I may not recall what I fed the kids for breakfast this morning, but I remember the night Dr. G. and I met and – more importantly – the moment I realized that this guy could be the one.
We had been dating for maybe six months when we decided, Hey, let’s go to Europe! Crazy, right? But I had never traveled outside the country and had dreamed of visiting Paris, so we scored come cheap flights and voila! We were en route to France, with stops in Brussels, Amsterdam, Dijon and – yes – Paris.
People say one of the testaments of true love is how you handle adversity together. Can you withstand the stress and work together as a team? Or do you argue, get out of sync and work against each other?
If that’s the case, then our entire trip was one big test.
The early signs were there. Striking French train workers that forced us to take a confusing series of buses to Brussels. A near-miss at a Belgian restaurant when I (feeling cocky with my working knowledge of French) nearly ordered reindeer … a perfect dinner for a vegetarian, right? (It reminded me of this classic Beverly Hills, 90210 scene.) And there was the Dutch hotel that lost one night of our reservation, rendering us homeless and on the hunt for somewhere to sleep.
Now here’s where things get interesting.
We took a train from Amsterdam to Paris (no longer on strike), where we were scheduled to pick up a rental car at Gare du Nord. We were about to drive out of the station when an employee tracked us down; apparently, we had a flat tire. Okay, no problem. We switched cars, signed a few papers and we were off to Burgundy wine country! Hurrah!
Not so fast.
So the car rental employees had made a big deal to Dr. G. about the kind of gas our first rental car took (unleaded). Well, when they switched our cars, they neglected to tell us that this car did not take unleaded; it was diesel.
You can tell where this is going.
We hop on the French autoroute, head out to the Paris ‘burbs and stop at some point to fill up the tank. A little while later, we encounter a toll booth and suddenly the car dies, right there. At 4pm. During rush hour.
Dr. G. puts the hazards on and starts waving away the pissed off French drivers behind us. Meanwhile, we sat there a little stunned but also completely freaking out because we didn’t (a) have a cell phone that worked internationally (too expensive in 2001) or (b) know what had happened to our car.
By some miracle, we noticed a little tourist information/welcome center just past the toll booth. So Dr. G. ordered me to stay put and locked the doors while he sprinted across the lanes of the highway to get help. He seemed to be gone a loooooong time. In the meantime, I continued getting honked (and yelled) at by drivers who did not notice the hazards, and I tried not to cry.
He eventually returned with good news. Not only did the person manning the information center speak English, but they arranged for a tow truck to come get us! Of course, neither of us thought to ask, Where is this tow truck taking us? How will we get to Dijon? What will happen to our car?
About 20 minutes later, we see an old school tow truck pull up behind us. A huge man with a long beard, blue jumpsuit and striking resemblance to Grizzly Adams gets out and just starts hooking our car up to the truck. He never says a word to us. We stood there like idiots until he motioned for us to get into our broken down car.
Huh?
But we did as we were told and BOOM! He hoisted us – inside of the car – onto the back of his tow truck and starts barreling down the highway, the two of us bouncing perilously in our busted car on the back of the tow truck, to God-knows-where.
I think we started laughing – that hysterical kind of laughter that only comes when you are in a totally unbelievable situation.
He eventually took an exit and we drove into a beautiful, but completely random, French town. We had absolutely no clue where we were. I think it was at this point that I thought, Hmm, I hope he’s not a serial killer.
But instead he took us to his garage, which was attached to his house. Turned out he didn’t speak a lick of English and I do not know enough French to communicate about automotive issues (order lunch or ask where the bathroom is, now that I can do). Thankfully, his wife DID speak English and she called a taxi to take us to the nearest car rental company – the same one that rented us the fated car in Paris – while Grizzly Adams worked on the car for the next few days.
After a tense argument with the car rental people about fault and liability (I still remember a very frustrated Dr. G. arguing with what I call his “SAT words” to people he was obviously having some language barriers with … it was actually pretty funny), we eventually got a new car and got to Dijon about three or four hours later than we expected.
Ironically, the next four or five days were phenomenal – some of my best memories ever (and the best wine, too). And I finally got to visit my beloved Paris.
So how does this story link back to my anniversary?
When I was sitting in that broken down car, waiting for Dr. G. to return, I thought to myself, If we get through this without killing each other, or breaking up, then maybe we’ve really got something here. Okay, it’s not the most romantic thought, but it was true. We – a couple only dating for six months – survived a really stressful situation without arguing or snapping or blaming each other and found that we worked really well as a team. We were also able to find some humor in it all.
I don’t know if the words “marry” or “husband” popped into my head that day, but I knew – I just knew – that this was something special, something real.
It turns out I was right. And here we are, 13 years, 2 kids and 9 years of marriage later.
So with that, I’d like to wish a happy 9th anniversary to my favorite travel partner. We really do make an incredible team.
(By the way, come back next week for another doozy of a bad travel karma story … this time from our honeymoon.)
Did you have an “a-ha!’ moment like this about your significant other?
Sharon - MomGenerations.com says
I see a “European Vacation” film theme here. Thanks for taking us on this very fun, bouncing journey of great laughter and success! Happy Anniversary! And yes, I did have an ah-ha moment with my future husband while walking down the hallway of the high school where we both taught… a story for a post some day, maybe on our anniversary!
Jessica says
Sharon, I would love to read that! The “a-ha” moment is always such a fun story to tell. Your grandkids would get a kick out of it 🙂
melissa at filling our bucket says
First, happy anniversary.
Second, if my husband and I had a situation like this, even AFTER my a-ha moment, I’m not sure we wouldn’t have killed each other. LOL.
Third, I totally had an a-ha moment with my husband! I think I may have to write about it at some point!! 🙂
Jessica says
You should! I’d love to read about it 🙂
Sheri says
What a great story! My ah-ha moment: I remember laughing hysterical at another stupid thing my husband was doing and saying to myself “no one makes me laugh like this.”
Jessica says
Love it. I am firm believer that we all have those “a-ha” moments w/our significant others. Sometimes they’re subtle and sometimes they hit you over the head, but we still have them 🙂
Michele C. says
Oh my goodness, i’m laughing so hard! What a great story – and happy anniversary!!!! My husband and I have had our share of travel snafus together, and I do agree, if you can get through that, you can get through anything. Though doing it in a foreign language would be crazy!!
Jessica says
It was a little crazy and in retrospect I realize how lucky we were that it all worked out. I honestly don’t know what we would have done if there wasn’t that tourist center at the toll booth, since the toll booth itself was all automated – no people. Eeek.
Nancy Jean says
Joyeux anniversaire to a wonderful colleague and fabulous writer! I LOVE this story and I totally understand why that is your favorite picture! You two were definitely destined to be together. Here’s to a lifetime of wonderful travel memories. 😉
Jessica says
Thanks, Nance! We’ve told that story soooo many times but it’s the first time I’ve ever written it down. I kind of forgot how crazy it all was until I sat down and read it! Wait ’til you hear the anniversary travel saga. Yikes.
jen @ keekoin says
Happy anniversary!!! And I think you’re totally right- if you can get through that adversity together, then there is something magical about your connection. I loved reading this story- it was like a scene out of a movie. It reminds me of our honeymoon-gone-wrong (which maybe I’ll write about, too, now that you’ve inspired me). Our 9 year anniversary is August of this year, too! Here’s to a GOOD YEAR!
Sarah B says
What an adventure and what a great story! I loved reading this, and seeing the pictures! Happy Anniversary!
Mary Larsen says
Happiest wishes for your anniversary! I completely agree, if you can make it through sticky situations together, you can tackle the world!
Chelley / AisForAdelaide says
Best memories ever- thank you for taking us on your journey! I wish I could go on a vacation like this… sans the car incident 🙂
Happy 9 years to you- your favorite picture is beautiful. You look happy, beautiful and in love <3
Jennifer says
What a great story! I totally agree that if you can not work against each other in these trying situations early in a relationship, then maybe “he’s the one…” My husband and I unwittingly moved into a group housing situation that was HORRENDOUS in our first 6 months together. Needless to say, just like you and your hubby, we came through it all the stronger. Happy Anniversary! Can’t wait to read what happened on the honeymoon…
mel says
Every marriage you go through sticky situations but it is overcoming them, that makes a marriage work. I loved reading this! Happy Anniversary!!!