Summering in the French Riviera
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Might get stuck in Paris. Our first flight is delayed and we’ll miss our connection in Paris unless it’s delayed too. And the Air France rules are that we pay the difference in any rescheduled flight price. One way from Paris to America in the next day or two are many thousands of dollars.
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Hope you make it back safely. And these are the stories you will remember (along with all the good ones from your vacation).
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It was a memorable and enjoyable trip. We're already thinking about where to go next year. Lots of stress and lots of work in lots of ways, but that's part of it. I didn't remember making a choice to rent a manual transmission, but I apparently did make that choice. Luckily I had driven one 25 years ago, and it came back quickly, after I googled the trick to allow the shifter to go into reverse. Lots of twisty mountain roads and parking structures put a high premium on shifting well. Only stalled once, but I think the transmission is slightly worse for wear. Beautiful lavender fields and mountain views. Refreshing swimming pools. Delicious food. Got yelled at by two local shop owners for using their facilities without being customers. Once for sitting at a table apparently owned by a place next door to the bakery we got food at, and once for using a trash can just inside the open door of a small market, without going inside. Oh, and I got admonished in French for driving too far up a mountain where a restaurant was. Just following google. Little did I know that to go to this village, you needed to park before you got there, and walk the rest of the way. Instead, I ended up being directed to park in a very awkward place in front of a small shop, where the car stayed for several hours as we ate. When I got back, new people were there, and I'm sure they did not hear of the reason for my car being there. Luckily we couldn't communicate, so I was only subject to dirty looks rather than words.
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Glad you had a good trip!!!
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@Horace what was the trick for getting it in reverse? I drove a manual pick-up truck in Wisconsin a few years ago and to get it in reverse there was basically a secret way to move the shifter that only my BIL knew. Once I found out it was easy but WTF it was weird.
Thanks for the update, btw. I enjoyed seeing the pictures and reading the story.
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@89th said in Summering in the French Riviera:
@Horace what was the trick for getting it in reverse? I drove a manual pick-up truck in Wisconsin a few years ago and to get it in reverse there was basically a secret way to move the shifter that only my BIL knew. Once I found out it was easy but WTF it was weird.
There was a ring around the shift lever that you had to pull up. It wasn't obviously a moving or functional part. Back in my day there was no trick for putting a manual into reverse, but I guess too many people had too many accidents reversing accidentally.
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@Horace said in Summering in the French Riviera:
@89th said in Summering in the French Riviera:
@Horace what was the trick for getting it in reverse? I drove a manual pick-up truck in Wisconsin a few years ago and to get it in reverse there was basically a secret way to move the shifter that only my BIL knew. Once I found out it was easy but WTF it was weird.
There was a ring around the shift lever that you had to pull up. It wasn't obviously a moving or functional part. Back in my day there was no trick for putting a manual into reverse, but I guess too many people had too many accidents reversing accidentally.
Ever drive a VW Beetle? The old Beetle?
Always remember, Operation Valkyrie was an act of sedition.
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion. -
@Jolly said in Summering in the French Riviera:
@Horace said in Summering in the French Riviera:
@89th said in Summering in the French Riviera:
@Horace what was the trick for getting it in reverse? I drove a manual pick-up truck in Wisconsin a few years ago and to get it in reverse there was basically a secret way to move the shifter that only my BIL knew. Once I found out it was easy but WTF it was weird.
There was a ring around the shift lever that you had to pull up. It wasn't obviously a moving or functional part. Back in my day there was no trick for putting a manual into reverse, but I guess too many people had too many accidents reversing accidentally.
Ever drive a VW Beetle? The old Beetle?
Nope.
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@Jolly said in Summering in the French Riviera:
Ever drive a VW Beetle? The old Beetle?
I was too young to drive 'em, but my father had two Beetles.
The first was a 1957. It was a horrible, horrible car. Terribly uncomfortable (I know this because I sat in the back seat on a couple of trips from Chicago to Toronto). The windshield was literally in your face, and it had no gas gauge. You had to estimate how much fuel you had left by following your mileage. There was an auxiliary tank which held about 1 ½ gal, iirc. There was a lever on the firewall you used to engage it.
Not his, but you get the idea:
He replaced it with (I think) a 1963. It was beige and had a larger rear window. Still uncomfortable.
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My parents had two also. I think a 61 and a 67.
When I was born, that was our only car for a family of five. The next year they traded it in for a 69 Chevy Impala.
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Hitler's original sketch (yes, that Hitler).
Hitler stole Beetle design from a Jew
Adolf Hitler has always been given credit for sketching out the early concept for the Beetle during a meeting with car designer Ferdinand Porsche in 1935. But actually, the Nazi leader stole the idea from a Jewish engineer.```
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Well there goes his reputation.
