I have to admit that from very young I've been lucky in my relationship with the automotive world. One month short of their eighteenth birthday and get a driving license I bought my first car, a Seat 127, which profusely used to discover that travel, and travel by car, had a special attraction for me. I always liked to drive, more if travel was certainly longer and less if it was was short trips, frequent and repetitive.
Thus, and again I give thanks for my good fortune, I have always arranged car and enough money for fuel. While my work has been since that time away from my house, I tried to use public transport and leave the car parked that is the best way is, in my humble opinion, avoiding to have to catch every day.
the early eighties of last century, I began a series travel in my own car in Europe, traveling for miles on all types of roads and getting to places as diverse as northern Norway, southern Greece, Budapest or the highlands of Scotland, to give some examples. In Norway were more than fourteen thousand miles. Loaded the car with the tent and all kinds of food that will not spoil, it was a pleasure to embark on the road and visit places, landscapes and different people. And at that time there was the euro and had to be doing collection of coins of each country for which you were going on an adventure.
I was, not now and then I'll explain, from starting the car and not stop except urgent need for petrol. Big mistake. I will refer here to two experiences culled at the end refer to the "area".
The first, in 1990 was the trip to Scotland. I boarded my car, a Peugeot 309 diesel on the ferry in Santander and after a night of sailing we "downloaded" in Plymout, circling to the left, crossing all of Britain north to reach the highlands of Scotland. On motorways there were areas of service, many or all named with the English name "Granada", which was a delight to stop. It was pitiful to pass without stopping. Games for children, gardens, parking signposted bathrooms limpios donde poder incluso ducharte o afeitarte, restaurantes económicos o más caros, en fin, una serie de servicios que invitaban a detenerse y descansar un rato y aprovechar para poner combustible, ir al baño o comer. A lo largo del viaje, de más de siete mil kilómetros, paramos muchas veces en estas áreas de servicio. A la vuelta a España, y por aquello de ir unos días a la playa en verano, nos desplazamos cuatro o cinco días a Peñíscola. En la autopista del mediterráneo, paramos en un área de servicio a cenar algo. Era de noche, el aparcamiento estaba a oscuras con unos pocos fluorescentes. Multitud de carteles anunciaban que se dejara el coche cerrado y sin cosas a la vista. Por un poco de jamón york, water and a yogurt we put a "stick" that I'm still shaking. In short, all were easy to make the stop drivers.
The second example is a trip to Munich. My wife was pregnant and traveling by car more than three thousand miles was made with the condition imposed by the gynecologist to stop ten minutes every two hours and walk a little, although it was circling the car. The first day we did 1400 miles with this mantra to stop every two hours. Tardásemos perhaps more but the truth is that after the "beating" of miles we rested, like going for a walk around the city. Since then Stop every two hours and I feel much more rested I get to the destination. Tangentially say that on this trip we visited many service areas English, French, German and some Swiss and Austrian.
Last Sunday I returned by car from Saint Lary Soulan, French Pyrenees on to Madrid. The seven hundred twenty kilometers to cover suggested two stops. The first was made in the service area of \u200b\u200bthe French motorway A-64 on Hastings. A delight, picnic tables, parking signposted, manicured gardens, clean restrooms and even a beautiful exhibition about the Camino de Santiago which passes through there. Of course gas station and restaurant services as well.
The second stop on English soil and in an area past Vitoria do not know what to call the highway, toll, which goes to Burgos. The prepaid petrol at the pumps, the cafeteria without comment and the car had to leave "out there." We had sandwiches for a picnic that we had to eat standing beside the trunk of the car and keep papers and debris in a bag in the car itself because the few mills that were there were full to overflowing. At the gas station bathroom or cafeteria.
At least in this aspect of the service areas we have a long way to go, as many in our country are simply business gas station and cafe or restaurant that strictly maintain their premises and not very well in most cases that I know. I do not know if the Ministry of Development, or who should take action on the matter and establish minimum requirements and conditions sections for these areas that invite the traveler to stop that pass by. And that tolls are not particularly cheap so to speak. For reference, the seven hundred miles, tolls have led to a number of forty-two euros on the way and many others around.
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