Since I was a bit sleepy and disoriented this morning, Rita took advantage to win Pinch’n’Punch for September. We then went downstairs for a breakfast buffet. Somehow, the atmosphere reminded me of a family camping brekky.

We then continued our coastal drive to Banyules-sur-Mer via Portbou. I remember the train to Barcelona stopping at Portbou some years ago. The coastline in this area was quite spectacular. Rita jumped out of the car in Banyules to buy a couple of bottles of special Banyules wine, about which we had heard plenty of good news.

We left the coast to join the Motorway again at Perpignan, and then continued on the Motorway to reach Toulouse by 4pm. When we got to the drydock, the front gates were locked because it was Saturday. We could see Serge working inside, so we let ourselves in through the pedestrian gate and went to ask him what we should do with the car. He said just to leave it in front of the gate until he left in about an hour and then take his parking spot close to the drydock gates. If anyone from VNF happened to turn up on a Saturday they would just toot their horn to get the car moved.

So we came inside and started unpacking the car and bringing stuff over to put on the barge. As we were doing this about half an hour later, Serge’s wife came to the barge to say someone was tooting out the front (I had heard the tooting but didn’t connect it with our previous conversation with Serge). So I went to the entrance to see a very annoyed VNF official waiting with his family in his car. I apologised and moved my car, with the intention of going around the block to park in some spaces I had seen in a one-way street opposite the drydock entrance. However, when I got to the end of the drydock street, I found a no-left-turn sign where I was wanting to turn left. So I was forced to turn right, and from there on it just got worse.

I couldn’t stop to find out where I was, or how to get back to the drydock, because of traffic behind me on narrow streets. So I just went with the flow, hoping to see something i recognised (from my limited knowledge of Toulouse) which might orient me back to my starting place. Eventually, I realised that I was heading towards the bridge over the Garonne River on the western side of town, and I knew I didn’t want to cross the river. So I turned left and went down the side of the river, hoping it would lead me back towards the canal, from where I thought I could find my way. Unfortunately, it led me into a one-way street with only a right-turn at the end which led me directly into the St Michel underground carpark!

There were cars behind me, so I couldn’t stop and try reversing out of the one-way street, so I was forced to enter the carpark. But that’s OK, I thought, I’ll just do a drive-through. But as I went to exit, it wouldn't allow me. And then it dawned on me that I had not validated and paid for my ticket, even though I was only there for less than a minute (it was at this point that I also realised why I had not been able to leave the parking lot at the Barcelona Airport yesterday!). So I apologised to the driver behind me at the exit (in my best Frenglsh) and backed up. All the spaces were taken, except for the handicapped space, so that’s where I parked for the moment while I assessed the situation.

All I had to do was validate the ticket. But given the unusual circumstances of me leaving the drydock, I hadn’t brought my wallet with me, and had no spare change in my pocket! So I rifled through the centre consul in the car and found a few odd coins, which I hoped would be enough. After a phone call to Rita to explain my predicament, I then went looking for a validation machine and found one two stories higher. Luckily the cost was only 30 cents, so I had enough coins. I then went back down, retrieved my car and left the parking station. But I still had to get back to the drydock. So I stopped and consulted Google maps on my phone and devised a plan of attack. I had been on the right path (sort of) except for that one-way street, so I continued in that general direction avoiding the one-way street and eventually found myself on a road leading into the Grand Rond which I knew was near the drydock. Approaching the drydock from the opposite direction than I had been intending, I was very relieved to see Rita standing beside the road next to an empty parking spot. Since it was within walking distance, I grabbed it!

Once we got back to the barge, I had time to have a look at the extra work that Serge had done in the past few days. The second coat of blacking gave it a more even overall appearance. I also noticed that new anodes had been fitted. However, rather than being bolted to the hull as before, the anodes were now welded to the hull. I trust that these will be as strong and secure as the bolted versions.

After all the adventure of today, I was glad to have a quiet night on board.