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Southern France
Three hours, and at least one autogrill stop later, we neared the border of France. Now this is where it got kinda interesting for me, anyway, with regards to the rental car. We had never really found out if we were allowed to take our car out of the country, and we wondered what kind process there might be. And what if we got in an accident in France? So I played it cool when we got to the border. Pulling up to the guard station, I tried to keep the heartbeat calm, and I started to reach for my passport, only to notice that he was already waving us through. Huzzah! We were in!
The death of a legGoBlue had no cruise control. It was manual transmission, but that wasn't a big deal. No cruise control, on what was now becoming an eight hour trip, was becoming a problem. My leg was dying, and our frequent stops at the autogrill for the wife weren't helping much. I tried inventing a manual cruise control, by wedging my leg under the steering column. That worked somewhat ok, and that's what brought us into Montpellier. I started to get the sweats again, remembering our Verona experience.
turn right onto: Avenue Du Président Pierre Mendès France for 60 m
turn right onto: Rond-Point Du Zénith for 150 m At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit Avenue Du Président Pierre Mendès France continue along Avenue Du Président Pierre Mendès France for 150 m take: Avenue Du Président Pierre Mendès France for 2.5 km At Montpellier continue along Avenue Du Président Pierre Mendès France for 250 m turn right onto: Carrefour De L'Aéroport International for 150 m continue along Avenue Jean Mermoz for 250 m Yikes! 60m, 150m. That's like no distance at all. I figured we were totally screwed. We got off the highway, and continued straight on the road that branched off, all the while looking for any of these roads. But the first of the many pleasant surprises that Montpellier had in store for us was coming up on our left. There, shining brightly, was the Hotel Kyriad, our destination.
MontpellierWhat can you say about Montpellier without sounding clichéd? We expected nothing from this town, and we found it to be a beautiful, organic, vibrant town filled with tons of little shops, restaurants, and very friendly people. We were there for only three nights, but when we finally ended up leaving I felt I could retire there. But first things first.I parked the car temporarily and went into the hotel to find out about parking. The woman behind the desk told us we could park Blue in their garage for €3 a night. Our Blue deserved nothing less, so I hooked that up. Noticing my accent, and complete lack of French, she asked me were I was from. I told her Chicago, and she got really excited, telling me that her daughter had studied abroad...in Arkansas. Trying not to wince too much, I tried to share in her excitement, while at the same time sending my sympathies to that brave young French girl. Collected Blue and the wife, parked, and dropped off our stuff in the room. I brought out the stolen bottle of wine from Manarola and had a glass before we headed out in search of dinner.
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