Just before Covid-19 lockdown at the end of February I got the itch to drive from Zug Switzerland to Girona in Spain. It was a dark and cold Saturday morning (very early) and I got into the STS-V and drove the long way 'round to get to Spain - normally drivers would drop down to Italy and then cut over to Torino and down to Ventimiglia before crossing the border into France and taking the crescent highway that coasts by Monaco, Nice, St Tropez and Marseille before cutting over the border in Spain - about 8-9 hours door-to-door. But that meant spending an extra 2 hours driving in Switzerland which is tedious - the top speed is 120 kmh but it oscillates all over from 120 to 100 (in tunnels) to 80 in work zones (of which there are many) and back up again. So I decided to go north and arrived in Basel (the Swiss city that straddles 3 countries) and then cut over to France. France probably has the second best highway system in the world (after Spain) and so it is a real joy to drive. The highway patrol is much stricter than in the past (in fact 20-30 years ago there was no speed limit) but you can still get by with relaxed cruising at a bit over the official limit of 130 kph - and tickets are derisory in any case.
This is me reaching the first toll booth in Spain and you can see the cops on the side of the road - because Europe has Schengen (no more customs and border controls among the countries that have adopted it - most of Europe with the exception of those knuckleheads in GB) - it is a joy to drive over country lines (just like driving among states in the USA). However in this case Covid-19 had begun to rear its ugly head and the cops were out in force although to what purpose it was hard to discern.
Here I am filling up the car with V-power gasoline at a Shell station (98 or 101 Octane - cant remember - but I remember the price at €1.80/liter). I will let those curious enough to calculate what that comes out in terms of $/gallon. You will be shocked. But for these high prices you get true driving freedom in Europe.
This is the little port town that was made famous by the Catalan painter Salvador Dali who was also famous in Spain for driving a Cadillac which is now memorably displayed in the Dali Museum nearby.
On the return I eschewed the highway and took the coastal road from Cadaques to Cerbere over the border in France (as you can see there are no customs and border controls anymore - it is wonderful). It is especially wonderful for those French and Spanish who remember the days when Spain was a dictatorship under Franco and was antagonistic to most of democratising Europe. So at the time (until the 80s) the border between France and Spain was heavily guarded and controlled - and now nothing - we are so much better off in Europe with these freedoms.
So I spent the night near Girona, had dinner in Girona and on Sunday drove back the long way to Switzerland. You can see that on the map.