't I just have an
ordinary
mobile phone? One
without a camera and with proper big buttons that you can press.”
Furiously 'swiping' around on his 'smart' touchscreen, Jack generally ends up doing
lots of things that he didn't mean to do and racking up unnecessary gigabytes of roaming
charges in the process.
For the novice traveller in France, these fully-equipped service stations should not be
confused with '
Aires
'. Signposted as '
Aire de
...' these parking areas crop up about every
25 kilometres. Usually unmanned, they are simply places to take a break and are Jack's fa-
vourites if refuelling isn't necessary, but a comfort break is.
The only downside is that the female traveller is often limited to less luxurious toilet
facilities because of the design employed. In most cases there is no seat. There is just a
ceramic base at floor level with raised ridges either side of a hole which is designed for
purpose and certainly smells that way. In the absence of a seat one must assume an athletic
squat, suspended over the intended target. But be warned, the ridges are not necessarily as
non-slip as one might hope. And a secondary risk is that one can come perilously close to
an inadvertent dousing if the toilet is the automatic flush type.
This extremely unpleasant (and slightly shocking) occurrence can cause one to move
earlier than desired, thus risking consequences too dire to contemplate. The cubicle area is
normally unheated, except in the depths of winter, but this pales into insignificance when
compared with the overall effort of enduring the simplest of activities. It is for these reas-
ons that many lady travellers train hard to develop the bladder capacity of an elephant so
they can hang on until the next main stop.
The French, thoughtful as ever when it comes to signage, designate these zones on the
autoroute with the standard 'P' pictogram for parking, and the 'toilet' pictogram for the ob-
