car sharing

In a city like Paris where public transportation is extensive making life without a car possible, you sometimes still need a vehicle for a short time. Let's say you have a party to go to in the suburbs and you don't think you'll make it back before the trains stop running. Or you need to do some major shopping, and the thought of lugging your new mattress back from IKEA on the subway is not appealing. Or perhaps your friend from Oklahoma has come to France to teach English and has very cumbersome baggage...

Une caisse is one of the many slang words for une voiture (a car). Others are une bagnole, une tourv, une tire... I'm sure there are more that I haven't yet learned. La caisse commune is a car sharing program in Paris. For a 100€ deposit and 12€ a month (I think), you are subscribed to the program. You can rent a car for a few hours, an afternoon, a couple of days. And you don't have to worry about rental insurance or gasoline, which can be quite pricey here. Rates are determined by how far you travel and how long you have the car. Reservations are done online, and your car is available immediately if you wish. You can pick it up 24/7 from one of the many garages across the city; you just select which one is most convenient for you.

Damien and Kathy invited me to join them on their adventure to IKEA. They were in the market for a new mattress for their guest room (and as someone who hopes to be a frequent guest, I will benefit directly from this purchase). Besides, I enjoy looking at home decorating products, and though I much prefer antiques, I can appreciate the simplicity of the Swedish design. Damien arranged to pick up a Toyota Aigo at the parking garage near the Opéra. You enter the garage, and there is a sort of lock box for Caisse Commune members. Open it up with your code, and your key lights up. You then go to the parking space and pick up your car. Ours was located 7 levels below the Paris streets. Once you find the car, you have to fill out a little paperwork, and then you're off. It's pretty cool.

On our way to IKEA, we drove by Damien's new school, where he will be the principal adjoint (vice-principal). Then we made our way north to a big shopping area. We shopped for several hours, loading our cart with plates, bowls, water glasses, wine glasses, cloth napkins, bed linens and finally, a mattress. I honestly couldn't imagine how we were going to fit it in the Aigo, since the trunk was pretty small. Damien's a packing expert, though, and we ended up with plenty of room to spare. Since we'd worked up an appetite, we went back inside to the IKEA restaurant for lunch. Mmmmm, Swedish meatballs! Quite an adventure!