After the storm

The day got off to a bad start, when we had a puncture just as we turned into the service station by the airport to fill up the hire car. Nothing to do with my hitting the kerb while trying to do a last-minute lane change and avoid being cut up by a passing car. This is the first puncture I've had since 1984 -- I know this because the Mini I had at that time had punctures every couple of weeks, and I became an expert at fast wheel-changing.

A frustrating half hour on the phone to Hertz followed. We'd have changed the wheel ourselves to save time -- except there was no spare wheel in the car :( Luckily we'd left plenty of time in case of traffic jams, but in the end we abandoned the car, walked to the nearest hotel, and got a taxi to the airport. There we gave the key and a hasty explanation to the guy at the Hertz desk and rushed to the gate, arriving with 10 minutes to spare. The plane was late anyway, and then for the first time in history we had to circle Carcassonne airport waiting for a landing slot, descending through thick cloud and gusting wind for one of the bumpiest landings ever. The weather here is worse than it was in the UK -- we'd just missed a hailstorm.

Still, now we are home, and Mystère is delighted. You have to love a cat that doesn't sulk.