Ok, so we’re realizing that when my brother and his family comes in two weeks, we are going to have a hard time getting around. His family of three plus our family of three equals 6 people to stuff into our clown cars. Not even possible.
One must remember that when we bought the cars, we thought they were a bit bigger than they really are. But when we realized just how small our cars are we said oh, when we have company, we can just rent a car for the week.
And even if we’d bought a station wagon like we sometimes think we should have, it wouldn’t fit six people. We have to have something with a third row of seats. That doesn’t even take into account the fact that in French mini vans, the third row of seats takes up the entire luggage compartment… which is a whole ‘nother problem!
So I started doing a little browsing on the internet to track down just how much we’re talking about spending here. First, I have to remember to look at cars that fit more than 5 people. That narrows the list down considerably.
Then, I have to figure out the logistics of it all. Bill thought he’d just go pick up the van on Sunday afternoon, before I return from Paris with the globetrotters. We can return the van Thursday when we go to the train station to go to Venice. It’s the perfect plan. Except for this: car rental agencies are pretty much closed on Sunday at the train station. CLOSED! Now, I understand that nearly everything except the garden store is closed here on Sunday… but this is getting out of control. That’s like closing a hotel on Sunday! Sorry, you cannot travel on this day because, well, we have to have it off. It’s the law. I’m ok with not being able to buy a car in Indiana on a Sunday… but I honestly think that you should be able to rent a car in France on a Sunday.
So let’s say that I make Bill go to the car rental place at the airport in Chambery on Sunday… which is open until 2pm…. if we pre-pay online for the discount, we can rent a mini van for four days for a mere 579! 144 a day!
Looks like we’re going to be driving two cars everywhere we go if Bill is with us. And if he’s not … I’m glad I have to drive because the back seat is going to get crowded!