We follow the Ibis sign and pull in front, in the 15 minute parking. I go in to see if they have a room. About 20 minutes later, we've got a room, breakfast in the morning, and parking. Mom's knee and leg are acting up, so I get to roll a cart down to the car, load up the luggage, then roll it back up the ramp to the hotel. Then I get to park the car.
Oh...my...god...I go around the block, and parking is under the hotel. I ring a buzzer and they let me in. Bear in mind, we're in a land where many of the roads are small. It's not unusual for some roads to be little more than 1 lane. With no marking or warnings or anything. So when I see a sign saying "Be careful, the road is narrow" I start to panic. I'm in an Opel Astra, which is not a large car. But it is a bit long. I'm turning through this one-lane, two-way, little, narrow underground parking garage, using my mirrors to make sure I don't hit the walls. Then I get to a straight section, and I have to turn into a parking spot between 2 concrete pillars.
I get as far to the right as I can, then start to turn. I have to stop and back up and turn and go forward and then turn the other way and go through a ton of contortions to get the car between the 2 pillars. And that was with no cars on either side of me. I'm really praying that when we leave tomorrow, there are still no cars next to me. Because I'm not sure I can get back out of the parking spot.
The parking is 1 flight of spiral stairs down, so I go up, and get mom and roll the cart to the elevator. All the elevators in France are small. The last Ibis elevator held about 4 people. This elevator sinks when you enter it. I thought it was just the luggage, but no, even when it was just me, it sinks.
We get to the room, and are very happy! We got a triple: a double bed and a twin bed. I had asked for 2 beds, and I think they were out of twins, because she took a while finding us a room. So we're happy having extra room. In the twin room, the beds are right next to each other, because they fit in the space where a regular bed goes, which is between 2 built-in night stands.
So now I get to roll the cart back down. As I'm leaving, mom says, "Get some ice too." So I go into the bar to get some ice. The bar is not a bar. It's a big fancy looking bar/restaurant, decorated in brass and mirrors, and I immediately feel a little underdressed After the long day and stress of parking, I almost bailed on getting the ice. But I managed to walk past a bunch of people and get to the bar and get some ice. The lady gave me 2 ice cream glasses full of ice. She carried them to the restaurant door, because I hadn't realized I needed a hand to get out the door. I got upstairs and mom started laughing at the glasses, and we both had to take photos. So you'll see them later.
So we're finally ensconced in our hotel room, watching NCIS in German. I'm by the window, which overlooks the front of the hotel, on a roundabout. Not bad.
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