We are driving to Spain today! Stefan and I’ve gone back and forth on the route we should take. I really want to visit Carcassonne, a double-walled medieval town, on the route that takes us along the water. But we will drive some of that route on our way to Montpellier next week. We settle on driving the new route through the Pyrenees. It may take a bit longer, but this way we’ll see more of the country.

We get packed up relatively quickly though I’m now certain we will never beat that 2 hour pack-up time. We treat ourselves to Starbucks to begin the drive. Lillian gets a “babyccino”, a vanilla steamer that looks like my latte and makes her feel super fancy and special. Oly who has regularly rejected such drinks is super jealous, so Lillian is sweet and shares with him. I’m always touched when they show such softness toward each other.

Driving through the mountains is very beautiful, and we are all feeling good about the decision to take this route. We have a huge sunroof on our van, so the kids get to look up at the peaks of the surrounding mountains. We see a sign for amazing caverns, so we read a bit about the area. This part of the Pyrenees has impressive grottoes, some with prehistoric cave paintings. We drive to one mentioned in my guidebook that is nearby, Grotte de Niaux. The English tour already left for the day, so the remaining are in French. And they strongly discourage us from taking the kids. It is completely dark, and each person carries a dim lantern. It’s also physically taxing, over an hour long. So we opted out. Too bad. It’s something I’d really enjoy if we didn’t have the kids with us.

//Stefan Note: It looked really cool if sans kids.

While the staff were dissuading me from the tour, Oly wipes his hand on Stefan’s pants and then says, “Papa, there is poop on your butt.” Awesome. First we all take a baby wipe bath and change Oly’s diaper, but then we have a discussion with Oly about not putting his hand into his diaper to touch the poop. And telling us when he poops.  This stop is a moment when we really feel like parents.

We get to walk around the cave area a bit and see pictures of the cave drawings. It’s a very beautiful place, so it was still a great stop.

On our way back to the main road, we stop at a trailer selling sandwiches. The kids each order a hot dog, which is huge and served on a baguette! They are very pleased. We get equally delicious sandwiches and take them on the road. As we drive up the Pyrenees, the road gets windy at parts. We are going uphill, sometimes on switchbacks and often on one-lane roads. Luckily Oly doesn’t get sick!

As we are passing through a tiny town in the middle of the mountains, Stefan pulls over quickly. The car isn’t responding correctly. After a bit of online searching, he concludes he has no idea what went wrong.  Stefan gets the car to a parking lot, slowly. Then he finds a garage a bit down the hill, so we drive down there.

//Stefan Note: I was just thinking how good she was doing in the mountains and then she kicked down a few gears and would not get above 30k’s an hour.  Luckily there was space to pull off the road;, we had been driving for a while with none.

No one is there to help. I’m not sure exactly what this garage does, but it seems he just tows trucks to his garage. Thank you, Christer, for encouraging us to sign-up for roadside assistance before we left! We call and discuss the problem with someone in Sweden. They say they’ll send someone to us.

//Stefan Note: The hotel is the only thing the operator can find on google maps, so we hang out there.

We walk up the hill to a hotel and wait. The kids are in great moods, which makes everything easier. They paint and Stefan and I enjoy a beer while we wait.

//Stefan Note: My sweet poor girl.  I think she just really did not want to leave her home country.

The tow truck arrives, and the drive doesn’t speak one word of English. He doesn’t look optimistic about the car though. We ask someone walking by to translate a bit and understand we are to go with him. There is room for one other person in his truck. So he gestures to our van, which is already up on his truck. Ummm…okay? Stefan lifts the kids up to me, and I strap them into their carseats. I get into the passenger seat in the front. Stefan rides up with the truck driver. Thus ensues one of the most terrifying 20 minutes of my life.

I quickly realize the key is not in the car, so I cannot roll down the windows. It gets super hot. I honk the horn a bit, but apparently they are listening to their music too loudly to hear. I only get hotter as my anxiety builds. We drive down the mountain the way we came up, down the switchbacks and narrow curves. All the while, our van is rocking back and forth on top of this tow truck. Lillian says “this is kind of scary!” I think she is feeling me out on how scared she should be. I say, “yeah, it’s a bit funny isn’t it?!” She repeats, “no, I said scary.” I keep my cool for the kids, but on the inside I am so unhappy. This is something I would rather never do again.

We arrive at a Renault garage, and the driver removes our van from his truck while we are still in it! Again, not my favorite of experiences. The garage owner greets us and explains that we are supposed to call our Roadside Assistance line to arrange a taxi. What? This is when we fully realize we are not going anywhere anytime soon. Stefan and I are very disappointed, and it takes me a few minutes of deep breathing to start addressing what we need to do next. The Roadside Assistance secures us a hotel for two nights in the nearest town, Ax, because the repair shop will not open until Monday. As we understand it, they will run a diagnostic on Monday (after the 8 cars in front of us in line) and call us with more information on what we need to do next. Another family (the kids in their 20s) is waiting for a taxi as well. They are so nice to us and offer the kids water and some crepes they just happened to be carrying with them. I love the French.

//Stefan Note: I was hopeful but the tow truck drive lowered the car and just left.  And then I was not.

The garage owner gives us a ride to the town (for 10 euros of course), and we check into a little hotel on the main square, Hotel Breilh. This isn’t what we planned, but here we are. By now it is around 8:30pm.

//Stefan Note: “Hotel”

We walk around our new home for the next couple days. There’s a really cute narrow pedestrian street with restaurants lining it. It turns out this town is pretty hopping during ski season, so there are several food options. We select La Petite Fringale and sit on the large patio. The kids are super well-behaved. I will say that their cheerfulness and calm demeanor make this day much easier than it could have been.

The menu here is so different from what we’ve seen elsewhere in France. It’s clear we are in the mountains. There is fondue and a lot of other cheese dishes. We opt for the dish du jour, a pork dish, and a steak. The kids each eat an entire kids’ plate. The wine is decent, but nothing special. The real gem of the meal is the starters actually. I have a pan con tomate with a ham from the Pyrenees. It’s amazing. The tomatoes are so garlicky, and the ham is incredible. It’s a beautiful night, and before we know it it’s 10:30!

//Stefan Note: In France no matter how small the town the food is good.

On our way home, Stefan asks, “Where’s Oliver?” Yep, we left him. When Stefan retrieves him, he is palling around the restaurant like he owns the place. I think he’d be the best restaurant or brewery dog.

Directly outside our hotel door is a natural hot spring. A few people are sitting with their feet in the shallow pool, and Lillian insists we do the same. All four of us sit and soak our feet for awhile. It’s so warm and relaxing!

We go home and get the settled in bed. We’ve never slept in a room like this, with two queen beds. Oly sleeps with me, and Lillian with Stefan. There’s no air conditioning, so we leave the window cracked. There aren’t any bugs, and it’s actually okay. Perhaps this little detour will turn out to be a wonderful surprise.