Laughing Through Travel Mishaps

✨#StoryTimeThread ✨👉What is something that has happened to you while traveling that makes you laugh now? ✨ I always giggle thinking back to the first day of @pierrepilc and my trip to France -- which was also Andy’s first international trip ever. ✈️ Wildly jet-lagged but too excited to sleep, we drove our rental car to Nice’s Promenade and parked in a garage. After a few hours of exploring we decided it was time for a nap back at the hotel. As we walked back to the car, fantasies of pillows and blankets dancing in my mind, Andy awoke me from my daydream. 🐏 “Do you remember where we parked?”...GULP. 😰 What ensued was *two hours* of searching for an unnamed parking garage. I had “wisely” (😂🙄) taken a photo of a nearby sign, which was just a sign that had a fish on it; no text. I guess I hadn’t actually paid attention to what I took the photo of. We didn’t have working phones, nor did we speak French, so we were unable to get help from the locals -- all of whom looked at me like I was nuts when I showed them the fish photo. 🐟 As the sun began lowering in the sky, I bowed my head in defeat, choking back a lump in my throat. Was it possible that my big travel memory from our first trip abroad would be how we lost a rental car? How does that even work?! I looked up at Andy to suggest we just get an Uber back to the hotel, when suddenly I saw it. 🐠 The fish! THE FISH! 🐠‼ 🐠‼ 🐠‼ 🐠‼ 🐠 After 120 minutes, endless steps, and more than one argument, we found the car. On the way back to the hotel, we did a quick stop-off at the ATM to get cash. My transaction went smoothly, though I noticed Andy looking bewildered at the machine. 🧐 “Is the machine supposed to give you your card back?”...“Errr, yes.” 🥺 The ATM had eaten his card, something that has never happened to me in my 12+ years of consistent travel. Luckily, it made it easy for our trip through the South of France to only get better from there. #BeyondTheGuidebook 🌍 ___ * *