I'm Not From Around Here

Ah, young people, using a phone app to summon a stranger to give them a ride is normal (Uber) but hailing a taxi is not.  I don't use taxis often, but feel fairly comfortable flagging one down when I want one.  Taxis somehow became a topic of conversation at a dinner party recently.  One of the college students, said, well what do you do if someone else grabs the taxi you thought was yours?  Easy, ask the driver to call for a second car, or simply flag down the next taxi.  

All of this triggered a flashback for me, of one time when I was the person jumping the taxi line.  It has been a long day.  I had left Amsterdam early in the morning, taking the train to the airport, flying from Amsterdam to Paris, to connect to a flight to Rennes, on my way to Mt St Michelle.  In Paris they loaded us on buses, drove around the terminal a couple of times, then dumped us back at the terminal, announcing that the flight had been cancelled. An hour of standing in line, and Air France offered me a seat on the TGV - high speed train to Rennes.  I would arrive several hours behind schedule, but I would be there that night.  The challenge was that I would be at the train station, and my rental car reservation was at the airport.  I contacted the rental car company and couldn't make a change, no cars available at the train station and the airport rental car office closed about 30 minutes after the train was scheduled to arrive.  Close, but doable.  

Then I saw the mass of people waiting for a taxi, and the slow dribble of taxis arriving.  Someone hesitated, I pushed past them, tossed my bag in the taxi, plopped in the seat, while they stood there looking confused, I told the driver I needed to be at the airport in a hurry, he floored it.  I arrived with just a couple of minutes to spare, the lady at the rental car counter was as helpful as could be and even said, I kept you a nice car, lots of room and easy to drive. 

I arrived at Mt St Michelle just before mid-night, the picture above was the view from the bathroom window in my hotel room, moments before the lights on the abbey were turned off for the night.  

I am sorry to have been rude to my fellow travelers that night in Rennes, please forgive me.  I will remember this and forgive a fellow traveler in the future.