I think it needed professional help a long time ago
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On a recent trip to France (we’ve been many times), yet again I was reminded of national differences. I try not to use the Auto routes, for as great as they are, like all of their kind, one misses the detail of much of the journey, and though once a real chore when map reading, (I never had to do it as I do the driving ) satnav has made even the most convoluted of trips a real breeze. They have a rest stop format called Aires, (Aires in France are overnight parking areas in villages, towns, cities and the countryside all over the country). We safely used one for an overnight stop (as we had not booked accommodation for that night) and wanted to try things out. All was well, Trucks, Vans, Caravans and Cars, parked up, toilet, and family facilities, all were well kept. All free. (Some have fuel and food services), how civilized, and so different from most other countries.
On a day trip to a wonderful town called Fougères I was confused to see these devices (see picture) on the dashboards of many cars in one of the car parks. Unable to find a location to pay for parking (many are free) I asked another driver what they were, and where I could pay for parking. On turning around, I saw that she was a pretty girl, just young enough to be my granddaughter, my son (of similar age) blushed a bit, she explained that it was her mother’s car and that she really didn’t know how they worked. We said au revoir. I noticed that on reaching the exit of the carpark the young girl stopped and spoke to a passer by, then reversing back to us, offered us the parking “thing”.
I proffered a low value banknote, she declined, we insisted, we all laughed. Off she went, my son still smiling……People are nice.
On a day trip to a wonderful town called Fougères I was confused to see these devices (see picture) on the dashboards of many cars in one of the car parks. Unable to find a location to pay for parking (many are free) I asked another driver what they were, and where I could pay for parking. On turning around, I saw that she was a pretty girl, just young enough to be my granddaughter, my son (of similar age) blushed a bit, she explained that it was her mother’s car and that she really didn’t know how they worked. We said au revoir. I noticed that on reaching the exit of the carpark the young girl stopped and spoke to a passer by, then reversing back to us, offered us the parking “thing”.
I proffered a low value banknote, she declined, we insisted, we all laughed. Off she went, my son still smiling……People are nice.
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In some areas you are allowed parking for, say up to 2 hours, even if it is free. Leaving your car there all day is not allowed. You indicate with the "thing" the time when you had started parking. It is obligatory to keep this parking hour in your car in some countries, like Austria, Belgium, etc.
In France autoroute "Areas" are not safe.
Stay overnight at your own risks.
Beware of nice behavior people.
Stay overnight at your own risks.
Beware of nice behavior people.
The most stunning parking experience I had in Dallas, TX. There was a big parking lot in the center of the city. I looked around, but there was not any toll machine, neither any parking attendant. However, in the middle of the parking lot there was a dovecot-like box with holes on a pole. People parked their car, then they walked to the dovecot, folded a 1 dollar banknote into four, and stuffed it into a narrow gap on the "parking automat". It was a fully honesty box, no receipt, nothing. If you did not do it, nobody cared. But everybody payed obeyingly.
Well, in the 35 or so years I've been travelling to France I have been scammed once, but NOT by a French national. Maybe I've been lucky, in Italy also I have found people (even cab drivers) honest and helpful. (It must be my face or something!) . When we on one occasion broke down in Germany, (car not used to cruising at 110 MPH on derestricted roads) we had 4 cars stop to offer help in the first half an hour. (My face again I suppose!).
At the time, the smartest phone we had was bolted to the wall and the cord wasn't long enough.
The camera app wasn't very good either. Always some error message like "film and flash bulb not found."
