Dear Car,
We would like to give you a proper goodbye. We will miss your manual-ness causing us to slide backwards on hills and almost hitting the cars behind us. We will miss the way that when you tell us that the trunk is open, you really mean it. Because someone’s suitcase might just come rolling out of the back when you least expect it. But most of all, we will miss your shitty tires. This morning we also said goodbye to another dear friend, the back-right tire (BRT). He perished this morning when we tried to reverse up a hill, cutting a corner too close. There seemed to be a sharp boulder in our way, causing the tire to explode and emit white smoke while the air leaked out. And yes, we realize that you must not like Hannah since it was her luggage you threw out onto the highway, and it was the tire closest to her seat in the car that you allowed to burst. But we forgive you for your faults, because you forgave Hannah and Cedar for stalling you a couple of times yesterday.
*we would like to dedicate a moment of silence to the BRT*
Thank you.
This incident occurred right as we were about to load up the car to head to the train station in order to catch our train to Paris. Cedar and Hannah walked up right in the nick of time to witness the entire scene. (Picture: a car going around a bend, only to not come out on the other side :( ). Afraid of Chuck freaking out, we carefully broke the news to him that “the tire was flat, but it’s going to be okay”. He seemed to be handling it pretty well, but not even a second later Barbs arrived at the scene with the most horrified look on her face. She hit her hand on her forehead and said, “Oh! F#*@ me!!!!!!” (Yeah, we were definitely weirded out too).
We quickly rushed Barbs out of the way, hoping that her extreme (and inappropriate) comment and lack of calmness in this situation had not affected Chuck, our only hope to getting this tire fixed in a speedy manner. Chuck got to work on the tire and we (Hannah and Cedar) offered to help. “Yeah! Figure out where to put the jack if you can”, he said. Uhh….riiight…Sure. The “jack”. Figure out where it goes. Nooo problem. After fumbling around for a few minutes he realized we wouldn’t be of any help in that department and gave us the more menial task of unscrewing the bolts.
We quickly rushed Barbs out of the way, hoping that her extreme (and inappropriate) comment and lack of calmness in this situation had not affected Chuck, our only hope to getting this tire fixed in a speedy manner. Chuck got to work on the tire and we (Hannah and Cedar) offered to help. “Yeah! Figure out where to put the jack if you can”, he said. Uhh….riiight…Sure. The “jack”. Figure out where it goes. Nooo problem. After fumbling around for a few minutes he realized we wouldn’t be of any help in that department and gave us the more menial task of unscrewing the bolts.
During the fixing of the flat, Barbs remained anything BUT calm. She was running in circles and talking so fast we couldn’t’ even understand her. We tried to preoccupy her by giving her the job of calling roadside assistance (which we had paid for through Avis). For some reason she kept showing up on the scene, task still incomplete, and claiming she couldn’t find the Avis phone number answer. Once, after Chuck asked Hannah to take a look at something, Barbs took it upon herself to DIVE underneath the car, causing her entire outfit to get covered in dirt. We are still unsure of what she was trying to do under there. Picture can be seen to the right.
Half an hour later, we were back on track with our punk, skinny little tire, but heading in the direction of the train station nonetheless. (Roadside assistance’s number was never located). We caught the train to Paris and headed to our apartment. It was a high-speed train that got us to Paris in less than 3 hours; a drive that would have taken over 8 hours. Chalk up another cool experience for us provided by Barbs. Something we learned later on: the phone number for roadside assistance (that Barb’s “couldn’t find”) was on the top of paper they had given us. Hmm. Ya win some, ya lose some ;)
Half an hour later, we were back on track with our punk, skinny little tire, but heading in the direction of the train station nonetheless. (Roadside assistance’s number was never located). We caught the train to Paris and headed to our apartment. It was a high-speed train that got us to Paris in less than 3 hours; a drive that would have taken over 8 hours. Chalk up another cool experience for us provided by Barbs. Something we learned later on: the phone number for roadside assistance (that Barb’s “couldn’t find”) was on the top of paper they had given us. Hmm. Ya win some, ya lose some ;)
We were all feeling really tired and beaten down from the morning’s events but Barbs said, “cmon guys! We have to go out and see Paris! Let’s go make our MAGIC!” Well magic we indeed made. First stop was the Eiffel Tower which is a 5 minute walk from our apartment. We stood in front of the tower for a solid 20 minutes taking dumb photos and laughing our asses off the whole time. I’m sure everyone thought we were REALLY simple minded (See Day 8).
Then we checked out a local area and shopped around for a little bit. Finally, we decided to take the plunge and go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Cedar begged the family to walk up to the top, but Chuck’s knee and other members’ protestations caused us to take the elevator. Hannah and Chuck were both freaking out at the top due to their fear of heights, but we did all in fact make it back to the ground safely. Imagine that.
Tomorrow we have no idea what Barbs has cooked up for us, but I’m sure it will be adventurous, wonderful, and tiring.
Until then!
--Hannah and Cedar
Until then!
--Hannah and Cedar