Driving in Paris…

Back in Paris, my last trip in Barcelonnette really motivated me to start my driving lessons. It turns out to be a perfect time to learn driving here. Paris is eerily quiet, with very few cars and only a few people on the streets (the Parisians have all left the French capital for holiday). The weather is not too hot, and driving lessons available.

This morning I have just finished my 5th or 6th lesson. Driving is difficult ! While studying the mechanics of the vehicle is new and interesting, applying the theories in the car is a whole different story. Changing the gears, pushing different pedals with both feet (which causes me calf cramps !) and at the same time checking all the time around the car and the state of the roads……. This is much more complex that I thought.

Each time when we start learning something new, the beginning is always laborious, so this is normal. Millions of people know how to driving and are doing it on a daily basis ! This idea comforts me in my desperation. Just like when I started ballet, the coordination, every single step seemed so impossible.

Now I know how to get the car moving and how to stop it, not bad ! Driving in the streets of the 16th arrondissement in the morning feels amazing. Having lived here for years, I know these streets very well, but driving here is another way of seeing them. As my friend suggested, “once you know how to drive, your life expands.”

It is true. Next lesson tomorrow morning !