At the Car Wash

Alright, so here's the saga without my trusty crutch, Gabe, who speaks French and can handle everything. I have no choice but to figure things out myself because stuff needs to get done.

Bruno calls me up, saying he wants to swing by to clean and photograph the car for the ad. "Great," I think, "except I will get the car clean." So, I drop Luke off at school and decide my first stop is the car wash near L'Arty Chaud. I've passed by it a couple of times, so how hard could it be, right? I park, take a deep breath, and rehearse a few phrases in my head before approaching the car wash attendant. What actually comes out of my mouth isn't what I practiced, but somehow, miraculously, he understands. Unfortunately, he can't fit me in until 11:30, which won't work.

Then Gabe reminds me about a drive-through car wash near the Intermarche (we were on the phone chatting). Perfect! Except it turns out to be one of those with bristles that might not be the best for my car. I spot a vacuum thing nearby and pull up next to it, only to find it won't take my coins. Frustrated, I drive off in search of another car wash I vaguely remember seeing. Finally, I find one closer by. I pull in, park, and then realize it only accepts 1 or 2 euro coins—of course, I don't have any. Where do I get change? Alright, back to the Intermarche. I needed to buy a few things anyway, so I ask the cashier for change. She directs me to another counter because, you know, cashiers in markets here—don't get me started, that's a whole other story for another time.

I finally get my "Monnaie" and head back to the centre de lavage. First, I reverse in and vacuum the car for 2 minutes for 2 euros. Then I pull into the washing bay. There are six options on the display, and honestly, I recognize maybe three words total. "Really? This can't be that hard," I mutter to myself as I pick one and the wand starts bubbling and making noise—hopefully soapy, I think. I realize I have only 2 minutes to soap the car and then, oh no, I need more coins to rinse it properly! The last coin I have is a 1 euro, so that gives me just 1 minute for the rinse—and honestly, I'm not even sure if I pressed the rinse button. In the end, after all the coin drama and button confusion, I managed to vacuum and wash the car for 5 Euro.

Note to self, next time, come prepared with a translated cheat sheet and a pocketful of coins! Il vaut mieux prévenir que guérir!