My first assessment on arriving at Nice Airport:
- It’s hot. Like a slap-in-the-face kind of hot.
- They guys at passport control look at me like ‘why even bother silly American’ when I greet them with ‘bonjour’ (even though I am handing them an NZ passport).
- There is no security. No X-Rays, no checking I’ve smuggled in an orange or some pseudoephedrine. I am definitely not arriving in to NZ.
- The chance of being hit by a car is high. I keep looking the wrong way (cars drive on the right).
- I should’ve booked with a rental car company who were actually stationed at the airport rather than the el cheapo option I took.
- French service is slow.
Just to elaborate a bit on points 5 and 6 a
little bit:
I’d
booked a rental car with a cheap company that didn’t charge me a million euros
per day (I’m under 25 and there was an additional €35 added per day with most
companies). Because their cars weren’t
located right by the airport, their instruction was to call them when we landed
and they’d pick us up.
That was all fine until we actually tried
to call.
I called them non-stop for about an hour
and their phone was engaged. It was about then I was thinking that I’d been
conned.
We tried to catch a taxi to the address I
had but none of them would take us because it was just down the road (Google
told me it was 5km away when it was really about 2km). They told us to catch a
bus but then the bus drivers wouldn’t take us either.
Drama.
After calling the company we booked through
(they weren’t very helpful and just told us to keep trying to call). We did
finally get through and got to the location and got a super sweet Renault Clio.
And after sitting behind some other tourist who blocked the drive for about 10
minutes we were on our way - woohoo!
On
driving in France:
- Right-hand-side. Stay on the right-hand-side.
I managed this pretty well. I occasionally stopped awkwardly in the middle of intersections because I wasn’t sure if I was meant to give way or if it was a one way street. I only drove down a one way street the wrong way once. Win.
- The French love roundabouts.
Once I got over the fact I had to drive round them anti-clockwise, rather than clock-wise, they became my best friend. Lost and want to turn around? Wait for a roundabout. Not sure which street you want? Keep circling until you spot it.
- The French drive fast.
Like really fast. The speed limit is 50km? Drive at 70km. The speed limit on the motorway is 110-130km.
- On the motorway, you aren’t allowed to undertake.
I actually really like this one. It makes a lot of sense. If you want to drive slowly, stay in the right hand lane. If you want to drive fast, move to the left hand lane.
- No one indicates.
I used to get angry in NZ when people didn’t indicate. In France it’s just accepted. You just assume everyone wants to pull in front of you. When someone does indicate – it’s a nice little bonus.
- Drivers don’t stop at pedestrian crossings unless they absolutely have to.
I witnessed a three car pile-up when one car did actually stop.
- You’re not really driving in France unless you’re using your horn.
If you get angry, toot your horn. Someone’s driving too slow? Toot. Cyclist in the way? Toot. Pedestrians crossing too slow? Toot. It works in all situations.
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