I have officially owned this little piece of added freedom, and additional proof of an emerging French identity for a month now, and I almost forget why I was afraid to drive in France in the first place.
Impressive, if I do say so myself!, is that I have driven over the past few days sans le GPS and confidently found my way! I even took some time a couple of days ago to spiff her up inside and out; and yes it is a she, at least in French terminology – LA voiture! As I was cleaning the car, it dawned on me that she needs a name; and I remembered back to my University days carpooling to school in a friend’s Toyota Tercel, we all affectionately called RedRedRed! And I remembered my unofficial first car (at least the first one I was actually allowed to drive), a rosewood coloured K-car Reliant, with flaking paint, rotted out floorboards, and leaking coolant, steering fluid and washer fluid, but surprisingly not oil! Ahh memories of driving to school during snow storms and slush piling up under the car pushing our feet to our knees; friends repeatedly knocking the gear into neutral while in drive, listening to CJAM and arguing over who had the best taste in music …. Good times!
A week after buying the car, I was off on my very first French road trip to the south of France. Twenty minutes in and she started sounding alarms… Confused at first, I frantically looked around for the source of the sound as I was driving 120km+ on the autoroute. Only to later find out that she is fitted with an alarm that sounds when the speedometer goes over 120km. A great safety feature I know, but annoying when the speed limit is 130km and you can’t drive over 119km. And so the rest of the road trip was spent well under 120km, along winding coastal roads and the autoroute, as we made our way through quaint towns and villages into larger and richer cities along the south of France; in changing weather conditions from warm sunny skies to torrential downpours with hail.
In such a short time I have become well acquainted with the driving customs of France; namely – park anywhere and everywhere you so please, whether it is at the edge of the road, on a sidewalk, half on the curb, backwards facing oncoming traffic, sideways (if you can fit or you have a Smart car), double parked and blocking the car next to you, nudging the cars in front and behind to make space….you get the point!! Surprisingly though, now that I am an expert illegal parker, I have lost the ability to parallel park without it turning into an 8 point turn!
I have come to not only respect but LOVE roundabouts… not only are they absolutely efficient, but they are fun to wind around! I have gotten used to recognizing when to yield to the streets on the right, and my eyes have developed bug like proportionality and I recognize most street lights well in advance! Plus as an added bonus, since the roads are windy and chaotic (at least in the city), it is hard to get lost; if you keep on turning you will eventually make it where you want to go…. kinda like the saying, ‘all roads lead to Rome’...
And so, now I need to create a fun and whimsical ornament to hang from the rear view mirror, and I need to come up with a cute and clever name for my little Peugeot! Any suggestions…?
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