Thank you. 😊Now that I am older and wiser, and with the Internet, which wasn’t available then, I do very thorough research before each trip.
By the way, the companion train ticket wasn’t purchased by me. I had no idea that I had to travel with someone to use that ticket. I hadn’t even heard of such a thing then.
Thumbing our way south from Nice to Marseille that summer, I had a bad feeling.
"Tu es fou," you said. "You're crazy."
When a blue Peugeot stopped for us we sighed with relief, then squeezed in, you in the back, me in the passenger seat, eager to shed our heavy backpacks, rest our sore feet.
Further along the busy highway, the driver suddenly slipped his right hand from the steering wheel, opened his tan trench coat, exposing his erect penis to me.
“Arretez! Arretez!” I screamed.
"Pourquoi?” you shouted from the backseat.
Finally, the man pulled over to the shoulder. We quickly scrambled out.
When I told you what he’d done, you laughed, as I hyperventilated, hands shaking.
“Most exhibitionists are harmless,” you said. “C’est la vie! C’est la guerre!”
Heart pounding, I collapsed in the gravel, dizzy with anxiety. Then stared, speechless, as you held up our crude sign to oncoming traffic.
“Merde,” I said. Then added, “No! Allons-y! Time to travel by train.”
I failed to mention the awful comment: Go back to China. Just plain rude and uncalled for.
Still, my friend and I got lots of comments in the 70's about bring "ugly Americans" unrelated to our physical beauty. Hatred and racism still abound in our multicultural world and it's getting worse by the day....BTW: you and your girls are darling.
You and your kids have beautiful smiles!
Thank you💕
It would have helped to research both, immigration and train booking requirements before traveling. You could have ended up in deep trouble.
Thank you. 😊Now that I am older and wiser, and with the Internet, which wasn’t available then, I do very thorough research before each trip.
By the way, the companion train ticket wasn’t purchased by me. I had no idea that I had to travel with someone to use that ticket. I hadn’t even heard of such a thing then.
one of my ordeals in Europe:
SPEAKING FRENCH
Thumbing our way south from Nice to Marseille that summer, I had a bad feeling.
"Tu es fou," you said. "You're crazy."
When a blue Peugeot stopped for us we sighed with relief, then squeezed in, you in the back, me in the passenger seat, eager to shed our heavy backpacks, rest our sore feet.
Further along the busy highway, the driver suddenly slipped his right hand from the steering wheel, opened his tan trench coat, exposing his erect penis to me.
“Arretez! Arretez!” I screamed.
"Pourquoi?” you shouted from the backseat.
Finally, the man pulled over to the shoulder. We quickly scrambled out.
When I told you what he’d done, you laughed, as I hyperventilated, hands shaking.
“Most exhibitionists are harmless,” you said. “C’est la vie! C’est la guerre!”
Heart pounding, I collapsed in the gravel, dizzy with anxiety. Then stared, speechless, as you held up our crude sign to oncoming traffic.
“Merde,” I said. Then added, “No! Allons-y! Time to travel by train.”
What a terrifying ordeal. I'm glad to hear it ended happily.
As in the CS&N song, "Wooden Ships" says, "If you smile at me I will understand. That is something everybody does in the same language".
I failed to mention the awful comment: Go back to China. Just plain rude and uncalled for.
Still, my friend and I got lots of comments in the 70's about bring "ugly Americans" unrelated to our physical beauty. Hatred and racism still abound in our multicultural world and it's getting worse by the day....BTW: you and your girls are darling.
What an adventure!
Oh my goodness, my heart was pumping while reading your story! How stressful! Glad everything worked out in the end.