Last night we stayed in Chartres, two blocks from a very famous and large cathedral.
But we didn't really care. Our mind was on our car, which was acting strangely. On Wednesday, it had periodically be losing "ooomf" on the autoroute, and then, 30 miles outside of Chartres on Wednesday night, in the rain and dark, the engine light came on. That's not what you want to see when you're on a road trip. And there was no way we were going to risk breaking down on the autoroute on the 400 mile trip back to the south of France. We resolved to stay put in Chartres until we had the all clear on our car, even if that meant a big change in plans.
Once again, lady luck was with us.
First thing in the morning, we were actually able to locate a Hyundai/Suzuki dealer on the outskirts of town. Averil called. They had a garage there where they repaired Hyundais. Averil described the problem to the mechanic. The mechanic invited us to bring our car right over so he could check it out. We did so.
The Hyundai mechanics were nice enough to look our car over for nearly an hour. Their diagnosis: the problem is not grave and can be dealt with when we return to Vaison. There would be no danger of it breaking down on the return trip to Vaison. Oh, and "no charge" for their inspection by the way, and "Bon Route!"
They were nice to us.
Armed with that reassurance, we left Chartres for the 6 hour drive to Lyon. We were relieved that we would not be stuck indefinitely in Chartres:
I might mention that when we bought this car, we had the foresight (or good luck) to have spent some extra money to buy a form of insurance for mechanical issues good for one year. So any repairs are covered.
We made the six hour drive to Lyon without incident. It was long, but the countryside was pretty and Le General amused herself by taking self-portraits:
We arrived in Lyon in late afternoon. It's a nice city so far as we can tell. After that long car ride, a 1 and 1/2 hour walk was in order. The weather was balmy.
It is a very sophisticated seeming university city. We walked for a long time. Ivy chewed on some broken glass, we watched bats flying over the Rhone river, saw some great architecture and public art, and watched a rat eating garbage. Then we had Thai food for dinner and strolled about a lovely park where we saw drug addicts getting methadone from a mobile dispensary. It was a great evening.
And now it is time for the sad part of this blog. Because tomorrow morning, Averil and Ford and Asha drop Ed off at the Lyon airport. He's got to go back to Seattle to get ready for a trial. And Averil and Ford and Asha will continue on down to Vaison which is only 2 and 1/2 hours away by car. They should even make it to school for the second half of the day tomorrow.
It was a great road trip. Thanks for tuning in.
First thing in the morning, we were actually able to locate a Hyundai/Suzuki dealer on the outskirts of town. Averil called. They had a garage there where they repaired Hyundais. Averil described the problem to the mechanic. The mechanic invited us to bring our car right over so he could check it out. We did so.
The Hyundai mechanics were nice enough to look our car over for nearly an hour. Their diagnosis: the problem is not grave and can be dealt with when we return to Vaison. There would be no danger of it breaking down on the return trip to Vaison. Oh, and "no charge" for their inspection by the way, and "Bon Route!"
They were nice to us.
Armed with that reassurance, we left Chartres for the 6 hour drive to Lyon. We were relieved that we would not be stuck indefinitely in Chartres:
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| We Get the All Clear from the Hyundai Mechanics |
We made the six hour drive to Lyon without incident. It was long, but the countryside was pretty and Le General amused herself by taking self-portraits:
We arrived in Lyon in late afternoon. It's a nice city so far as we can tell. After that long car ride, a 1 and 1/2 hour walk was in order. The weather was balmy.
It is a very sophisticated seeming university city. We walked for a long time. Ivy chewed on some broken glass, we watched bats flying over the Rhone river, saw some great architecture and public art, and watched a rat eating garbage. Then we had Thai food for dinner and strolled about a lovely park where we saw drug addicts getting methadone from a mobile dispensary. It was a great evening.
And now it is time for the sad part of this blog. Because tomorrow morning, Averil and Ford and Asha drop Ed off at the Lyon airport. He's got to go back to Seattle to get ready for a trial. And Averil and Ford and Asha will continue on down to Vaison which is only 2 and 1/2 hours away by car. They should even make it to school for the second half of the day tomorrow.
It was a great road trip. Thanks for tuning in.
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