This is the magic note that enabled us to get the car tyre repaired. It was written by one of the staff at the rental car office. It asks very politely for "meche" to be installed in the tire. So the people who had told us 30 minutes before that it would cost 1100 Euro to fix - with out looking at the tyre - were now able to fix it in less than 10 minutes for 10 Euros to our great relief.
The ever resourceful Bob has found another way to get Skype in the apartment. It's through a different IT provider and he signed up on line and Skype and phone calls work well. We wish we'd found this earlier!
It's not just the language. We've had to remind ourselves that things don't always go smoothly even when you know the language as well as when you don't!
I have been having some trouble with my knee - it's the ileo tibial (IT) band.
I had planned to get some treatment for it while in Isle sur la Sorgue but had no idea where to go. I'd done an unsuccessful internet search. On one of the first evenings we went for a walk and spotted this plaque. Not only was there potential help in town but a likelihood that it could be done in English since she had a British qualification. I contacted her and after 3 visits, to my relief, it has improved a lot. So thank you very much Stephanie.
Stephanie recommended that I get some boots that support my ankles to wear in Africa next month. I'd been planning to wear sneakers but could see the benefit in her reasoning.
I'm always cautious buying shoes as my feet are quite wide and I need to be fitted well. I also wear orthotics. So the added difficulty of not knowing the language was quite daunting.
However we went to a large sports store that was recommended and asked for assistance. They were very helpful and a young girl, who spoke some English from a different department, translated to the girl in the shoe department.
They were extremely attentive and all went well. At the end they carefully returned the ones that I'd tried and rejected to the shelves and left me to make a final decision.
I did this and went to put my sandals back on but wait a minute I only had one orthotic. The other one was nowhere to be found. Bob and I reasoned that it had probably been left in one of the shoes I'd tried and rejected - but which one?
So the search began. It was not easy to find because it was not easy to identify the shoes I'd tried since they'd been put back very tidily and the shoe innersole had been put in on top of the orthotic so it was not easily visible. I could see how funny it was but was pleased when we finally found it!
Then we went to Aix en Provence for the day. What a lovely city that is. We parked in a parking building and had a nice time. However when we went back to the parking building pay station the machine would not accept our ticket and said that it was faulty. This we could understand but there were no instructions what to do and no one to ask so we had no idea what to do next. Maybe sleep in the car overnight!
A kind man saw our plight and showed us a device around the corner where you could talk to an attendant via an intercom. This was an advancement but we could not do this in French. The man did it on our behalf and all was well. Yes we did thank him profusely - again and again!
We have no idea why the ticket was faulty.
Then on the way home we picked up a ticket at the toll station on the freeway.
When we reinserted it at the other end a notice came up saying that this ticket was faulty. This was getting ridiculous. How often does that happen? And then twice in one day. This was more serious because cars bank up behind quite quickly. Fortunately there was a button to press to speak to an operator who spoke enough English to help us and tell us what to do before the cars behind got too impatient.
All part of the experience I guess. The good thing is that we no longer panic or get upset but just try to be rational and sort it out or - as with my shoe orthotic hunt - get the giggles.
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