Did a road trip with two buddies around Europe about 10 years ago and this was our experience. Italian gas stations felt like upscale grocery stores in the US.
Even fuel was less than we expected due to getting 50+ mpg
Even fuel was less than we expected due to getting 50+ mpg
In some of European countries, shops are closed (by law) on Sunday. Gas stations are exempt from this, hence they morph into shops.
'Gas stations' morphing into shops, is related to the phenomenon of channel blurring, rather than just exploiting the exemptions in laws/rules.
Most of the "large" shops (I think there is a square-footage cutoff point) and shopping centres/malls must only open for 6 hours on a Sunday. So the normally 24/7 huge supermarkets that are the size of several football pitches and are usually packed full of people are forced to shut. This means that everyone needs to get out in the 6 hour window, so traffic is insane and the shops themselves are insane because all the shopping that normally happens spread across 24 hours has to be jammed into 6 hours. It is really annoying.
Smaller shops are allowed to stay open, so in the UK we now have a lot of smaller versions of the large 24/7 supermarket chain stores on high-streets that are typically open something like 8am-10pm/11pm/midnight 7 days a week. These are obviously much more popular than local businesses (cheaper, more reliable, loyalty schemes) so all small independent businesses (greengrocers, bakeries, small grocery stores, hardware stores, stationers, newsagents etc) are being forced out of business.
I wish that one day this silliness would be abolished.
I don't know how much longer this Christian stranglehold will have on England.
There was a distinct change of pace and feel, far, far less traffic on the roads, and a day free of annoying commerce everywhere. The whole world seemed quieter and lazier on Sunday, and thanks to the huge reduction of traffic, smelt nicer. It was the obvious day for the BBQ, day trip to the beach or theatre, the event in the local park, meet with friends etc.
I miss it.
There's plenty of families now where both partners getting common free days is a rarity, let alone organising group meets. You don't need a day for grocery shopping - just an hour or so. It's not like we found it difficult, or the public agitated for it before Sunday was added to supermarkets and Primark. It was just a concerted trade push for more commerce. :)
But when your refusal puts you at a disadvantage compared to your competition, it eventually stops being a viable choice.
Even the isle of Harris, which still maintains Sunday closing and the slow island pace of life, is changing away from it.
Or you can stop at a store on your way back from work...
And I was kind of annoyed when I realized how Sunday works here but came to realize other people want their Sundays free and quiet just as I do. Most people who really need to buy whatever on a Sunday would be screaming the loudest if asked to work Sundays.
The Islands, and some parts of Wales, maybe other regions had a much more restrictive approach to Sundays than our old "fun permitted" rules, as a religious thing. They'd have more like a total shutdown, with dry Sundays and restriction of entertainments and travel. That may have changed, but they might still be far behind even our old Sunday trading rules!
I left the church but really miss that aspect of it.
Train stations are on another level. Parma and buffalo mozzarella on a fresh baguette? No problem.
And free no-questions-asked bathrooms!
The gas prices are often marked up, at least in France.
I remember in Croatia a highway gas station having a full bar, with a sign saying that they won't serve alcohol between 3AM and 6AM.
The only way I can see three adults enjoying a road trip in a vehicle small enough to get 50mpg (assuming petrol) is if you're all car enthusiasts and enjoying the novelty of some 30yo compact car. The second row of a modern compact is a really crappy place if you have to be there for very long.
YMMV, of course. ;)
Though, waist wise, that would be true...
We drove around 5000 miles from Barcelona to nice to Florence to Geneva to Offenburg to Bremen to Luxembourg to Amsterdam to Brugges to Paris to Barcelona. It was fucking awesome - and to tell you the truth I really, really understand what "trip of a lifetime" means now that I've never really recreated that experience.
Three good friends on an adventure together (first time to Europe for all of us!) in a new and interesting place in our mid 20's when we were all single and had jobs we didn't care too much about was a pretty damn great recipe, and we still joke about the football Cheetos floating around the back of the car from the first day of the trip.