Tapas for Two

After we escaped Toulouse, we drove south towards Spain, still having quite a bit of mountain range to drive through. We were getting hungry after our adventures. We drove through picturesque town after town. Old stone buildings with brightly colored flowers and window boxes and shutters that matched. Random churches or ruins perched atop nearby hills. The mountains were huge above us, with the clouds lower than the peaks, still waking up. Towns all seemed to be setting up for the Sunday market, so when we finally found one that looked busy we stopped. It was incredible. Stalls of fresh fruit, cheeses, honey, jams jamons, olives, clothes, knives and other assorted goods. We bought a kg of fresh apricots for 1.50 euro, some tea and mustard, pain au chocolat and bread and then were led by our nose to a man cooking rotiserrie chickens. Below the chickens were cut potatoes sitting in the chicken fat from the rotiserrie. Was this guy serious? Yes! Done! We bought an entire chicken and a box of potatoes cooked in chicken drippings. Thomas bought a knife from a man who was sharpening knives in the back of his van. We then took are goodies and hit the road. About 5 minutes down the road we tore into the potatoes box; the smell of roasted chicken had engulfed the entire car and we couldn't resist! Further down the road we ripped into the chicken and resulted into a potato chicken sandwich with the loaf of bread we bought. The potatoes may be one of the best parts of this trip. And salvaged our last meal in France.

Have you ever thought you were on a TV show? Like the Amazing Race with the Hidden Camera option?

We arrived at Toulouse at 642 am after the night train from Paris. We parked our car in the garage attached to the train station so were expecting to get right into the car and drive somewhere for a nap. Wrong.

We got the ticket from the car and put it in the pay machine, 58 euros. Expensive, but we knew it was coming and that was cheaper than driving to Paris and parking there. So we put in the credit card. Nope. No chip. European credit cards have a chip in them and it has messed us up a few times because we didn't have cash and also didnt have the chip so we needed to find an ATM instead. OK. So we leave the garage, find a bank and get out euros. It comes out in 50 euro bills. The machine doesn't accept 50s. Perfect. So we take out 40. Back down to the machine. We try a 20, thinking we could just put in three 20s. Wrong again. It appeared that the machine only took one bill per transaction. So we pressed the help button and a French lady came on to help us. Nope, no luck there. So we went to a different floor to find the machine thinking that maybe it was just that machine. Nope. Same problem. So we hit the help button again. Same French lady. Back to the first machine.

Then we saw a coin spot. We had a few euro coin so put that in. It worked, but we didn't have enough coin to make up the 38 euro balance.

This is where the Amazing Race came into play. We needed to turn 40 euro in bills to coin, without speaking French, before our bill got higher from the car being in the garage for anther hour. So we've watched the TV show, and we followed suit. First we split up, each with a 20. Thomas got a coffee, a 10 bill and 5 euro in small coin. Cait got breathe mints in a cute tin (which we needed after eating shwarma on the night train and then sleeping in a chair), a 10 bill and some more change. We both tried to get the cashiers to give us coin instead of bills but they refused. So we started begging other people waiting in the train waiting room. At least 5 different people helped us break our 10s. First one lady gave us a 5 bill and change. Then we got change for the 5. Then we repeated with the other 10 and 5. All in miming. At first people started to think we were hawkers like when the people in the Amazing Race come in last but don't get eliminated so they need to beg for money, but when we held out our money, they tried to help. We did get a lot of Nos though.

So we finally have enough change, and go back to the garage. We put in the ticket, put in the 20, and start feeding coins. We got to 17 euro and the machine stopped taking coins. Dammit. We then ejected all the money and tried again. Wrong. Now we think the machine only accepts a certain number of coins along with the one bill. Okay, so at this point, we felt like we were in Die Hard 3, trying to figure out how to get 4 gallons into the 5 gallon jug. Using that theory, we decided we needed to change our small coins into 2 or 1 euro pieces. We got a few from putting money into the soda machine and pressing cancel, so it spit out 1s instead of 20 cent pieces. Then the security guard gave us a few 2 euro pieces. He had seen us run by him quite a few times and wondered what was going on. Then we begged some more, holding out 50 cent pieces asking for a euro. OK, we think we have it.

Back to the machine. Put in the 20, then coins. Gets us down to 7 euros before it stops accepting coins. Frustrated is putting it mildly. Thomas presses eject while Cait goes to beg more. I managed one more 2 euro coin and the security guard came after me. I told him to come down to help us. That didn't work because he doesn't speak English, so I took his hand and made him come into the parking garage. Then he tried reading and explaining the machine to us, in French, and went through the steps. Then he counted our money to be sure we had enough. After the machine stopped taking the money for him, he knew our problem.

So he took us back to the train station lobby to get change. He explained the problem to the cashiers, two said they didn't have change, and one gave us 3 two euro pieces. Back to the garage. We got it down to 2 euros this time. So close. I went back upstairs to exchange money. I needed two 2 euro pieces and the security guard stood next to me explaining to people buying tickets at automated machines what the problem was. Most people stopped and checked their change purse, not finding any 2 euro coins. In the meantime, Thomas was standing next to the machine with a 20 bill in one hand and 35 euro in change in the other, waiting for anyone that could help. A lady came out of the elevator and went to the exit door, only to find the steps. She looked at him, and he pointed her in the right direction, as well as asked her if she would exchange coins with him. She shook her head and said no money, and hurried into the parking garage.

Upstairs, Cait got the money exchanged and shook hands with the last helpful person, while the security guard said bon voyage and clapped his hands. Downstairs, the lady who ran from Thomas came back to pay her bill and brought her change purse. He was able to mime with her, so she understood and gave him a 2 coin also.

He went back to the machine and started again. He got it down to 2 euros and the coin slot was still open. He was waiting patiently as the elevator door opened and I came out with the final 2 euro coins. "Give it to me now! Its open!" He said. I knew what he meant, because the machine refunds your money if it is inactive for too long. Last coin in, and we have succeeded. The ticket prints out, and at 853am, we can finally exit the garage.

We laugh as we write this because was one of the more ridiculous things we have ever done. But we survived with no tears or yelling. Maybe one day we will be on a hidden camera show and Europeans.