That bloody car! Plus good friends, food & wine


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Europe » France » Île-de-France » Paris
June 24th 2009
Published: July 29th 2009
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We flew into Beauvais airport at about 10pm from Venice on the 23rd. I forgot to read the fine print of our Ryanair ticket and was informed at check in that we had only paid for hand luggage - bugger! After some discussions and negotiations our fare changed from a bargain to a reasonable price. We noticed the same thing happened to three people in front of us in the check in line, they got very agitated, loud and obnoxious about the issue and the staff would not budge, so we tried smiling, staying calm and being reasonable - it worked out much better for us than it did for the agitated trio.

Now, we got told by some French folks we met on the way to Venice that Beauvais was not a very exciting place. In fact they laughed when we told them we would spend one night in Beauvais before going to Paris. I promised to tell them how our visit to Beauvais worked out - well Laurent and Stephanie may have joked about Beauvais, but it is a lovely place! The taxi drivers we had were both friendly and the hotel was comfortable, plus the directions to Paris were very well sign posted (that is about all we saw). So, if anyone can enlighten us (plus Laurent and Stephanie on the delights of Beauvais please do!).

That bloody car!

On the morning of the 24th we collected our rental car. I do not normally bother having a car while in Paris, but I got a really good deal on the hire for the longer period and it would have cost $200 more if I picked it up a few days later. The Ryanair bargain should have alerted me that everything is not always as it seems ...

The car hire company told me they had upgraded us to a bigger vehicle at no extra cost, which seemed ok to me. Lorenza had some misgivings when she saw the vehicle (a Renault Kangoo) and said it might be a hassle in Paris. I just thought "upgrade" and went with it.

On arrival in Paris, we could not find a parking spot close to my cousin's apartment, so I decided to chance it and parked in a handicapped space - I never do this back home so why I did then astounds me! Anyway, we unloaded our gear and lugged it to the apartment. After being greeted by my cousins and sharing a glass of cremant I pushed the thought of moving the car to the back of my mind. Big mistake!

We had lunch and chatted a bit, after all we had not seen each other since 2007. The car had now been in the disabled spot for a few hours and my cousin Jean suggested we should move it. So, off we go - we stroll up the street to the corer I left it on and to my surprise there is a Porsche parked in the exact same spot now - mmm curious! After some phone calls to the Police I discover that my rental car has been towed to a site not far away in an under ground car park. Catch is that it will cost me €136 to retrieve the car - bugger.

So, with cap in hand and the help of my cousin, I find my way to the underground compound where my car has been impounded. I line up with all the other miscreants who have strayed off the straight and narrow path of legal parking. When it is my turn at the window with the Police person I try my best "I am just a dumb Aussie tourist" routine. When the Police person explains in French that "this is not an acceptable excuse" I just have to try the old "sorry, I do not understand French, I am just a dumb AUssie tourist" routine again and it gets me the following response ... "Pouvez-vous juste payer les honoraires ou voulez-vous payer le double?". Forget the double bit - My response was "Merci - voici l'argent" - I paid up and collected my car!

Back at the apartment I re-read the paperwork I was given and realised that aside from the €136 to collect the car I also had to pay a fine of €135 - merde that sure changed my cheap car rental unto a very expensive exercise. Luckily I am able to let these things slide and not spoil my holiday - after all it was my bloody stupid fault anyway!

Good friends, food and wine

The remainder of this entry is 100%!p(MISSING)ositive! The positive energy it generates is dedicated to everyone who ever traveled by rail in Vietnam. A big group for sure!

When Lorenza and I took the night train from Hanoi to Hue in March 2007, we met a lovely couple from France - Alexandre and Catherine. Once they got over our rather odd appearance on the night and tried some of the lovely "Bordeaux" wine I offered, we got talking and swapped details. The story of our meeting on the train is here . Some months later we visited them in Paris ... story here

We must have been on our best behavior on our first visit with them in Paris, because they invited us back again and did the same again this time. All jokes aside, from a chance meeting on a train in a country very far from both our homes we count ourselves very lucky to have met two lovely friends who we hope to stay connected with for a very long time. Sure, we sometimes have some "lost in translation" moments but mostly we get on very well and find our hearts are happier after each time we meet them - what more could you ask for from friends! Thanks so much for sharing your smiles and happy hearts with us! Lets hope there is much more happiness and laughter to share in the future.

Oh, and the friends they introduce us to - lovely! What a good life!


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3rd September 2009

hahaha I laughed with your towe away story ! once your car has been towed away in France, foreigner or not you have to pay to retrieve it from the parking place. On top of that the towe away parkings are private !!!! so you pay it and then you pay the fine. By the way each hour in a towe away parking costs you too !!!! Poor you, not fun, on top of that on an handicaped parking slot !!!nooooo! Well that's finally not the end of the world ! take care

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