Another fine sunny day – many of the boats in port are heading out to make the most of the good weather, before it is expected to change again on the weekend. The car seller's wife came to the barge this morning to say that the money had not arrived in her account. Luckily, she speaks some English, so we were able to communicate, and I explained that it should arrive today (based on the timing of the original transfer of my own money to Credit Agricole in Moissac). She will check her account later today and phone Iain to say whether the money has arrived. We will then arrange for delivery of the car, and for getting her back to Castelsarassin.

Set up comments spreadsheet for CIV5311, and edited website menus for 2012 Cruising. General cleanup around barge (before Rita gets back!). Heard from Kaz that Rita had phoned saying that her train to Montpellier was running late, and she might miss the connection. Skyped Rita on her Swiss mobile and strangely got through to her on the train in France. We agreed that I would go to Toulouse Matabiau Gare as usual and see if she got off the scheduled train. If not, I would wait for the next one from Montpellier. I checked the RailEurope website and got the train numbers and arrival times of the scheduled and next trains.

Left Moissaic around 3pm and filled the tank on the way down at Aire de Frontenais (about 20km this side of Toulouse). Reached the airport around 4pm, but had some troubles finding the rental car return access in Parking Garage 2. Luckily, France has lots of roundabouts, so it’s easy to turn around and go back to where you’ve just been! After 4 attempts, including an unscheduled trip through the public carpark (getting a parking ticket on entry, but not needing to use it on the way out???), I finally got to the Hertz dropoff area. Met by a young lady who fortunately spoke English, so we did the dropoff procedure there in the parking lot until she did the inspection of the vehicle. I told her about the parking lot incident and she then advised that we would need to go to the office to finalise the dropoff. There I was handed over to another lady (who also spoke English) who then came out, inspected and measured the scratch, and then went back inside to consult a laminated sheet containing a table with different types of damage and prices. For a scratch of my size on the rear wheel arch, the price would be 179euro. This was all done in a very matter-of-fact but professional manner, and the cost was much less than I had feared it might be. One thing I noticed at the Hertz office (having already seen it at the SFR office in Moissac and elsewhere) was the disciplined courtesy (or maybe it’s just a cultural trait) where every entering customer is greeted with “Bon jour Monsieur” by the person on duty, even if they’re in the middle of serving someone else. At Hertz, they went one further. I was in the office alone with the person on duty, and every Hertz staffer who entered the room from the parking lot outside also greeted me with “Bon jour Monsieur”. It’s only a small thing, but it certainly makes the customer feel welcome.

After the hire-car dropoff, I caught a taxi to Matabiau Gare (after practicing what I would say to the cab driver in French several times!). I arrived about 5pm and checked for train arrivals and departures just after 6pm when Rita was due to get in, but these trains were not yet up on the board. So I went into the waiting room with my iPad and continued reading the latest Frederick Forsyth novel that I am reading (The Devil’s Alternative), and also checking email via the free SNCF wifi at the station. Around 5.30pm I went out to check the arrival and departure boards again. Rita’s train from Montpellier (train number 4763) was due in at 1812h, and our local train to Moissac was due to depart from platform 1A at 1821h, so only 9 minutes to get from one to the other, if everything ran on time. The problem was that train 4763 never appeared on the arrival board, even as the scheduled time for its arrival approached. Normally, they would put up the train with a “Retard” notice if it was running late, but this time nothing was shown, and I didn’t know what to make of it (and couldn’t really ask anyone in French!). So I just waited to see if anything eventuated, and when the scheduled time for the Moissac train departure approached I went to that platform to see if Rita had somehow got there. As I arrived, the platform was packed with people (it was obviously a commuter train for workers returning home from Toulouse) and the train was just backing in to the platform. I walked the entire length of the platform looking for Rita with her backpack and pan case. Nothing! So I returned to the waiting area to see if her Montpellier train had magically appeared on the arrival board in the meantime, but no luck. In the meantime, the Moissac train departed, but I saw there was another one scheduled for 1921h, so I decided to wait and see if Rita came in on the next train from Montpellier (train 4765). About 20 minutes later as I was watching the arrival boards for news of train 4765, I heard a call of “Tony!” from behind me, and there was Rita. It turns out that the unannounced train 4763 did arrive late, but just in time for the 1821h Moissac train. Rita had gone to platform 1A after everyone else had boarded, which must have been just the time when I returned to the main waiting area to check the arrival board again (“ships passing in the night”). Anyway, we thought, all’s well that ends well, so we grabbed a bite to eat while we waited for the 1921h Moissac train. At 1900h, we decided to head to the platform and on the way we double-checked the departures board, only to see that the 1921h train to Moissac (the last one for the night ) was “Supprime”, ie. cancelled. Some enquiries at the ticket office revealed that there was an “electrical problem” in the marshalling yards and the train could not be brought to the platform. However, thanks to Rita’s French skills, we learnt that there was a train to Cahors leaving at 1925h and that we could get off at Montauban, where a bus would be waiting to carry passengers destined for beyond Montauban (to Agen). So, on we got and headed for Montauban, where indeed a bus arrived a few minutes later to ferry the passengers onwards. Unfortunately, the bus driver had not done this run before, and while he knew the way from town to town, he was not quite sure where the railway stations were in each of the towns. But with a little help from the passengers, we found our way eventually to Moissac station. A walk home with the (heavy) backpack and pan case, and we were soon back at the barge, to relax with a nice home-cooked meal and a good bottle of red. A fitting end to a busy day!