Oui, Nous Possédons une Voiture

With the lease ending on the gigantic car I was driving, we were looking for a car. I would actually be quite happy not having a car and just continuing to take public transport but with two exceptions. First, I would not be able to take A to her friend’s houses like I did last week and I don’t want to be that parent that burdens the others by not driving. And second, the buses are never predictable. While it takes me approximately ten minutes to drive home from work, public transport makes the journey about an hour with the wishing and hoping and waiting that the bus shows up. I have been taking the train home which again is about an hour due to a change I have to make, but at least it’s on schedule. Let me also add for you Americans who take parking for granted, you pretty much have to pay to park everywhere here except your own driveway (and in the end that ain’t free either, right?). Therefore, even when we did have a car, I would walk to as much as possible because it’s in my blood that unless I’m downtown in an American city, I’m not paying for parking!

We found something we liked and made the purchase yesterday. I bought it on my debit card, which was strange and also liberating. I was happy we found an automatic in our price range. I feel the need to explain to my work colleagues when we get into this debate that I CAN drive a manual, but in nothing but stop and go traffic as it is here, I wouldn’t enjoy driving one.

So here’s a pic of our ice-covered Renault. The drive home from London was as horrific as I expected since we got lost. The first thing I need to buy is an ice scraper!