Home » Greece » Europe 2002, Greece (Second of 5 countries) 8 week trip

This is a work in progress and may not be complete. This is the travelogue of our 8 week journey through Europe in September - October 2003. On this leg we leave Spain and travel to the island of Rhodes Greece through Athens.

Europe 2002, Greece (Second of 5 countries) 8 week trip

Jvi
2004-09-14 12:46:04

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clean and good Bunn-O-Matic coffee........and No Smoking. There were still a couple of people smoking but not too many. We arrived in Rome and had trouble finding where to pick up the Renault we had leased. This was partially my fault as the instructions did say where to go if no one met your plane. The clerk at the desk was on the phone and said she would call the Renault company for me. She forgot and after 30 minutes I reminded her. We waited 90 minutes before the car arrived and the agent apologized, said he had not been told the flight we were to be on. We did the Renault lease again at Christmas (2002) and made sure the incoming flight was on the paper work and we were met timely.

It's sort of strange meeting someone in a snack shop, signing a bunch of papers and then getting the keys for a new car. It was easier than renting. The agent made sure I knew it had very little gas and where I could buy some. We were off to the Castle Montgualandro on the border of Tuscany and Umbria.

I've leased a car twice from Renault now and if you want to have a new car, with zero deductible insurance, and you need the car for at least 17 days and not more than 180, this is the way to go. The car is registered in your name, it's brand new, you can choose an automatic with air conditioning, whatever. You can drop it off and pick it up almost anywhere (there is a charge for locations outside France), you have trip interruption insurance, zero deductible collision damage coverage, liability coverage. The car is brand new. We are doing the same thing in September 2003. I highly recommend it. The main cost is in the first 17 days and it only cost us 18 Euro per day after that. Christine wanted to drive an automatic and automatics cost a lot to rent. This was much better. We got a Renault Clio. You must be from outside the European Union to avail yourself of this bargain.

If you are driving clockwise around Roma, please remember, exits 9 and 10 are combined so when you see 9, get off if you want exit 10 for Firenze. On the road to Firenze we zipped along at 120 kilometers per hour when suddenly all traffic stopped and we sat there for one hour. People got out and talked, there was even a water fight. We figured it was an accident as we found out later that the police just stop traffic when there is an accident and don't let anyone drive through until they clean it up.

That's all for now, more to come as we explore Umbria, Lake Transimeno, Cortona, Tuscany, the Cinque Terre, Provence, France, Normandy, Honfeur, Bayeaux and Bruges, Belgium.

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