weekended■■? whats it like honestley i couldnt say id fancy it i should imagine id be bored to tears thinking about being at home or in the pub.instead of some services or anywhere else apart from home. if you do euro work how often are you weekended and be honest sometimes it must get you down. 
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Dad,
Like anything else it depends on the company. I have been weekended many times in my career but in the last 3 years of it working in France it was rather being bank holidayed.
The first time was Bastille day 14th June. I loaded biscuits at Vervain and with half an hour left drove to a little village where I parked on the pavement opposite the restaurant. They of course were closed the next day but by prior arrangement brought me some grub to the cab at midday. Nice touch. I then settled down to watch my first revolutionary celebrations at the mairie which I overlooked and with the panoramic grandstand view from the Magnum could see over the wall.
First the Maire arrived and propped a chair at the front gateposts to climb up and place the Tricolours in their brackets. Then one by one various people arrived bringing food, getting out tables, erecting a sound system until at about 1pm a tiny brass band (about 6 piece) came oompahing down the road from behind me. A few speeches, a prize giving, and a bit of a buffet later and the whole do was over by about 3. Everyone left one by one, last of all the Maire who brought out his chair removed the flags, locked the doors and gates, climbed into his 2cv and was gone. Bit of an anti-climax, they never even played the Marseillaise, and it was back to my books.
There have been others more exciting, but this one remains in the memory.
Salut, David.
fair enough i get bored too easily myself. but thanks for the answer. 
Dad ,I was once told by one of the many drivers that I met and we,ve
had a tea/coffe together and just chatted,He always tried to do a bit
of sightseeing ,when ever he got weekended as he said there is
always something to see of intrest so you do not have to vegatate
by staying in your lorry. Bearing in mind, thats okay as long as your
not stuck in a out of the way place.
The best part of being weekended is the fact your being paid for it…in most cases anyway…it is always best to try and make a well known parking area where there will be other drivers …whether brits or europeans…the norm for a driver is to lounge around…drink as much beer as he can…get out of his trolley and do it all again the next day…i`ve done it…but the way to relax is to sight see …catch a bus…or train…go into town …see the sights of interest…but it was always a bit sad when you see couples or families out in the park enjoying themselves and your family is a few hundred or thousand miles away…and it is also lonely when eating out in a restaurant…but trucking is a loners way of life anyway…we have to get on with it…but the good times overtake the bad ones so all in all its worth it…
well thats what i think its alright seeing all these places but your on your own arent you 
i dont think i would be very well suited to it i would get to bored
jessicas dad:
well thats what i think its alright seeing all these places but your on your own arent you
But that’s the point, Dad, if you weren’t a loner at heart you wouldn’t be a truck driver would you? Why else would anyone put up with all the hassle for such miserable money if it wasn’t for that?
Talking about sightseeing, I tipped once at Bondoufle, south of Paris, at 7am. They told me to drop the trailer at Hay’s (pronounced ‘ice’) warehouse a km away for loading that evening and book off for the day to be in Bordeaux the following morning.
After dropping I bounced to the commuter rail station at Bretigny sur Orge, amazingly found a ■■■■■■■■■■■■ right outside the ticket office, and caught the train to Paris. Had a great day seeing a lot of the sights including the Louvre museum (the Mona Lisa was a bit of a disappointment, bit like ■■■■■■ or the Wicker Man - too much previous hype), watched the skaters at the free open air ice rink but didn’t venture on, had a nice meal and then back in the evening. Coupled up, 6 hours kip, rocked to sleep by the loaders, then off to Bordeaux arriving at 11am.
But, as Pete said, you’re not always stuck in a convenient spot.
Salut, David.
yep fair play it wouldn suit but everyone is differant thats what makes the world go round.
I never used to care how long I was away for until the children arrived, and I’ve had some brilliant weekends away. I don’t get weekended all that much now, but the last time I did, I went up the Eiffel Tower in Paris, something I had never done before.
But I’ve been around dozens of cities which I would never have had the chance to see otherwise, so all in all I’d say that I never minded being weekended.
Vince
I have done it for many years, though this job now, I get home each weekend.
But some of the places I have visited, other people pay fortunes to tourist guides 
I have spent weekends exploring Berlin behind the tourist traps, visited Topkapi Palace and Blue Mosque in Stanley Bull. climbed the steps of the Acropolis.
I have spent many weekends looking round the air and motor museum in Sinsheim. I visited Dachau.
There are lots of things to do, or you can get stuck in a layby in the UK 
The only problem I found, was that the expenses always seemed to equal the bar bill 
On the other hand, some of the best weekends I’ve had have been spent just sat around the trailer-box in some dusty truckstop with half-a-dozen of the lads, sampling the local vino collapso, knocking up a camion stew and swapping stories.
I can understand that it wouldn’t appeal to everyone but I think you are a different animal anyway to want to do continental work.
Vince
of course it always depends on where you actually end up spending your weekend.
i’ve had some great weekends away, in places that normal people pay to go to, pay to get to and don’t get paid for while theyre there.
rimini on the italian coast, absolutely beautiful, swimming, sunbathing and boozing with holidaymakers from all over europe.
a small seaside village further along the coast called rosetti d’ abruzzi which i intend to visit again with my wife for a holiday because i enjoyed it so much.
argeles sur mer on the french/spanish border, a lovely holiday town on the coast where me and 2 mates who were with me enjoyed a very nice sunday bbq with an english family that adopted us for the weekend.
the usual european truckstops and a weekend in germany near christmas where i enjoyed the weinacht markts (christmas markets) that they hold in the streets of many towns in germany, they sell mostly home made items, i enjoyed it so much i took my family on a coach trip a few years later to the christmas markets of trier in germany.
walking off to tour the local towns and villages no matter where i have been parked, i like to walk and i enjoy visiting other cultures too, to be able to do that and get paid for it has filled my life with sights that i would normally have missed had i not been in this type of job and been prepared to stay away for a few weeks.
of course i’ve had to bear the motorway services too on the odd occassion but only as an absolute necessity and even some of those have had hidden towns or villages out the back and within reasonable walking distance.
nothing ventured nothing gained i say.
Have been weekended a few times. The last one being, Campo, Italy a couple of months ago. My favourite time was last summer in Italy. I got off the train at Novara and tipped Milan on a thurs. Much to my delight, the boss said no load till mon or tues. I didn’t fancy Carisio. (Sick and tired of listening to drunken pratts in the restaurant). A dutch tanker man told me about a “secret place” he knew about not too far away. He made me promise not to tellanyone so I won’t, but it’s north of Novara. There was space for about 10 trucks, right next to a big lake. Beach, restaurant, hotel and disco - superb. Bathed in the lake each morning and had bbq’s with the dutch lads every day. Very relaxing and considering the average temp at that time was well into the 30’s, it was a million miles away from depressing, cold ireland.
Spardo:
But that’s the point, Dad, if you weren’t a loner at heart you wouldn’t be a truck driver would you? Why else would anyone put up with all the hassle for such miserable money if it wasn’t for that?
Some of the places I’ve been weekended.
Castets, Barcelona, Salou, Milan (forgotten how often), Forli, Fabriano, Rome, Pisa, Modane, Crecy (on Joan of Arc day, Crecy was an early 100year war battle site), Rouen, Taranto. I’ve also lost count of the Weekends spent in Dover.
I’ve had weekends totally on my own and with a group of other drivers, sometimes with drivers from the company I am working with, other times with drivers from other companies and countries.
Some have been fantastic, some have been the weekend from hell. It all depends on your attitude, the contents of your wallet/cook box/drinks cooler etc, the weather. One other thing it depends on is the people you are with, but mainly it depends on you.
When I worked for Micky White running containers in tilts down to Savona for shipping to Libya, we used to race down to try and get through the Macon/Blanc stretch before the Sat pm ban came on. If we didn’t make it that’s when the Bakehouse weekends came in. But if we did, good as the Bakehouse was, it didn’t beat the truck park squashed in between Umberto’s ristorante and the beach at Savona for a great weekend. One time there were about 6 White Trux there celebrating my (now) wife’s birthday. Today is her birthday (Feb 24th) and we still ended up in the sea!
Salut, David.
Simon:
Some of the places I’ve been weekended.Castets, Milan (forgotten how often), I’ve also lost count of the Weekends spent in Dover.
Simon,
Castets - pretty bleak
Milano - Ah yes, remember Pop’s risto at Concorezzo? Or are you too young?
Dover - Don’t know about that, but I was once stopped for the weekend at Dunquerque because the office didn’t book me in with hazardous. Stood there on a bitterly cold winters day watching my brother with whom I was running and who didn’t have hazardous, sail off to his weekend at home. The highlight of the weekend was freezing everything off watching a local rugby match and then trying to thaw out by running the engine back in the cab. No night heaters in those days.
Brrrh, Salut, David.