House Keeping

For the most part our road trip has run very smoothly, but there are logistics that do present challenges. I still am running a household of eight, albeit on wheels.

Challenge #1 Laundry

We have been fortunate in that many of the places that we have stayed have a washer either in the room or nearby. However, it never is as convenient as my Whirlpool Duet at home. When there is a washer in the apartment, there usually is not a dryer. When I started out in Rome, I was new to the system of hanging clothing out to dry on the balcony. I overloaded the drying rack and it took about three days to dry our loads. In another location, we were directed 20 minutes out of the way to a laundry facility. We all laughed when we pulled up to one washer and one dryer, set out in the open next to a gas station. I could just picture us timing everything wrong, and someone pulling out our wet clothes and plopping them in the dirt next to the propane containers. I will always be indebted to Sarah for guarding our wash while I ran the kids to a castle nearby. In Spain, the water was so hot, it faded all of our clothes. I can barely recognize Sophia's swimming suit! And did you know that washers in Europe often take two hours for one cycle?

Challenge #2 Shopping

The first time I went to a real supermarket, I found that a few things run differently than in the United States. I went to grab a cart, and found that I was required to pay a half euro to unlock it! I saved my money, but ended up having to make two rounds taking my bags to the car in between. When I pulled my groceries out of the cart, the cashier asked me how many bags I wanted. What kind of question is this, as many as it takes, of course, was my thought. But then I realized that I had to pay for each plastic bag. The question was relevant. I gave the woman my bag of apples and she explained, in Spanish, that I had to weigh them and get a sticker with the total price for the bag in the produce department. She was friendly, but the next day, when I made the same mistake, she rolled her eyes at me.

Challenge #3 Errands

We really don't have much time for errands, and so when I have to fix something or pick up an item that we have run out of, I am usually doing my best to be quick. I had camera problems in the French Rivera. I wasn't sure if I needed a new battery or if I had to buy a new charger. After going to a couple of stores, I finally found someone who could help me, but he only spoke French. We patiently worked through the language barrier, which included all sorts of gestures. In trying to tell me that my battery no longer worked, the sales associate made the sign of the cross, and pointed at my battery with both hands, accompanied with a very sad face. It worked. I understood that my battery was dead.

Challenge #4 Car Issues

One afternoon, our seatbelt twisted and became stuck. Being the middle seatbelt in the middle row, it was preventing one of the children to sit in a prime seat. I asked around for a garage, but received an entire selection of directions to get to the same garage. I drove left, right, up and down Greve, Italy with no success. Finally I found the repair shop, but it was 12:15, which was the beginning of the usual two hour lunch break. I was expecting this in Spain, but we have found that France and Italy are taking advantage of the mid-day Siesta as well! I came back and a very nice man was able to fix the seatbelt, and he did it for free! So far I have been successful with gas situations. I am proud that I have never put regular gas in my diesel, a mistake I have feared I would make. However, one day I had a little trouble finding a station. I asked at a bakery where a gas station was. The baker gave me a very long explanation in broken English that I couldn't buy gas until Saturday. In this area it is only sold on Saturday, he kept telling me. If I wanted to buy large containers of gasoline, I could go to another town, but to get it in Costa Mijas, I had to wait until Saturday. I knew there was a lapse in our communication, but I just nodded and smiled. I drove down the street and found a gas station and filled up the car.