Shame that the French de-regulated their national roads to “D” roads,with signs all over the place indicating weight limits and direct LGVs to the toll road,do you remember the “coast” road coming off the Cherbourg boat,with the sea parallel to you by the bird sancturies and small villages,and the La Rochell is now a weight limit,what was the point of that,even though the locals can drive on it.
good diary beats my Rushden, Haydock or Warrington etc any day would go tomorrow but can’t find a job
got any more to post ■■? 
zebadee:
toby1234abc:
Thats exactly what i used to do,get off the boring toll road,the scenery in the Jura area of France is out of this world,it is the 39 area region,got snowed in there at Besancon in the snow,the town was deserted,and i was weekended.The Gendarmes came up to my wagon to say i could not drive after 22.00 due to the snow and ice,it is a very hilly area,they said it was ok to move after 06.00 am on Monday morning and would fine me if i moved before,it was a “snow” order.
The route for Italy was via Vesoul,then ignore the 19 ton weight limit imposed by the mayor,saw Gendarmes that didnt bat an eye lid,head to Oyanax,then the national toll free road via Nantua to Chambery,national to the tunnel then,one village has a 7.5 ton weight limit,but you see the local wagons going through,worst case scenario,write up a dodgy CMR for a unloading point,and hope they dont phone the factory to see if they are expecting you.Italy is slow going on the national roads,with farm traffic and much lower speed limits of 70 kmh.Jump on the toll to Milan then.Yep, Peage to Reims but no further. Take the last exit before the (south) Toll booths where the routiers/arcohotel is on Chalons road (N44 I think) much better route
Must be nice for you chaps to have time for these sightseeing trips!
Really enjoyed that read… There is nothing quite like driving in europe.
Thetaff:
mb14:
Wish i could do troyes in 4hrs…as it is 400kmI said “around the troyes area” didn’t mean the centre bit FFS and it was 4 and a half,i wish i never posted this now,after all this BS about spelling mistakes and getting from to and fro,will stick to the proper site from now on
Great read that Taff
Keep them coming Taff, I think we all knew which tunnel you meant and what’s half hour here and there between friends. I for one appreciate the time and effort it takes to post these diaries.
Yeah Toby, used to be 1 of my favourate routes South towards Bordeaux area, stopping at the fish restaurant just to the West of La Rochelle mmmmmmmm 
Switchlogic, it wasn’t any slower using the Nationals if you picked the right route as they’re often shorter but much more fun with some lovely stops along the way
Lots of French tarts along the Rochelle route that took up permanment residency in their camper vans in that big lay by by the bird sanctuary,black birds could be spotted there too.One page 3 stunner that would work by a small rouitier lay by about half an hours drive north of St.Andre de Cubzac,and a plump bird in a white citroen,in the lay by of the rouitier Angouleme way,and Stella of the BP at St,Andre too.
Pmsl had Stella in the cab a few time tho’ never to partake of her services 
She was quite up for a chat & a coffee or a beer if things were quiet!
zebadee:
Pmsl had Stella in the cab a few time tho’ never to partake of her services
She was quite up for a chat & a coffee or a beer if things were quiet!
surprises me that she did not run a mile at the sight of your ugly mug
Vascoingles:
zebadee:
Pmsl had Stella in the cab a few time tho’ never to partake of her services
She was quite up for a chat & a coffee or a beer if things were quiet!surprises me that she did not run a mile at the sight of your ugly mug
Pmsl ■■■■ orf Paul 
The N137 wasnt it Toby. cant rememebr the No of the coast road out of Cherbourg tho.
Nice diary Taff just one question if I may? Who was stopping the traffic for ya when you were taking your snaps■■? 
Yes the national 137,you could once run all the way to Irun from Cherbourg without being forced to pay a toll,Saint Genis de Saintonage was a useful stopping place,owned by an ex police man,called Claude,there was an english guy called Tony that did jail for fiddling the fuel pumps at the garage by the Rouitiers restaurant,he was a big guy with a long beard.
Weight limit now from Bordeaux to La Rochelle,the scenery down there in the summer was good,with hectares of vine fields and rolling hills.
Caudes was the biggest rip off cackhole in the whole of France. most reputable companies drivers were forbidden from using there agency cards there.
Was only ever in Claude’s the once
A waitress fined me 10ff for taking my bottle of red from the dining table into the bar
That sounds about right for that place,the Gendarmes would stand on the roundabout at ten minutes before the Saturday night 22.00 ban started,to catch any driver trying to get their head down for the weekend and risk driving the ban to park up at Claudes.Im sure there was an english driver that lived in the village further south from St.Genis,think his name was Colin,saw his white F12 Volvo parked on his front gate,there was a fish and chip shop near to his house,the last time i was on that road.
I used to stop at Clauds often on the way down and always found it good value, I used to often buy diesel there but always paid cash which earned a discount from pump prices. (I can see how Tony did that now 
)
I also weekended there many times on the way down with hides on, the parking on the southbound side wasn’t surfaced in the late 80’s so the dripping blood & snot wasn’t such a problem 
but his Sunday hours were very short and there was nothing else in walking distance.
Ross.
He was fluent in French,i suppose you learn fast in a French prison,any idea how much profit he may have made form fiddling the pumps,by working out how many trucks would fill up there.
From distant memory,i think he was caught out by some observant drivers that knew how many MPGs there were getting exactly,but noted a difference while filling at Tonys,ie one time fill at one garage,next time at Tony`s,spot the difference on how far you went in distance that time.
zebadee:
Vascoingles:
zebadee:
Pmsl had Stella in the cab a few time tho’ never to partake of her services
She was quite up for a chat & a coffee or a beer if things were quiet!surprises me that she did not run a mile at the sight of your ugly mug
Pmsl [zb] orf Paul
She would have run if he’d shown signs of reaching for his wallet