Raga Four
THE MICHIGAN DAILY -TRAVEL SOPPLEMENT
Saturday, April 17, 19 la
Page Four fHE MICHIGAN DAILY -TRAVEL SUPPLEMENT Saturday. Aoril 17. 197w
Everything iL
(continued from page 1) Hitching is undependable, but
leader). P e o p 1 e usually like you can't beat the cost. Single
Europe on $5 and $10 a Day or women are most successful, bu
Let's Go: Europe. Remember face the greatest danger. Two
that hundreds of thousands will women will probably have good
also be reading about the bar- luck. A single man has the next
gains in that book, while only best chance, although a man
Daily readers have access to woman couple may or may not
the following information. be lucky. Two men should keep
There are several ways to on reading .. .
travel once you have arrived in If you like to bike, France
Paris. If you want to stretch will be your paradise on earth
those francs, here are a few Bikes can be taken on trains
general rules. when your legs get tired, but
1. Leave Paris, the situation for cyclists is so
much better than in the U.S.
2. Travel with a miserly com- mtht ertainheUS
panion. (This really does make t you may never get tired.
a difference.) "Biking in Southern Europe is
3. Give in to the fact that really nice," notes Tom McMur-
you're not going to see every- trie, who took a 150-mile bike
thing this time around. trip from Aix to Nice last year
From cheapest to most ex- to see the Mardis Gras with
pensive, methods of travel are: two companions.
hitching, biking, buses, trains, { "The distances are smaller,
and in your own or rented car. the roads are more scenic and
t
sh expensive
t the drivers are more respect-
e ful," he adds.
t You can buy your bike in
a France for about the same as
d here, or you can take your own
t bike on the plane. There are
- two money advantages to this
t mode of travel.
First of all, once you have the
bike, in theory your food costs
e and your fuel costs are one in
the same.
Secondly, you can camp en
t route, and save a bundle on
hotel costs. Camping is very'
popular in France, and you can
hit a commercial c a m p s i t e
severy few days if you need a
shower. Or you can try a mod-
erately-priced youth hostel ($2-
$4) if you feel the urge for a
matress of the non-air variety.!
Be sure to get an international
youth hosteling card (ask at
U-M International Center) be-f
fore you leave.
Pat Harroun and a friend took
a tour of about 500 miles from
the Pays Basque in southwest-
ern France up the west coast'
through Britanny and Norman-
dy. After an initial outlay of $50
for "the only used bike in Bor-
deaux" (a Peugeot 8-speed), she
spent a minimum of money for "FLYWHEEL"
a very enjoyable trip. She had France during a
a unique way of finding a place ings.
to stay in the evening for her.
except for sights and sounds
&tdventu,
*49%
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Vh
McMURTRIE, front, and brothers Bob and Ken Koss take a break in southern
150 mile bicycle trip. It has to be France-look at all the strange surround-
friend and herself:
BACKPACKING
CANOEING
CROSS COUNTRY SKIING
ECOSYSTEMS ANALYSIS
GEOLOGY
HORSEPACKING
KAYAKING
MOUNTAINEERING
ORIENTEERING
OUTDOOR SKILLS
PIONEER & PRIMITIVE
CRAFTS
SAILING
SCUBA & SNORKEL
DIVING
SNOW SHOEING
SURVIVAL SKILLS
URBAN STUDIES
For more information about our other outdoors trips,
with on emphasis on the earth, cal or write.
Name
Address
City & State & Zip
"Sometimes, if you k n o w
French, you can ask a farmer
to camp in the corner of a
pasture," she explains.
But not all of us are born to
pedal. Next to bicycles, buses
are the cheapest, but often they
are slow. Bus transportation is
also more frequently convenient
for short distances, although
long-distance autocars, as they
are called in France, can be
found. (Weary bikers can store
their velos with the luggage if
they want.)
Next stop, the trains. They are
usually very fast and depend-
able, but moderately expensive.
Be sure to buy a second-class
ticket, and don't get caught in
the first class cars. If you are
on a budget, avoid the TEE
(Trans-Europe Express), a high-
speed luxury super-train, be-
cause all seats are first-class
and you will have to pay dearly
,for all the glitter and prestige.
ROUND RIVER ADVENTURES
1130 Nielsen Ct., Apt. 1
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105
769-2556
If you want to become a train can travel free in second-class
buff, buy a CHAIX. This book, cars, except in the country
available in any librairie (book- where you bought it. There you
store), is a very detailed sched- get a 50 per cent discount. An
ule of all trains and many bus- ideal way to use Inter-Rail is
es. A couple of hours of study to take the Icelandic Airlines
and a rudimentary knowledge flight to Luxembourg and buy
of French will enable you to the pass there. Since Luxem-
figure out how to go anywhere, bourg is about the size of Ann
anytime. And it gives you some- Arbor, your train fares won't
thing to read on the train. add up to much.
There are train passes you Depending on your situation,
can buy: Forget about the a car can be worth it. Hertz and
Eurailpass, it's a one-month Avis have colonized France via
first-class ticket, and priced ac- heavy investment, and there are
cordingly. If you have more many French rental enterprises,
time than money, consider a especially on the local level.
Student Railpass, which gives This is something to think about,
you unlimited second-class tra- but there are problems you
vel for about the same price as should know about.
the Eurailpass. See the Inter- Usually you have to be 25 orl
tional Center for details. older to legally rent. This is
Another possibility is an In sometimes overlooked, but don't
Another pss wibchyousan count on being an exception to
terRail pass, which you can the rule. Another drawback is
buy only in Europe (at the train .Antedrwaki
at the price of gas: it's much high-
stations). For this you need a er in France.I
ISID card. For about $100, you If you are really adventurous
and traveling with a few friends,
you should consider the eco-'
nomical option of buying a used
Citroen 2-chevaux (2-cv in the
classifieds) and reselling it be-
fore you leave.
"A cross between a VW and
a cow" is how Bob Koss, who
has biked and driven through
France, dgscribes this car. It
[ truly is ugly, but it is one of the
most solid and practical cars
ever built. The 2-cv will hold
four people and their light lug-
gage, and give you around 50,
- ~ m -o
mpg (your mileage may vary).
And it is truly French, some-
thing to give you a common
bond with young people there.
No matter how you travel, you
should have a map. By far t
best are Michelin, which are at-
tractively designed and super-
bly detailed. There are regional
and national maps.
Also, think about a Guide
Michelin. The red books are res-
taurant guides, and the green
books are tour guides, and
more. The additional informa-
tion in the green book is enough
to help you ace any French his-
tory course when you return to
school.
Now that you know how you're
getting there and ways to get
around, you really ought to de-
cide where you're going.
Franck Moison, a native of
Nantes in Britanny, recommends
his region.
"A province influenced by the
sea," remarks the avid sailing
buff, "it's the best part of
France because the pace of liv-
ing is still very reasonable."
lie notes that the people, who
are Celtic, have a strong sense
of identity and heritage in com-
mon with the English, Irish,
Scottish and Welsh.
Less developed than Paris or
industrial northern France, Brit-
tany offers lower prices, friend-
lier people and an incomparable
seacoast, Franck says. A couple
of his favorite places are Beno-
det, where you can get "the best
crepes in France" and l'Ile de
Belle Ile, which you can reach
by boat from the Presqu'ile de
Quibron. You can camp on the
island, and supposedly it isn't
too-hard to meet people there.
Or you might want to visit the
beach at La Baule, which
Franck believes to be "the most
beautiful beach in Europe." The
action starts there in July, and
it is expensive, but cheaper than
the Riviera.
The special Breton attraction
is the "fest-noz," a festival
which occurs throughout the
province, and is advertised pub-
licly.
Pat Harroun, the cyclist who
crashes in farmer's fields, loved
the Basque Country in south-
western France.
"The people wear big, big
hats," s h e s a y s. "They're
charming." Almost everyone has
relatives in the U.S., she found,
and they are friendly to Aieri-
cans, something not found every-,
where in France.
She enjoyed the town of Ba-
yonne, and also recommended
St. Pee sur Nivelle and St. Jean
Pied de Port, just for touring.
There's not all that much to do
in the Basque Country, she says,
but it is a relaxing and unusual
experience to visit this area in
the midst of the Pyrenees. She
especially liked Pau.
"It's just ancient," she says.
"A lot of old things to look at.
A nice day would be spent
there."
Anne Laroche comes from
Bordeaux, but she has been go-
ing to the University in Aix-en-
Provence and knows that region
well. She suggests visiting the
gypsy festival (les Gitans) in
May at Les Stes. Maries de la
mer. Afterwards, you should
tour the adjacent Camargue, a
huge and beautiful wildlife pre-
serve, by bike or car. This is
just west of Marseilles.
Paul O'Donnell, who has
spent several years studying
at Aix, recommends The Pont
du Gard, a tremendous bridge
built by the ancient Romans.
"For me it's one of the things
to see in Provence," he says.
Don't miss Aix - there are
plenty of Americans there. The
Mont St. Victoire is right on
the outskirts. It is the most
bourgeois town in the world,
and should be seen for that rea-
son alone (all the Marseilles'
gangsters live there, like in a
suburb, so they go out of their
way to keep the bedroom town
clean as a whistle.)
Paul also suggested a trip
to St. Remy de Provence,
where Vincent van Gogh cut
off his ear and gave it to a
prostitute during his stay at
the, psychiatric hospital there.
Provence is a crazy place,
but, having lived there for a
year myself, I can assure you
it is the most beautiful area
in France.
Laura Freedman has travel-
led in many parts of France,
and her favorite spot is the Al-
pine village of Chamonix, right
on the Swiss border. It's worth
seeing even in the sumner, she
says, and not as expensive as
you would expect.
"You can always get a good,
cheap lunch by going to the
local marche," she adds, refer-
ring to the open-air food mar-
kets found in virtually every
city or village in France. In
Chamonix, you can eat your
lunch with Mont Blanc in the
background.
She also likes Gordes, in the
Vaucluse area of Provence.
"It's like a quaint little vil-
lage built with the church on
the top of the hill," she re-
members.
"I've been warning you to
write about Paris, but if you're
going to ignore my advice, go
to the City of Lights and shoot
your wad anyway, you might
as well know some interesting
places.
Money goes like water through
a sieve in Paris. I know. I've
gone broke twice there.
Didier Nedjar, a student from
Paris, offers advice on how to
have a moderately (rather than
very) expensive good time in
Paris.
For cheap restaurant meals,
he suggests you buy the menu
("blue-plate special") at a cafe
at noon, which will cost you
only $2 or $3, rather than $$S
or $10 (at a restaurant). Also
inexpensive are the numerous
Vietnamese restaurants, espe-
cially in the Latin Quarter.
The nicest cafe in all of
Paris, in Didier's opinion, is
the Cafe de Flore, o Boule-
vard St. Germain, opposite the
church of St. Germain. But
don't order more than an ex-
presso, he warns. Then you can
sit and watch a while.
First-run movies in the Latin
Quarter are cheaper weeknights
and during the day. Bars at
night are outrageous - about
$5 a drink, $2 just for a coke or
beer.
But, if you must do it up
right, you could try Rosebud,
on rue Delambre (near Boule-
vard Montparnasse) for an af-
ter - theatre - snack and a cos-
mopolitan crowd. A new place
for dancing and drinking is
Broadway Melody, on rue de la
Ferronerie (metro: Chatelet).
This place is primarily but not
exclusively gay. Didier knows
the owner, Jean-Claude Detais,
and invites you to mention his
name and see what happens.
A real American pick-up
place, complet with real-Amer-
icans, is Harry's New York
Bar. Find it yourself and good
luck.
And that leads us beck to
the U. S. You may be slightly
confused after you return, but
you won't regret the trip. So
practice up on your French.
And bon voyage!
I I
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Backpacking-camping and mountaineering equipment
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