We drove straight from the Loire Valley home to Aix. We considered stopping in Lyon, but with our suitcases full of dirty laundry and our rented car due back soon, we decided to end this road trip. Driving through France was a wonderful experience...except for the outrageous tolls. Seriously, make sure you bring mucho euros for tolls if you are ever driving here. Also, make sure you stop at a French truck stop. They are AMAZING. Almost everywhere we stopped for gas had a nice gourmet cafeteria with high chairs (think baguettes, mussels, salad bar and wine), a sandwich shop, a coffee bar, a store selling local goods, groceries (think fruit, yogurt, chocolate), clean restrooms, a clean children's play area, and an "Enfant Room" with changing tables, tiny child-sized toilets, and rocking chairs. I mean...why can't America adopt these? It must be where all of that toll money goes. We have traveled across America from both coasts and I practically bathe myself and my children in Purrell after leaving any gas station/truck stop/fast food joint.
France is not a big country, but the land is so incredibly diverse. We experienced the North's cold beaches and bright canola fields, the Loire Valley's lush green fields, drove through incredible mountains and canyons, and ended up back in warm, colorful Provence. At times it felt like we were driving through California, at other times the Midwest, and still at other times, Colorado. In a country that would fit inside Texas, France seems so vast. Add in numerous villages, ancient ruins, and castles and you could go on driving all over France for weeks and weeks without seeing everything.
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