Roadside infrastructure
Serving motor travelers is a whole sector of American industry. Many people simply dream of providing you a service - refueling, feeding, sheltering, repairing. Gas stations, small restaurants, repair shops, and motels are located in compact zones at highway exits. Bright billboards warn well in advance of approaching such a zone.
In addition to service zones on highways, there are rest areas. They have convenient parking, a telephone, clean toilets, benches and tables for snacking, and some have drink vending machines. Overnight stays in rest areas are prohibited, and road patrols enforce this. However, not very vigilantly. In the West, customs are harsher than in the relaxed East. In Nevada, there are gas stations where you must pay first and then fuel up. $100 bills are not accepted there (many counterfeit bills), and a "Remington" hangs next to the cash register.
Gasoline in America is as cheap as it is here. About $1.5 per gallon (about 4 liters).
Safety
American drivers are polite and considerate. Cases of rudeness on the roads are extremely rare. If you enter a highway from a secondary road, a car in the right lane will certainly change lanes to free up a lane for you. Nobody cuts into the left lane. Nobody overtakes on the right. Nobody uses the reserved lane, even in traffic jams (especially in traffic jams). Nobody engages in "slalom". And everyone expects the same from you.
Speed limits on American roads are sometimes paradoxical. On Colorado's mountain serpentine, it's 75 mph, while on a straight-as-an-arrow flat road in Texas, it's 55 mph. It all depends on the laws of a particular state. Road police with radars, though not as often as here, do appear. It must be admitted that Americans do not observe the speed limit as scrupulously as other road rules. And who would have the patience to drive an ideal highway in a car with a 6-cylinder engine at 55 mph?
Motels and hotels
If you see a Motel sign, rest assured that a standard set of amenities awaits you: parking, a room with a large bed, shower, toilet, color TV, air conditioning. All this can be had for an average of $30. Telephone, pool, paintings on the walls, breakfast, waterbed, flowerbeds in the courtyard - these are options that vary from motel to motel, slightly increasing in price. But the fact remains: with $30, you can always count on a comfortable night's sleep that even insects will not disturb - the extermination of bedbugs and cockroaches has been elevated here to almost state importance. At gas stations and roadside diners, coupons are distributed that give discounts on motels. In some places, a discount is given to those who check in after 11 p.m.
Finding a motel is not a problem. Even in the southern part of Utah, where there is barely more life than on the Moon, you will have to drive at most 100 miles to the nearest motel.
Food
The old traveler's rule: if you find yourself in an unfamiliar country, you need to resist the temptation to eat at "McDonald's" and choose only local cuisine. In America, there is no need to resist temptation. "McDonald's" is the local cuisine. You can, of course, carefully analyze flavor nuances and try to understand how a hamburger in Iowa differs from a hamburger in Pennsylvania, or how a "Big Mac" differs from some "Combo Royal". But that is a thankless task. Just eat and that's it. You won't get poisoned. Food in America is cheap. For $10 you can have quite a decent snack. If you want to treat yourself and go to an expensive restaurant, don't be surprised if you see the same hamburgers on the menu.
Cities
In America, most cities were built simultaneously with the development of mass motoring. Therefore, driving through American cities by car is a sheer pleasure (everywhere except Manhattan). The streets are wide, traffic organization is simple and convenient. As a rule, parking is not a problem. You can always find a spot, though you have to pay for it. A special traffic police deals with non-payers.
An important difference from our traffic rules: you can make a right turn on a red traffic light.
France
Roads
The road numbering system was probably conceived as simple and clear, but as it was implemented, the French natural passion for fancy details took its toll. Road No. 165 may unexpectedly turn into E 60, and then into D 785. If you relax, you can end up in the middle of nowhere.
A trademark feature of local French roads is the roundabout. Sometimes it seems that all these roundabouts, following every hundred meters, were designed by a maniac who hates simple human intersections. This is especially annoying if you know exactly where you are going and are also in a hurry. But on the other hand, if you are unsure of your route, it is almost impossible to get lost, because there is a list of populated places at each exit from the roundabout. A typical situation: you enter the roundabout and start reading the list. The list is long, the first time you manage to read only the top part, you go around again - you read the middle, you go around a third time, the list is read to the end, and it turns out that the place you need is not on it. You have to go back. The signs with the inscription "toutes directions" - "all directions" are very endearing.
There are many toll roads and they are quite expensive. The pleasure of a breezy drive from Bordeaux to Paris will cost about 50 euros. You can, of course, use free bypass roads, but the nightmare of roundabouts awaits you there. Believe me, it's better to pay.
Roadside infrastructure
Roadside service in France is fine. True, it must be admitted that gas stations are less frequent than in the USA, and sometimes they are "hidden" - there are no bright, intrusive billboards. However, this is rather a plus than a minus. Better to admire the wonderful Norman or Provençal landscapes than the logos of BP or "Total". The main thing is not to let the needle get close to zero. Especially on weekends, when some French gas stations have no staff at all, they operate in automatic mode. You need to pay for gasoline by cards, and many cards, including the "Visa" issued here, the machine for some reason rejects.
Gasoline is expensive, on average 1.1 euros per liter of 95-octane. The price can vary by 10% from one gas station to another. It is most profitable to refuel at supermarkets (0.99 euros per liter). Rest areas on French highways are called Aires. There is the same set of amenities as in America - parking, toilets, telephone, picnic tables. There are "thematic" rest areas. For example, dedicated to birds living in the region, with colorful stands, descriptions of habits, etc. Visiting such an area can be considered a cultural event.
Safety
Statistics inexorably show: on French roads twice as many people die each year as in America. French drivers are almost as polite and considerate, but here the key word is "almost". Almost no one cuts into the left lane, almost no one overtakes on the right, etc.
A separate problem is motorcyclists. There are especially many of them on French highways, and they are especially reckless. It seems that all the fighting spirit of the ancient Gauls and the formidable guards of Napoleon has now taken possession of these adrenaline junkies on "Hondas" and "Kawasakis". Of course, they are the ones who spoil the French statistics the most.
Ancient little old ladies in microscopic "Renaults" and "Fiats" also contribute; they should not even get out of bed, but they drive onto high-speed highways. And the British, who are especially numerous on French roads during the holiday season, also contribute. Due to their habit of left-hand traffic, they always try to veer into a ditch or into the oncoming lane. To be fair, it should be noted that despite motorcyclists, old ladies, and the British, French roads are orders of magnitude safer than our roads.
Motels and hotels
In France, as in some other countries, there is a hotel chain Formula 1 specializing in serving motor travelers. The establishment is a la American motel. Even a room in it costs the same 30 euros. But what do you get for this money? A plastic interior reminiscent of a train compartment - one bunk bed and one regular bed. The room has only a washbasin; shower and toilet are in the corridor. A tiny television and a remote control attached to the wall. Still, for budget-conscious travelers, this is a solution. Besides, Formula 1 is easy to book. The chain has a website. You just need to find on the map the hotel closest to the proposed overnight stop, call the indicated number, and you will be expected. The staff speaks English.
Food
The gastronomic delights of traveling through France more than compensate for all other inconveniences. In a roadside store you can find a selection of wines, cheeses, and local delicacies that any domestic supermarket would envy. Advice: keep a cooler bag and everything needed for a picnic in your car. There is nothing better than occasionally leaving the highway, settling in some picturesque place, and leisurely savoring local cheese or a particularly outstanding pâté while admiring the surroundings.
If you want to eat properly, also leave the highway. On a local road you will soon encounter either a town with many little restaurants, or an inn - auberge, or, even more interestingly, a farm where travelers are treated to rustic cuisine. Just don't speed and look for the appropriate signs.
The worldwide scourge of globalization has not bypassed France; along the roads you can find McDonald's and other establishments painfully familiar to your stomach. No need to break their windows, just stay away.
Cities
The scourge of European cities is scooters. Not only do they buzz nastily around the clock, they also completely ignore traffic rules and create a very nervous atmosphere on the streets.
Finding a parking space is quite difficult, and free parking is out of the question. To pay, you need to buy a ticket from a machine and place it in a visible spot under the windshield. It should be noted that not all French people do this.
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