UnCivilized Driving

Driving on the left side of the road is not as simple as it sounds, and of course the steering is on the right as well. While in Ireland, I tackled this driving situtation, not too simply, I might add. The first hour of our arrival, the GPS put us on a remote country road where I was sure I would take out a sheep or two. Well, even worse, we ended up in a ditch!! And how were we rescued!!!??? By a tractor of course!! The next day, I managed to drive around the rotary the wrong way and completely stopped traffic. I guess the drivers thought it would be better to stay put and let the idiot American driver sort herself out. As well, even the lanes for slow and fast are opposite - didn't know this and couldn't figure out why all the drivers were flashing me in the right hand lane!!

Oh well, at least we didn't end up over the side of a cliff and I didn't injure any cows or sheep in the process!!

Balancing Act

Sometimes when you want something so badly, you find a way to get it, in this case (not very exciting, but something I wanted) a wooden folding table. Well, sounds easy, but if you have no car, transporting it home becomes somewhat of a challenge. Bikes become your wheels for everything. I always seem to purchase way more than my saddle bags can carry and ride with bags on handlebars, groceries in saddlebags. Well, yesterday my girls and I were in Monoprix, and the spring folding tables had finally arrived!! I was determined to buy one as Rachel said, " Mom, how are you going to put that on your bike?"Well, I figured, where there's a will, there's a way. It started out a bit precarious, but eventually I managed to hook it to my handlebars - courtesy of a suggestion by my 10 year old - why are they so much smarter than we are?! So I proudly rode home with a folding table hooked to my handlebars.

Later that day, my friend casually mentioned to me that her boyfriend and all his friends told her to "Tell Tama that bikes and tables don't go together" (loosely translated from french). I was mortified that they all witnessed this hilarious event sitting inside the café. Of course, my comment was, why didn't they come out to help me??!! Oh well, c'est la vie!!