jpie

Thanks all-those are all great suggestions. We are lucky that since we almost always lease a car for 6 months we have done lots of road trips. We have driven from Gothenburg to Brittany. Charentes to southern Spain and back, explored lake Maggiore from the west of France, Lyon and then down all the way to Roses, Spain and then further afield like Berlin and Prague. So we actually adore the kind of slow and looooong road trip. kerouac has it right that in the big cities the car becomes a burden. I am the queen of finding cheap parking deals during the summer months-Paris actually has some really good ones normally. Luckily this summer for the time we will be in Paris, we will have a garage at our friend's apartment we will be renting, so that will be great. We do have to make it a loop this year from Paris and back to Paris for personal reasons, stuff we have to do and people to meet, etc.

Since I also may have a couple of random work related events I may need to go to, we need to leave it pretty flexible til at least late May, so we will probably end up at more "citadine" kind of places rather than "airbnb" type of places that are hard or impossible to cancel. Right now, I am kind of thinking Alsace, Baden Bade then up towards Berlin and maybe even Hamburg and then smaller cities in the Netherlands and Belgium. Are there smaller cities or towns in Belgium or Netherlands that come to mind. I know someone mentioned Spa, so I will add that to my list to research. I have heard good things about Ghent. We have been to Brugges but would of course re-visit. We haven't explored any place outside Amsterdam. Are Eindhoven or Delft or other places worth a look?

Anyway thanks again-as I said we know a lot about countries west and south of France but not so much of the north and east even though I have driven (sometimes alone without DH)pretty far afield-but on most of those trips it was business and I was just driving, not visiting

jpie

Oh I meant to add @ Cindy_McGregor, I actually like German food-or most of it. It is only that I already look a little too much like a German dumpling already My svelte French hubby on the other hand, who can afford a schnitzel or two, is pretty French/Italian. Mediterranean-centric. Probably why we spend more time in Italy and Spain than the East!

Gardyloo

Maybe off the wall and too late anyway, but how do you feel about driving on the "other" side of the road? Scottish Highlands? Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland coast? West Country and the Welsh borders?

Stop in Belgium on the way coming or going, ferry from Hoek to Harwich or (longer) Zeebruge to Hull, bypass London traffic either way. Just a thought.

jpie

Actually not too late. We could consider that-although we kitty sat 2 years back in the Cotswolds for friends so we did at least make it as far as Bath. I have been to Scotland although Dh hasn't so I will run it by him!

Gardyloo

<i>We could consider that-although we kitty sat 2 years back in the Cotswolds for friends so we did at least make it as far as Bath. I have been to Scotland although Dh hasn't so I will run it by him!</i>

If it was me... (how many Fodor's posts does <i>that</i> echo?) I'd look at something like this:

Cross from Hoek to Harwich and spend a few days exploring East Anglia and Cambridge. IMO this is one of England's most picturesque areas, and starting in Harwich you're minutes away from villages like Lavenham or Kersey - little chocolate boxes.

Visit Cambridge, then head north and visit some cathedral towns like Ely and Lincoln, then north to York and the Yorkshire Dales. Swing back through (awesome) Durham and out to the North Sea and visit the stunning Northumberland coast - Alnwick, Bamburgh, Lindisfarne (aka Holy Isle) and into Scotland.

You could spend a few days around Edinburgh. (With a car you could stay out of town and avoid the traffic and expense of staying in the city - I prefer to stay in South Queensferry and train/tram into town, but your call.)

Then north into the Highlands - you could do a big loop heading north through Aberdeen and whisky country, then up to the far north and northwest - wild, magnificent, and empty. Then back down the west side with visits or stays on one of the Inner Hebrides - Skye, Mull, Islay... before heading south through Glasgow and down back into England. Maybe visit the Lake District if you haven't had your fill of mountains and lochs farther north, or hug the Welsh border with its fabulous market towns and villages...

Or you could pick and choose from all of the above. Distances are not too great, and the variety is enormous within a pretty small area.

Mimar

Now Gardyloo's suggestion would make a wonderful trip. Lots to do and see in a relatively small area. I salivate at the thought.

But you would be driving a LHD car on RHD roads. Would that be a problem for you?

jpie

We drove a LHD on RHD roads a few years back. It wasn't too bad, certainly not as difficult as some of the traffic we encountered in southern England especially, or some of the teeny little roads. I do love Scotland so that might really be fun. I will add it to the research list

annhig

But you would be driving a LHD car on RHD roads. Would that be a problem for you?>>

we do that all the time [albeit the other way round] when we go to France; you get used to it quite quickly but you have to be careful when you start off in the morning and when you stop e.g. at petrol stations.

it is actually easier to hire a car that has the steering wheel and controls on the correct side of the car for the roads you are driving on than to drive a car set up in the way you are used to because it puts you on the correct place on the carriageway.

Mimar

Of course, there's that little problem of paying at a toll booth when you're on the wrong side. But only if you're driving alone.

jpie

Mimar-you are absolutely right. We noticed it most coming out of pay parking lots. If you don't have a passenger it is extremely challenging!