The joy of maps
Herself is [very] slowly on the mend.
There is one hell of a lot of physiotherapy to go yet but there is possibly a glimmer of a light on the horizon.
We got talking about goals the other night. She agreed that we should have a goal to aim for and we decided that a potential holiday in France would be a great target. Maybe not this year, but next.
I suddenly had a vivid memory of our first trip to France. It was back in 1982 and we had a three year old child and a battered old Ford Fiesta. It was going to be an adventure, especially as I had never driven outside Ireland before.
The first thing I did was to get a series of Michelin maps. I got one of all of France and then a couple of large scale ones of the area we were heading for. I had decided that if I were to learn to drive on the other side of the road I had better make the journey a long one, so our destination was south of Biarritz, just short of the Spanish border. I was soon to learn that a few inches on a map can translate into a fucking hell of a lot of miles.
I love maps and spent God knows how many hours poring over them, imagining the trip ahead. There was magic in the place names and in working out the best route.
The day finally arrived and off we went in the Fiesta which was packed to the roof with stuff. There was just a small child shaped cave in the back seat to accommodate Daughter, Driving on the other side of the road was no bother at all. However finding our way was a little more complex and there were very frequent stops while I tried to work out where the fuck we were. Naturally we got hopelessly lost a few times. The map of France became somewhat battered and wind blown.
We have been to France several times since and for most of those trips I relied on the SatNav. Naturally it tried to send me down cattle tracks, off cliffs and had a remarkable tendency to send me the wrong way down one way streets, but we never got lost, even in the most complex of situations.
SatNavs are great for navigation but they lack the magic of maps.
I remember camping with two children perched on top of a tent in the back of a Ford Capri. Great fun, but perhaps not so now. Didn't need a map, we were only going about 215 miles, at night, so the infants could get some sleep.
Do hope your dreams come true, and you have a very happy holiday.
A Capri? You had far too much space.
Back in the early 70s we went camping from northern England to Switzerland in a Triumph Spitfire – no back seat and bugger-all boot-space. Happy carefree days.
Driving in France is still wonderful compared with the UK. I don't know about the Emerald Isle, but I have driven in the North, and that was fine (I'm not talking about city driving here, which is dreadful anywhere in the world.)
So go for it.
(By the way, it's poring, not pouring.)
Signed: duty spelling pedant
Driving in France is still wonderful compared with the UK. I don't know about the Emerald Isle, but I have driven in the North, and that was fine (I'm not talking about city driving here, which is dreadful anywhere in the world.)
So go for it.
(By the way, it's poring, not pouring.)
Signed: duty spelling pedant
And I agree about maps and satnavs. I can PORE over maps for hours, like a paperback book.
Hah! Duly noted and corrected.
Driving in France is a dream where driving in Ireland is a nightmare. I notice it particularly on the return journey when I spend a couple of relaxing days driving through France and then suddenly have to cope with Irish roads and Irish drivers. Dreadful is not the word!
I love maps too, but at least my satnav voice is set to Sean who's Irishisms cause an enjoyable element of uncertainty in any journey.
My SatNav has a choice of two British voices – one male and one female. They are both crap at pronouncing Irish names but the female is slightly less irritating. I don't have a Sean, alas…
Sounds to me like a great goal. On your '82 trip,it sounds like those larger maps were wider than the full width of the Fiesta once opened all the way. Did you have to stop and get out of the car any time you had to consult the thing?
Frequent stops! The overall map was very large and I had to keep folding it "against the grain" if you know what I mean. That's why it ended up in tatters.
The journey down to the Pyrenees would have been a real expedition in those times before the massive autoroute network was complete; just getting around Bordeaux could have taken hours.
I love the Michelin and the IGN maps – they give a context for a journey missed by a SatNav
Context is the perfect word.
I remember that Bordeaux had a ring road which wasn't too bad but that was followed by one road that must have been all of 80 miles that was dead straight for virtually its entire length. It was the most boring road I have ever driven!
The N10 through the flatness of Landes – monotonous doesn't describe it!
Slow but sure wins the race. Best to herself.
Slow is indeed the word. We're taking things a day at a time.