New car

Our search for a new car is finally over!  We're the proud owners of a 2007 Toyota Corolla Verso, which, though it looks small, can actually seat seven people -- handy for all those visitors we're expecting.  (There will be lots of visitors, right??)  Granted, the two seats in the back are best suited for little people or those who don't mind riding around with their knees tucked under their chins, but the flexibility is nice.

The car search -- in French -- was daunting, to say the least.  Once I figured out what kind of car we wanted, I scoured the used car listings, emailed the possibilities (with the help of Google Translate), and set up appointments to see cars.  This was one of the first ones we saw, thank goodness.   The seller spoke no English at all, but I managed to muddle through the appointment and test drive, express that we wanted to buy the car and then... tell him our relocation company would contact him to work out the details.

I caved.  I don't have the vocabulary to talk about cars (the seller may as well have been speaking Greek when he was telling me all the car's fabulous features), much less navigate the pitfalls of insurance and car registration.  The relocation assistant has been wonderful.  She's taking care of everything.  I think I may love her.

So here's our new car:

So far I love it.  It is a stick shift, but let me say it is SO, SO, SO much easier to drive than the other car!  It doesn't stall at the drop of the hat, I don't have to wrestle with the gear shift to put it in gear, and it's really easy to shift smoothly.  I'm beginning to think that rental car may have had some issues.  Maybe all the trouble I was having wasn't due to my inexpert driving??  Or at least not entirely.

I can only hope...