Yesterday I took Dave to the airport, then stopped at the "mall" here called CAP3000. It's not very good compared to Fashion Square in Scottsdale, but other than shopping in Cannes, it's the closest thing I have access to, so I can't complain much. And it's right near the airport, where I go at least once a week, so it's handy.
I thought I would just run in and exchange the perfume the "kids" got me for Christmas then run back out again. Unfortunately I forgot that "Les Soldes" are happening right now and so the parking lot was already jam-packed when I arrived. I drove around for a good 10 minutes before I finally found a spot.
The mall is right by the seashore, and the wind was howling and whipping the water into little white peaks and blowing people across the parking lot. I was happy to get inside to Sephora and look for a new scent. The kids chose Prada's new scent "Candy", probably because it was pink and there was a cute girl on the box. But I had smelled it a few weeks before and knew it was way a very sweet smelling perfume and too similar to my favorite perfume of the moment, FlowerBomb by Viktor & Rolf.
I went in and started looking at the wall of choices laid out before me, and sprayed a few scents onto the little paper tester strips they have at the customer's disposal. I tried Cartier's "Baiser Vole" (Stolen Kiss) and Van Cleef & Arpel's "First" among a few others. Pretty soon everything started to smell the same, so in the end I went with a perfume that I had tried in a sample a few months earlier: Dolce & Gabbana's "the One". With the exchange taken care of, I could have gone straight home, but I wasn't in too big of a hurry to leave since it had taken so long to find a parking spot. Instead, I wandered around some of the stores they have: Zara, H&M, Galeries Lafayette, Comptoirs des Cotonniers and a couple of shoe stores. I was searching for some closed shoes that I can wear here when it's cold (like now!) that weren't boots. Some kind of flats or loafers that I could wear socks with and not look dowdy. I was unsuccessful, either because the selection wasn't very good or I didn't really know what I was looking for.
In the end I gave up and decided it was time to get home and do some chores before it was time to pick up the kids from school. I went out to the parking lot and looked around for our chocolate brown Renault Scenic. I quickly spotted it and climbed inside with my purse and little black and white Sephora bag, which I set down on the passenger's seat. The seat looked cleaner than it had earlier, and come to think of it, the car smelled very nice, too. So unlike a car that usually has smelly soccer cleats and dirty socks hanging out somewhere in the back. I turned around to look in the backseat and none of the usual garbage or crumbs were there. Had someone cleaned my car while I was shopping?
I turned forward and noticed a colorful map attached to the sun visor and it finally registered that I was not in my car!
I hastily got out of the car and looked around to see if anyone was looking at me strangely. I felt like I had done something wrong by getting into someone else's car--but I hadn't done it on purpose! It opened automatically, just like my car does when I approach it. Renault has a feature where you can leave your key (which looks like a fat credit card) in your bag or pocket and your car will open without having to push a button. Did my key work on other Renaults? Or by chance did someone with my exact same car (but much cleaner!) just happen to leave their car unlocked?
When I got into my own car, it was indeed extremely messy--just as I had left it. Bits of after-school snack wrappers, Sam's soccer ball, empty water bottles, and an umbrella littered the floor. Crumbs from the wafer cookies I bought in Nice last Thursday were scattered all over the seats. The car of a family with four children and a busy mother. I hadn't thought to see if I could start the other car, but if it happens again, I'm doing it. I'm sure the owner of the clean car won't mind when she has to drive home in mine instead.
I thought I would just run in and exchange the perfume the "kids" got me for Christmas then run back out again. Unfortunately I forgot that "Les Soldes" are happening right now and so the parking lot was already jam-packed when I arrived. I drove around for a good 10 minutes before I finally found a spot.
The mall is right by the seashore, and the wind was howling and whipping the water into little white peaks and blowing people across the parking lot. I was happy to get inside to Sephora and look for a new scent. The kids chose Prada's new scent "Candy", probably because it was pink and there was a cute girl on the box. But I had smelled it a few weeks before and knew it was way a very sweet smelling perfume and too similar to my favorite perfume of the moment, FlowerBomb by Viktor & Rolf.
I went in and started looking at the wall of choices laid out before me, and sprayed a few scents onto the little paper tester strips they have at the customer's disposal. I tried Cartier's "Baiser Vole" (Stolen Kiss) and Van Cleef & Arpel's "First" among a few others. Pretty soon everything started to smell the same, so in the end I went with a perfume that I had tried in a sample a few months earlier: Dolce & Gabbana's "the One". With the exchange taken care of, I could have gone straight home, but I wasn't in too big of a hurry to leave since it had taken so long to find a parking spot. Instead, I wandered around some of the stores they have: Zara, H&M, Galeries Lafayette, Comptoirs des Cotonniers and a couple of shoe stores. I was searching for some closed shoes that I can wear here when it's cold (like now!) that weren't boots. Some kind of flats or loafers that I could wear socks with and not look dowdy. I was unsuccessful, either because the selection wasn't very good or I didn't really know what I was looking for.
In the end I gave up and decided it was time to get home and do some chores before it was time to pick up the kids from school. I went out to the parking lot and looked around for our chocolate brown Renault Scenic. I quickly spotted it and climbed inside with my purse and little black and white Sephora bag, which I set down on the passenger's seat. The seat looked cleaner than it had earlier, and come to think of it, the car smelled very nice, too. So unlike a car that usually has smelly soccer cleats and dirty socks hanging out somewhere in the back. I turned around to look in the backseat and none of the usual garbage or crumbs were there. Had someone cleaned my car while I was shopping?
I turned forward and noticed a colorful map attached to the sun visor and it finally registered that I was not in my car!
I hastily got out of the car and looked around to see if anyone was looking at me strangely. I felt like I had done something wrong by getting into someone else's car--but I hadn't done it on purpose! It opened automatically, just like my car does when I approach it. Renault has a feature where you can leave your key (which looks like a fat credit card) in your bag or pocket and your car will open without having to push a button. Did my key work on other Renaults? Or by chance did someone with my exact same car (but much cleaner!) just happen to leave their car unlocked?
When I got into my own car, it was indeed extremely messy--just as I had left it. Bits of after-school snack wrappers, Sam's soccer ball, empty water bottles, and an umbrella littered the floor. Crumbs from the wafer cookies I bought in Nice last Thursday were scattered all over the seats. The car of a family with four children and a busy mother. I hadn't thought to see if I could start the other car, but if it happens again, I'm doing it. I'm sure the owner of the clean car won't mind when she has to drive home in mine instead.
2 comments:
Love that story! My car often looks the same way.....even with only two kids. Thanks for sharing.
Ha ha ha. That was funny. If we really knew this probably happens to just about everyone who drives. :)
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