Today, my family should arrive to Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG). I get in the car and punch CDG into the GPS. The female voice (I call her “Fifi”) directs me in a direction that I do not think is correct but I go along. Google maps told me 2.5 hours but the route that Fifi suggests is nearly five! The road gets more and more narrow and limited to 30 and 50 km. After some dead ends – I decide to ignore Fifi and turn up the stereo. I am old enough to be able to use a traditional analogue map and road signs. I can hear Fifi get more and more desperate so I go for the final insult and just shut her off. Somewhere deep down, I know that ignoring a woman like this will come back on me, but soon I am out on the main roads where the signs say Paris. Victory! At next stop, I find the setting that asks Fifi to avoid toll roads. I tell her that I am fine with paying the tolls as long as I get to Paris in time. Avoiding tolls is otherwise not a bad idea here – the tolls are just as expensive as the fuel. After this correction, Fifi and I have the same opinion on the choices.

This is not the fastest way to Paris

I arrive in good time to CDG to park the car, which is good. There is a furious battle between taxis, buses mixed up by confused and stressed (or paralyzed) private drivers that are looking for a parking or going to pick up arrivals. In Paris, they really know how to honk their horns. Finally – I come through and find me a spot and I even have some time to get a cup of coffee and cool down before my family arrive.

Time for a cup of coffee

Seeing my family after a couple of weeks is very nice and Jessica has brought her boyfriend who I never met. It will be good weeks and get to know each other. We get into the car and go west on the long way towards Brest. We decided to stop in Chartres and have a lunch. By coincidence, we park next to their huge cathedral that seems to be this town’s main attraction. We find a nice little restaurant overlooking this truly impressive building before we jump into the car and continue.

The Cathedral in Chartres

The rest of the drive goes with no problem so we roll into Brest just as the sun sets. It is nice to come back to Melody and we start planning the next day’s trip to Benodet. It will be tight since we would like to be at the infamous Raz de Sein before three a clock when the tidal race will turn against both the wind and us. Before that, we should buy food for the next week and return the rental car. It seems doable so we decide to go.

Go west!