ROOKIE ERROR(S) X 3

In UPDATE: MONTPELLIER, WE ARE HERE!, you saw our apartment fully furnished with the last owner’s stuff. Well, most of that didn’t come with the purchase price. Including the light fixtures, refrigerator and any furnishings. So, we had some work to do! And, apparently, plenty of rookie errors.

And for any of you who know Russ well, the man does not believe in online retail. Just not a thing for him. And now that we’re retired, he figures we have all the time in the world for in person quests. I’m wondering if he regrets that stance after what I put him through last week.

SUNDAY’S ADVENTURE: ODYSSEUM

Let’s start with Sunday. Sunday seems like a fine day to run to the mall to pick up a few things. Any American will tell you it’s a national pastime. I blithely announced that I was headed to Darty (think Best Buy) on my way to pick up a scale before all this fine French food added too much to my waistline. And Russ thought he’d join me.

We popped on Line 3 of the Tram, took no heed of the lack of crowds getting off at Odysseum, and came up to an empty mall. Duh. France closes down on Sundays. This is not the U.S.A. A little online research would have revealed:

ROOKIE ERROR #2

No harm, no foul. Right? My instincts only went downhill from there…

Because people live in apartments without concierges and small mailboxes, often DHL, Amazon, etc. rely on places called relay stations to deliver packages. It works for everyone. You don’t have to home; you choose a place convenient to your location to pick up your package and the delivery company isn’t frustrated by multiple attempts to get your package to you.

Key point: you choose a place convenient to your location. You don’t pick a spot on DHL’s phone app that looks like it’s less than a mile away, you actually wait and choose on the computer where you can double check the location. Hmm, who didn’t do that? Who had to ride in a taxi to boo foo land with her husband to pick up a package? Whose husband doesn’t like online ordering to begin with? I stand guilty.

BANJOS OR ROOKIE ERROR #3

And as these types of occurrences tend to come in threes, for my next major rookie error my hint is the following:

Photo by Michael Starkie on Unsplash

Does the soundtrack of The Deliverance , the original, come to mind? I convinced Russ that we should go peruse outdoor rugs at Leroy Merlin (think Lowes) and that I knew the way. All you had to do was take Tram 2 to Saint-Jean De Védas Centre and voila, you would be there.

And for all of those who know me, you know my sense of direction and ability to read a map is nil. Leroy Merlin was nowhere to be found so Russ pulled out his phone and we started on a 25-minute hike in the wilderness. All the while banjos playing in our heads. Not in a good way.

For locals considering the journey, the correct stop is La Condamine and it is right by Leroy Merlin. Not up this path to banjo-land:

NOT A ROOKIE ERROR!

It’s worth stating: Russ is a keeper. He laughed and did not threaten to leave me in the middle of nowhere. And we are even allowed to go back to Leroy Merlin!