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The Lovebunnies in France

Day 6

Tuesday, September 24, 2002

    OK, good! We found Elizabeth. She arrived in Montpellier at 12:25, and we were late!
    We were racing to the airport because we went first into Montpellier center to find SAURAMP—a bookstore where we intended to buy Bruno Marc's book on dolmens and menhirs in the south of France. As usual, it took much longer than we hoped. We got lost going into Montpellier. We got off the highway much too soon. But when we stopped to ask directions, and B's French was failing him, the clerk at the town office hailed a very kind man, we think a colleague of some sort, who spoke very good English and even offered to lead us into town, right to the correct parking garage. We hope he was intending to go that way, because the route was tortuous.
    "Great Scott," said B as we were turning and swooping and backing and forthing. "We never would have done this on our own." I said maybe the man was taking some tricky back way, because we were seeing very few signs for Montpellier Center. In any case, our guide slowed down as we were going into a tunnel, and began waving out his window, pointing over his car, to the right. B peeled off up a ramp and we were headed into an underground parking garage.
    We had found SAURAMP in the Montpellier phone book, and had an address listing them at, or in, The Triangle. A passerby knew the place, and we followed his hand waving directions to a sort of downtown mall area called—The Triangle! B spotted the sign for the bookstore right away. Time was spent in the store, we asked for the book, it was presented to us. But then we asked for directions to the airport. Goodness, what a conversation ensued. Three people were conferring and confirming. Just like A Year in Provence! We thought we had a good idea of what to do. Hah!
    We couldn't get out of the parking garage. There were no attendants at the gates, just machines that kept spitting back our ticket. "We have to pay at the other machine, the caisse automatique," said B. "This is just like in the airport, when we had to use your credit card to get out. All the lots are going to be like this, you just pay at a caisse automatique, and it validates your ticket. I know where the machine is." Of course we were now running late, and were anxious at the further delay! Elizabeth was waiting for us. Would she try to go on her own? Had she even gotten our message?
    B worked the caisse automatique and now the gate was happy to let us out. It said something about thanks or nice day on its readout. Then of course our well rehearsed directions failed us, or we failed them. There was more turning and backing and forthing to get to the airport, but we finally did. Luckily E had gotten our message, and was waiting with her luggage on a cart. Then we had to sort out a problem with E's credit card at the car rental counter. It wouldn't work. Finally, after almost two hours of waiting, phone calls and discussion, it turned out that her bank had blocked her card! She used it in Paris to make phone calls to hotels, and to withdraw money. Suspicious! Once she talked to an office in the States, it was straightened out and we were almost on our way. In the airport parking lot, a French man ran up to B asking, in French, how to pay to get out of the lot. B said, "A la caisse automatique," and pointed to it. Voila! We feel so cosmopolitan!
    So we led Elizabeth home, and on our third drive to Peret from the airport we finally made the whole trip without any wrong turns. When we parked in Peret, E got out of her car and said, "Thank you for that. That's the nicest thing you've ever done for me. I never would have done it by myself." B said, "Oh, well, we've got two people, we've done it three times, and that's the first time we did it just right."
    We had dejeuner on the terrace; chatted with Duncan; called E's momma (the phone calls from the booth in the square are now routine, piece of cake); walked around town (E bought many postcards); invited Duncan in for muscat after supper and now we're preparing (i.e., B is preparing) steaks from the Intermarché for supper. Ooh la la! I could take a nap! We're planning to go to the market in Clermont L'Herault tomorrow morning.

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