We're about to sack Doris
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381739)
Rockingham, Australia
July 1, 2017 11:58am CST
We have a GPS which we call Doris. She has been updated since our trip through Europe two years ago but she has let us down badly several times on this trip.
Often, at around 4.00pm, we ask Doris to find the nearest camping spot. She comes up with several suggestions and we’re able to choose one and then she’ll direct us to it. On one occasion she took us to two that didn’t take camping cars, which I guess you can’t really blame her for, and another that didn’t exist. By the time we finally switched off the vehicle engine we’d been three hours trying to find a place to stay for the night.
Yesterday we keyed in ‘parking airport Bordeaux’ in France. So what did Doris do? She took us right into the middle of the city to a parking area that we had no way of getting the camper into. With only a kilometre to go to reach our destination, we agreed that something seemed very, very wrong and sure enough it was. We did get to see the very centre of Bordeaux in rush hour but it is something I could have done without.
Some towns she doesn’t recognise at all and overall her performance has been less than satisfactory. Anyone want to buy a cheap GPS?
The photo is of a big lion somewhere in the centre of Bordeaux. I have no idea what it’s made of.
16 people like this
15 responses
@topffer (42155)
• France
1 Jul 17
The best way to visit Bordeaux with a camper is to park at the periphery of the city in a relay parking. These parks are very cheap, near tram stations, and you can have a ticket for trams and buses valid 1 full day for less than 5 Euros. And if you want to visit Bordeaux by night the ticket is only 2 Euros from 7 pm to 5 am (caution, there are not a lot of buses and trams after midnight). There is one of these parks not far from the lion of the Stalingrad Square on your photo, so maybe Doris was not completely wrong
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My brother lives in the center of Bordeaux and I never park there : somebody from another city like me has to pay 24/24 in the center to park a car.
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My brother lives in the center of Bordeaux and I never park there : somebody from another city like me has to pay 24/24 in the center to park a car.4 people like this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Jul 17
@topffer We still might as we have booked into the same park when we fly back from Vienna. The owner said we'd need to take a bus and a tram but he has virtually no English and I had a bit of trouble following his instructions. But we might still be able to do it. Enjoy your visit to Lourdes. 
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
1 Jul 17
Can you just use maps? I don't trust those gps, but I guess they can be useful...never had one myself. Thats a big lion. Wonder what it IS made of.
3 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
1 Jul 17
I use BING maps print out directions and I navigate my husband drives - have not gotten lost in 18 years.
2 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70020)
• United States
1 Jul 17
@AbbyGreenhill Thats good Abby..Bing seems alright I often use them.
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
1 Jul 17
@TiarasOceanView It never is wrong and I stick with what I like!
2 people like this
@Hate2Iron (15724)
• Canada
1 Jul 17
I can imagine how horrible that would be while on vacation. Hubby has a app which isn't much better. We needed it to get me to a doctor's appointment downtown Winnipeg. We went around in circles for a while from what we could figure out. I made it to the appointment with about a minute to spare!!
2 people like this
@Hate2Iron (15724)
• Canada
1 Jul 17
@JudyEv I have to be the world's worst navigator and if we move somewhere new... yet again, I would really have to have one. I can get lost just going for a walk!!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
1 Jul 17
They seem to offer such a lot of help but sometimes they can also be a lot of trouble.
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Jul 17
@Hate2Iron I used to have a good sense of dirrection but it seems to be disappearing along with a lot of my other skills.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45490)
• United States
1 Jul 17
We don't own a GPS, don't need one. I know how to read a map and I can get us anyplace better than GPS!
3 people like this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
1 Jul 17
That's great. We'd have needed a fortune in maps here I think as we've stayed off all the major highways. But I do sometimes wonder how much use they are.
@pgntwo (22405)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
1 Jul 17
Did you name you recalcitrant GPS device Doris for a reason? It is an acronym for "Doppler Orbitography Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite", which clearly is deficient when it comes to French locations... ;)
I bet it'd have the devil of a time navigating around Dublin too.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43567)
• Denver, Colorado
2 Jul 17
I've never even owned a GPS device.
2 people like this
@teamfreak16 (43567)
• Denver, Colorado
3 Jul 17
@JudyEv - I can totally understand their value in an unfamiliar place.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
1 Jul 17
I hate when a GPS gives you a bad route..and the are too dumb to know shortcuts!
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (208746)
• United States
2 Jul 17
@JudyEv we used to have one that kept trying to turn us down someone,s driveway.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Jul 17
@snowy22315 We have ended up in some very strange places once or twice.
1 person likes this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36847)
• Pamplona, Spain
1 Jul 17
Our "Doris" has been great company for us.
it took us through France and brought us back again no problems.
She also kept us from getting too tired with her after 500 metres turn right, turn right.
1 person likes this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36847)
• Pamplona, Spain
2 Jul 17
@JudyEv
Could be just that.
We changed Doris to English as Doris in Spanish was driving us up the wall she spoke like she had two pairs of false teeth in.
1 person likes this
@sueznewz2 (10409)
• Alicante, Spain
2 Jul 17
they can be a pain sometimes....and when they get it wrong ... it's usually spectacularly so... not a mild short detour.. but lost in the centre of some city... we call ours that 'bl##@y woman.' when we get lost... lol
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
2 Jul 17
I think so too. Maybe she just doesn't like her name.
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
1 Jul 17
Talk about the Lion King!
1 person likes this
