Experiences of a woman travelling alone... by car in Europe

Well today is the first day of the rest of my life…. as the saying goes.

Today, I officially set forth on my quest to get sponsorship for this blog and for my efforts to launch a travel service which is dedicated to serving the needs of baby boomer travelers to Europe... especially women who want to travel alone, in pairs or without a male escort.   

As my readers know… I love to travel alone in Europe … in my car. I am careful about where I go and what I do … but essentially it is safe.  Luckily, I have not had any bad experiences yet!!

Ok, ok… several years ago, while I was driving my hot little Alfa convertible (cabriolet) near Chablis* in France, I was followed by a car load of guys…  But that was a different time, a different ‘me’ and a different car… not my staid, Peugeot fortress… AND that was well before navigation systems, mobile phones and wifi were EVERYWHERE!!  *Believe it or not Chablis is not just a wine... but a real town!!

With a GPS-equipped car as well as Wifi - equipped IPAD or smart phone and utilizing Hotspots in restaurants (like McDonalds) and small hotels with Wifi in the rooms… we can go wherever we chose without fear. 

Of course, 4 or 5 years ago, there was my Christmas Eve incident at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.  The new car I ordered had not arrived, so the Peugeot dealer lent me a car.  I immediately drove to Paris for the Christmas holiday.  What a trip... early Christmas Eve driving down a street and having the Eiffel Tower suddenly peering down at me over some neighborhood buildings.  Early Christmas morning driving – like a crazy person – around and around the Arc de Triomphe… merely because I could!!  There wasn’t a single bit of traffic, nary a car on the street, not a car on the Champs-Elysee or even on the boulevard which encircles the Arc… I was TOTALLY alone and having the ball of my life. 

But there WAS the small incident the night before at the Cathedral.  I had driven to the midnight mass, parked my car.. and was ABSOLUTELY  sure it would not be difficult to retrace my steps to get back to my hotel which was one street over from the Champs Elysee (trust me… the hotel was not as grand as it sounds!). At any rate, somehow I got turned around and then a ‘bit’ lost. The loaner car did not have a navigation system.. so I drove and drove (not to worry, the car doors were locked, the heating system worked, I had food, drink and my tunes…  so all was good!!!) So after leaving the mass at 1.00 am, I ended up driving around Paris for a couple of hours.  Finally I saw a police station and stopped to ask for directions back to Paris.  The policewoman – said in the typical haughty French way - ‘You are in Paris!!’ And then she told me to just get back into my car and drive straight ahead!! I did as she instructed, but after a half hour or so, it occurred to me to just stop the first taxi cab that I saw and ask him to lead me back to the hotel.  I did just that and the driver was somewhat amused at my plight… but he led me all the way back to my hotel… without charging me!!   I arried at 3am!! The next day I did the Arc de Triomphe and then drove to Picardy… if you ever want the ultimate experience in an upscale beach location.. check out this place. Wonderful in winter, must be absolutely fantastic in summer!!