Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 30 of 38

Thread: Travel advice within France

  1. #1
    Jillian & Allison's Daddy Senior Member Don Corleone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Athens, GA
    Posts
    7,588

    Default Travel advice within France

    Hello to all my backroom friends.

    So, I know NOTHING about train service in Europe. Zilch. Nada. Nyet.

    And I have to find a way to get from Rennes to Bordeaux one night. I've heard trains are the way to go for such regional travel, but the TGV, the SCNF and the RailEurope sites all seem to want me to travel by way of Paris, which appears to add substantial time and distance. The first two have the unfortunate habit of reverting to French if the orgination and destination are both within France.

    Any assistance tendered will be most graciously praised and appreciated, si vouz plait.

    Also, as a native English, somewhat Spanish speaker with little to no French in my vocabulary, I'm terrified. Can somebody tell me how gauche it is to be seen carrying a phrasebook around? If I start now, do I have any hope of being 'presentable' in 2 weeks?

    As I said, I'll be in Rennes and Bordeaux, not Paris directly (other than a brief change of planes in DeGaulles).

    Thanks for the help/advice.

    Merci.
    Last edited by Don Corleone; 09-02-2008 at 21:01.
    "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
    Don Vito Corleone: The Godfather, Part 1.

    "Then wait for them and swear to God in heaven that if they spew that bull to you or your family again you will cave there heads in with a sledgehammer"
    Strike for the South

  2. #2
    master of the pwniverse Member Fragony's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    The EUSSR
    Posts
    30,680

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Paris Montparnasse -> Bordeaux. Few hours. Practice your best bonjour and you will be fine most french speak english if you try a little french.

    edit, reserve it will be expensive if you don't
    Last edited by Fragony; 09-02-2008 at 21:17.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Why not fly Don ?

  4. #4
    Incorruptible Forest Manager Member Tristuskhan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Oaks and Menhirs, Brittany
    Posts
    808

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Aouch.... I think you should try Rennes-Redon, and then take the Quimper-Vintimille from Redon to Bordeaux... Good luck, it's a slow train, but wait a minute... i'm gonna check, I'll edit the post.
    "Les Cons ça ose tout, c'est même à ça qu'on les reconnait"

    Kentoc'h Mervel Eget Bezañ Saotret - Death feels better than stain, motto of the Breton People. Emgann!

  5. #5
    Jillian & Allison's Daddy Senior Member Don Corleone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Athens, GA
    Posts
    7,588

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Quote Originally Posted by Tribesman View Post
    Why not fly Don ?
    I'm traveling with a vertical marketing segment manager, who thinks it will be 'fun'. Fun is when you're there on vacation, finding your way on the train. I'm with you, Tribesman, quick and certain when it comes to business travel. Leaving a customer in Rennes at 5PM and staggering into a Bordeaux hotel at 2AM, with an 8AM customer call the next day is not what I call fun.

    The train is also being perceived as cheaper. Don't know if it is or isn't.
    "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
    Don Vito Corleone: The Godfather, Part 1.

    "Then wait for them and swear to God in heaven that if they spew that bull to you or your family again you will cave there heads in with a sledgehammer"
    Strike for the South

  6. #6
    Incorruptible Forest Manager Member Tristuskhan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Oaks and Menhirs, Brittany
    Posts
    808

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Alright, the "best" I've found is Rennes 7h20 PM to Nantes and then Nantes 8h46 Pm to Bordeaux, arriving at 0h43. Travalling by night is almost impossible in western France... and all the rail network is becoming centered on Paris.

    And: no phrasebook, just learn a few, very few words and most will be very happy to use the few english he or she knows to help you.

    Edit: and please, what the hell is a "vertical marketing segment manager"?
    Last edited by Tristuskhan; 09-02-2008 at 22:03.
    "Les Cons ça ose tout, c'est même à ça qu'on les reconnait"

    Kentoc'h Mervel Eget Bezañ Saotret - Death feels better than stain, motto of the Breton People. Emgann!

  7. #7
    Jillian & Allison's Daddy Senior Member Don Corleone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Athens, GA
    Posts
    7,588

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Quote Originally Posted by Tristuskhan View Post
    Alright, the "best" I've found is Rennes 7h20 PM to Nantes and then Nantes 8h46 Pm to Bordeaux, arriving at 0h43. Travalling by night is almost impossible in western France... and all the rail network is becoming centered on Paris.

    And: no phrasebook, just learn a few, very few words and most will be very happy to use the few english he or she knows to help you.

    Thank you, sir. I suppose a rental car might be another option. You folks drive on the right, correct?
    "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
    Don Vito Corleone: The Godfather, Part 1.

    "Then wait for them and swear to God in heaven that if they spew that bull to you or your family again you will cave there heads in with a sledgehammer"
    Strike for the South

  8. #8
    Incorruptible Forest Manager Member Tristuskhan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Oaks and Menhirs, Brittany
    Posts
    808

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Usually, yes. And please, answer my call, can you eat a "vertical marketing segment manager"?

    re-edit: driving from Rennes to Bordeaux is an easy 5 hours trip.
    Last edited by Tristuskhan; 09-02-2008 at 22:09.
    "Les Cons ça ose tout, c'est même à ça qu'on les reconnait"

    Kentoc'h Mervel Eget Bezañ Saotret - Death feels better than stain, motto of the Breton People. Emgann!

  9. #9
    Darkside Medic Senior Member rory_20_uk's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Taplow, UK
    Posts
    8,688
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Concerning trips to France: don't

    An enemy that wishes to die for their country is the best sort to face - you both have the same aim in mind.
    Science flies you to the moon, religion flies you into buildings.
    "If you can't trust the local kleptocrat whom you installed by force and prop up with billions of annual dollars, who can you trust?" Lemur
    If you're not a liberal when you're 25, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the time you're 35, you have no brain.
    The best argument against democracy is a five minute talk with the average voter. Winston Churchill

  10. #10
    Incorruptible Forest Manager Member Tristuskhan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Oaks and Menhirs, Brittany
    Posts
    808

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Quote Originally Posted by rory_20_uk View Post
    Concerning trips to France: don't

    I wish all the Brits could think like you do No more carbinized redheads on the beach!
    "Les Cons ça ose tout, c'est même à ça qu'on les reconnait"

    Kentoc'h Mervel Eget Bezañ Saotret - Death feels better than stain, motto of the Breton People. Emgann!

  11. #11
    Senior Member Senior Member Brenus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Wokingham
    Posts
    3,523

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    No phrase books:
    If you are not good, they will not understand the question.
    If you've got it right, you won't undestand the answer...
    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. Voltaire.

    "I've been in few famous last stands, lad, and they're butcher shops. That's what Blouse's leading you into, mark my words. What'll you lot do then? We've had a few scuffles, but that's not war. Think you'll be man enough to stand, when the metal meets the meat?"
    "You did, sarge", said Polly." You said you were in few last stands."
    "Yeah, lad. But I was holding the metal"
    Sergeant Major Jackrum 10th Light Foot Infantery Regiment "Inns-and-Out"

  12. #12
    The Usual Member Ice's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Northville, Michigan
    Posts
    4,259

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Learn French, Don. Maybe it was because I reaked off an American, but I would always try the "Excuse me, do you speak English? or "Excuse me, where is ____________", and the response would usually be negative.

    Edit: in french of course
    Last edited by Ice; 09-03-2008 at 00:18.



  13. #13
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Saint Antoine
    Posts
    9,935

    Default Re : Re: Travel advice within France

    NM.

    Last edited by Louis VI the Fat; 09-03-2008 at 01:01.
    Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
    Texan by birth, woodpecker by the grace of God
    I would be the voice of your conscience if you had one - Brenus
    Bt why woulf we uy lsn'y Staraft - Fragony
    Not everything
    blue and underlined is a link


  14. #14
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Saint Antoine
    Posts
    9,935

    Post Re : Travel advice within France

    I found:

    Rennes - Nantes - Bordeaux
    17:36 - 18:52 - 23:04
    € 94.

    Rennes - Paris
    17:05 - 19:10
    Paris - Bordeaux
    19:25 - 22:29
    € 192 total.

    Going to Paris and then taking the TGV to Bordeaux is faster but more expensive. Five and a half hours is the fastest I can find by train. You'll hardly beat that by car - Rennes to Bordeaux is, I think, 400 kilometers. You can fly, but strangely, the fastest I can find takes three and a half hours flying time alone. Probably via Orly then.


    And French are rude in any language. If you enjoy the fine art of intricate insults, learn French. If non-verbal rudeness alone is quite enough for your liking, don't bother with learning French just for a trip.
    Last edited by Louis VI the Fat; 09-03-2008 at 00:41.
    Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
    Texan by birth, woodpecker by the grace of God
    I would be the voice of your conscience if you had one - Brenus
    Bt why woulf we uy lsn'y Staraft - Fragony
    Not everything
    blue and underlined is a link


  15. #15
    Incorruptible Forest Manager Member Tristuskhan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Oaks and Menhirs, Brittany
    Posts
    808

    Default Re: Re : Re: Travel advice within France

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat View Post
    It's a business term. What's business, I hear you think? It's what we people outside of Bretagne do during daytime. Just why Don thinks he should go on a business trip to Rennes is beyond me, but I'll indulge him, seeing as the goal is to get to Bordeaux as fast as possible.

    The fastest way by train I think is via Paris indeed. Just the way the rail lines are build. The fast rail lines (TGV) all run to and from Paris as a hub. France is not a country, it's a city-state. Everything runs via Paris. The only other city that matters is Bordeaux, prettier than Paris and recently fully restored to boot. Only three hours and €90 away from Montparnasse.
    From Rennes I think a weekly horse carriage goes to Paris to deliver produce, but I'm not sure if you can hitch a ride. I wouldn't rely on renting a car in Rennes - it would be just your luck to discover that the locals need that one car in town for harvesting or something.
    Listen to the wise advice of Not' Bon Maître Louis, Don! Just try to stay in the Montparnasse station while in Paris, or you may get drowned in Parisian's spit in just a two minute's time. They don't like the smell of horse dung people arriving from Brittany have. Especially when those people are from the US. And well: don't touch any Parisian since they carry various infectious deseases. Like arrogance, superficality, dry skin and so on....


    Edit: and smallpox, I forgot that. Good luck.
    Last edited by Tristuskhan; 09-03-2008 at 00:54.
    "Les Cons ça ose tout, c'est même à ça qu'on les reconnait"

    Kentoc'h Mervel Eget Bezañ Saotret - Death feels better than stain, motto of the Breton People. Emgann!

  16. #16
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Saint Antoine
    Posts
    9,935

    Default Re : Travel advice within France

    Sorry.

    The internet, the written word is not a good vehicle for teases and banter. When will I learn.
    Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
    Texan by birth, woodpecker by the grace of God
    I would be the voice of your conscience if you had one - Brenus
    Bt why woulf we uy lsn'y Staraft - Fragony
    Not everything
    blue and underlined is a link


  17. #17
    Incorruptible Forest Manager Member Tristuskhan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Oaks and Menhirs, Brittany
    Posts
    808

    Default Re: Re : Travel advice within France

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat View Post
    Sorry.

    The internet, the written word is not a good vehicle for teases and banter. When will I learn.
    Louis? Are you sick? becoming too sensitive? I thought pollution had given you some kind of bulletproof armour... Come on, boy, get back on your horse and charge!
    Last edited by Tristuskhan; 09-03-2008 at 01:15.
    "Les Cons ça ose tout, c'est même à ça qu'on les reconnait"

    Kentoc'h Mervel Eget Bezañ Saotret - Death feels better than stain, motto of the Breton People. Emgann!

  18. #18
    Jillian & Allison's Daddy Senior Member Don Corleone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Athens, GA
    Posts
    7,588

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Come on Louis, Tristuskhan... I thought I was the one thing that brought you Parisians and Provinicials together in unity... scorn and contempt for the unwashed masses arriving from the West. :usa:

    Just kidding. A vertical segment marketing manager.... In my company there's two ways to organize your business strategy. One is by the products themselves. That's a horizontal segment. A guy who makes plans on these sorts of things is a horizontal segment marketing guy. That's be me, in my case, also manager. A vertical segment is a business unit that's aligned by the customer's end market for your products: basestations, video displays, donkey kong machines... whatever you're going to use as a vehicle to flood the market with your chips. A vertical segment market manager sets the company's strategy up along those lines. That'd be Mr. "I've always wanted to get lost taking the trains in Western France".

    I don't think I can learn French in 2 weeks. But I can learn hopefully enough phrases to be polite. And I'm all about self-effacing humor, something that seems to trump in spades among the French.
    "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
    Don Vito Corleone: The Godfather, Part 1.

    "Then wait for them and swear to God in heaven that if they spew that bull to you or your family again you will cave there heads in with a sledgehammer"
    Strike for the South

  19. #19
    master of the pwniverse Member Fragony's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    The EUSSR
    Posts
    30,680

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Quote Originally Posted by Don Corleone View Post
    Thank you, sir. I suppose a rental car might be another option. You folks drive on the right, correct?
    If you go by car make sure you have one of these fluorising jackets, if your car breaks down you need it for the police they get nasty if you don't. But driving in the west of France is a nightmare, TGV from Paris takes only 4 hours, and isn't that expensive if you make reservation. Added benefit, you can say you have been in the greatest city on the face of the planet, oh paris je t'aime
    Last edited by Fragony; 09-03-2008 at 06:58.

  20. #20
    Spirit King Senior Member seireikhaan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Iowa, USA.
    Posts
    7,065
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    TGV.

    I took it when on vacation a couple years ago, it was great. 4 hours from Nice on the cote d'azure to Paris, and quiet enough that if you want to take a nap, its quite possible. I dunno about an exact cost though, as I wasn't the one paying. Make sure to not buy anything on the train though, prices were terribly expensive for basic food or drink. So I would sneak something on to snack on if you can manage it.
    It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.

  21. #21
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Saint Antoine
    Posts
    9,935

    Default Re : Travel advice within France

    Will you be spending some time in Bordeaux, Don?













    Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
    Texan by birth, woodpecker by the grace of God
    I would be the voice of your conscience if you had one - Brenus
    Bt why woulf we uy lsn'y Staraft - Fragony
    Not everything
    blue and underlined is a link


  22. #22
    Senior Member Senior Member Brenus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Wokingham
    Posts
    3,523

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Child pictures in the net? Louis?
    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. Voltaire.

    "I've been in few famous last stands, lad, and they're butcher shops. That's what Blouse's leading you into, mark my words. What'll you lot do then? We've had a few scuffles, but that's not war. Think you'll be man enough to stand, when the metal meets the meat?"
    "You did, sarge", said Polly." You said you were in few last stands."
    "Yeah, lad. But I was holding the metal"
    Sergeant Major Jackrum 10th Light Foot Infantery Regiment "Inns-and-Out"

  23. #23
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Saint Antoine
    Posts
    9,935

    Default Re : Travel advice within France

    Quote Originally Posted by Brenus View Post
    Child pictures in the net? Louis?
    I my mind, I live in a parallel universe where pictures of children playing with water on a sunny day is associated with innocent fun and childlike amusement.


    The idea was to make people / Don curious about what those pics are all about anyway. Not that anybody is remotely interested, but I have a few minutes to spare so I'll post a video and some pics anyway just because I wouldn't want to waste this fine opportunity to make to make the rest of the world envious of the grandness and beauty of France.


    Bordeaux is the prettiest city in France, this is the prettiest part of BX. It's a 'water mirror'. It is build between the city and the river, to visually connect the two. The stilness of the water gives a beautiful reflection of the city when strolling along the river. A stillness, that was, until people discovered that three centimeters of water and mist spraying machines make for splendid toys. A bit of sun, and the whole city moves to the quay to splash around in it, get soaked, run through the mist and otherwise amuse themselves in childish ways with this 'work of art'. Sheer bliss.

    Videos:
    Magique à Bordeaux - after 1:00 a beautiful water ballet hot chicks with wet shirts.

    Urban wakeboarding





    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



    Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
    Texan by birth, woodpecker by the grace of God
    I would be the voice of your conscience if you had one - Brenus
    Bt why woulf we uy lsn'y Staraft - Fragony
    Not everything
    blue and underlined is a link


  24. #24
    Senior Member Senior Member Brenus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Wokingham
    Posts
    3,523

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    I understand.
    But living in England makes you paranoid about this kind of things...
    Health and safety things... They forbid sports at school because it could be dangerous, then complaign about child obesity...

    I can't take apicture of my grand daughter in her bath... They made all adult a potentail pedophile.
    A toddler drawn few day ago, in a pound. A adult saw her going there but didn't dare to intervene. What would have happened to him if somebody would have seen him chasing a toddler?

    The kids now bully adults in the street in maning them pedophile if they try to say something about a litter in the street. In croydon a police patrol was attacked by a mob because they ask a teenager to put the paper she just dropped in the bin...
    The immediat reaction from the police Head Quarter was "do NOT atagonise the teenagers"...

    It is so good to be protected...
    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. Voltaire.

    "I've been in few famous last stands, lad, and they're butcher shops. That's what Blouse's leading you into, mark my words. What'll you lot do then? We've had a few scuffles, but that's not war. Think you'll be man enough to stand, when the metal meets the meat?"
    "You did, sarge", said Polly." You said you were in few last stands."
    "Yeah, lad. But I was holding the metal"
    Sergeant Major Jackrum 10th Light Foot Infantery Regiment "Inns-and-Out"

  25. #25
    master of the pwniverse Member Fragony's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    The EUSSR
    Posts
    30,680

    Default Re: Re : Travel advice within France

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat View Post
    It's a 'water mirror'. It is build between the city and the river, to visually connect the two. The stilness of the water gives a beautiful reflection of the city when strolling along the river. A stillness, that was, until people discovered that three centimeters of water and mist spraying machines make for splendid toys. A bit of sun, and the whole city moves to the quay to splash around in it, get soaked, run through the mist and otherwise amuse themselves in childish ways with this 'work of art'. Sheer bliss.
    That is simply amazing.

    edit; everybody will want to know where the music is from; 'In the mood for love', chinese movie that you need to see.
    Last edited by Fragony; 09-07-2008 at 10:14.

  26. #26
    Jillian & Allison's Daddy Senior Member Don Corleone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Athens, GA
    Posts
    7,588

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    I desparately wish I had time to spend in Bordeaux, but alas, it won't work for us. I think the train to Paris and out to Bordeaux winds up being the same amount time traveling, but because the train doesn't leave until 6pm, we wouldn't get in to Bordeaux until 11, and we have to be up at 5:30 the next morning. By driving, we can leave at 3:30/4:00PM ish, and get in around 9AM.

    I've always wanted to go to France, but I'm afraid this is going to be a typical tour for me... the airport, the inside of a car, the hotel and a few assorted conference rooms.
    "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
    Don Vito Corleone: The Godfather, Part 1.

    "Then wait for them and swear to God in heaven that if they spew that bull to you or your family again you will cave there heads in with a sledgehammer"
    Strike for the South

  27. #27
    Jillian & Allison's Daddy Senior Member Don Corleone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Athens, GA
    Posts
    7,588

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    Yay, it turns out I won't be driving to Toulouse after all. Rebooking the flight was going to add $1000 to my ticket price. So I'll have about 4 hours to kill in Bordeaux, (my flight to Munich is at 5:55 so I'll probably need to be at the airport by 4:30PM). Any recommendations on what a foreigner should do with 4 hours in Bordeaux?

    Merci.
    "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
    Don Vito Corleone: The Godfather, Part 1.

    "Then wait for them and swear to God in heaven that if they spew that bull to you or your family again you will cave there heads in with a sledgehammer"
    Strike for the South

  28. #28
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Saint Antoine
    Posts
    9,935

    Default Re : Travel advice within France

    Quote Originally Posted by Don Corleone View Post
    I desparately wish I had time to spend in Bordeaux, but alas, it won't work for us. I think the train to Paris and out to Bordeaux winds up being the same amount time traveling, but because the train doesn't leave until 6pm, we wouldn't get in to Bordeaux until 11, and we have to be up at 5:30 the next morning. By driving, we can leave at 3:30/4:00PM ish, and get in around 9AM.
    Don! This is France! Trains run every few minutes. You can take the train at 15:05, and be in Bordeaux before 9PM.

    French trains are quick, reliable and safe!

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    I am happy you have decided on not renting a car. Me, if I were you, I'd get myself a nice first class train ticket, a fine glass of wine, and watch the landscape whizz by your window. What could be more relaxing?
    Alas, you'll be travelling trough the boring part of France. Flat, agricultural and build up. But if you're anything like me, you'll find even foreign traffic lights endlessly fascinating.

    ~~~~

    Four hours in Bordeaux is short. Oooh!
    I think you should just opt for a nice city stroll. There is little in Bordeaux that you must see before you die. No Louvre, Versailles, Big Ben or Colloseum. Bordeaux does have a very pleasant, very pretty and very compact city centre. You can soak up quit a bit in a few hours.
    My tip; don't be 'American' about it. Don't rush, don't try to do it all. Just relax, have a cup of coffee somewhere too, take your time if you see something interesting. Bordeaux has the grandeur of Paris and the atmosphere of provincial France. You just can't go wrong.

    I'm sure some travel guide has a good city walk. I am trying the net, but with not much luck.

    What would be interesting, is if you get to see a bit of Rennes too. You'll know you're in Europe - 400 kilometers distance means two different worlds. Rennes is Brittany, northern, above the great dividing 'rooftop' line in France. Bordeaux is southern, the proximity of Spain is notable.

    Rennes is rather pretty too. And you'll do a stopover in Paris. If you go up from Montparnasse - your train station - you're right in the city centre, just a few hundred meters away from the Eiffel tower and les Invalides. I can't believe you're travelling to all these places, first time in France at that, and you don't have the time to properly explore them.
    Last edited by Louis VI the Fat; 09-10-2008 at 19:16.
    Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
    Texan by birth, woodpecker by the grace of God
    I would be the voice of your conscience if you had one - Brenus
    Bt why woulf we uy lsn'y Staraft - Fragony
    Not everything
    blue and underlined is a link


  29. #29
    Jillian & Allison's Daddy Senior Member Don Corleone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Athens, GA
    Posts
    7,588

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    I think I've confused you. Right now, unless I can talk my rather stubborn co-worker into turning the car in when we're in Rennes, the car, not the train is the plan. *bleah* I'm with you... I would be all about the train. In truth, if you want to understand Americans, take a road trip. If you want to understand Europeans, take the train.

    I get to Rennes on Sunday, will be there from noon until sleep finally catches me. Monday will be all visits, then getting ourselves to Bordeaux. Since the trip down to Toulouse (which I also really wanted to see) would be prohibitively expensive, I'm actually just going to kill the afternoon in Bordeaux, then move along to Munich.

    I agree. I'm just going to wander downtown, a coffee, perhaps a glass of wine, a nice lunch at a cafe, then mosie to the airport.

    You know Louis, you should meet me in Rennes. You could play cultural attache. I'm sure I could expense a hell of an afternoon in Rennes' finer cafes.
    "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."
    Don Vito Corleone: The Godfather, Part 1.

    "Then wait for them and swear to God in heaven that if they spew that bull to you or your family again you will cave there heads in with a sledgehammer"
    Strike for the South

  30. #30
    Needs more flowers Moderator drone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Moral High Grounds
    Posts
    9,276

    Default Re: Travel advice within France

    How far is Colleville-sur-Mer from Rennes by car? It's the opposite direction from Bordeaux, but it doesn't look too far away on Google Maps (distances can be deceiving in rural driving, though). I've always regretted not going there when I was living in the UK.
    Last edited by drone; 09-11-2008 at 05:09.
    The .Org's MTW Reference Guide Wiki - now taking comments, corrections, suggestions, and submissions

    If I werent playing games Id be killing small animals at a higher rate than I am now - SFTS
    Si je n'étais pas jouer à des jeux que je serais mort de petits animaux à un taux plus élevé que je suis maintenant - Louis VI The Fat

    "Why do you hate the extremely limited Spartan version of freedom?" - Lemur

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO