Our newly formed team... now two Americans and two French get down to work.

The Hay Loft sans roof tiles...

Patric and Eric look at the beam project and tell us that we are crazy. We are in their country so we listen. Sure enough they come up with a better solution. This by-lateral international planning program takes about 2 hours. Now it is time for lunch. Linda has the Hertz rental so our only means of transportation is Eric’s work van. It is a 20 year old reneau full of tools and parts and it smokes worse than Eric. It is a diesel and it is slow, it has 3 bald tires. I jump in the front seat, Eric at the wheel and Jules and Patric sit in back with the doors open for their feet to hang out. Off to lunch we go. Lunch in France yes even very rural France (France Profunde) is a big, slow deal. There are three levels of prices for the Plat dejour. 12.50 for the full lunch including entre, wine, main course, and desert. 9.50 is for the plat and wine and 8.50 plate only. I write these numbers on the place mat get Eric’s attention and cross out the 12.50 and the 8.50 and make a big circle around the 9.50. He gives me an affirmative toothless grin and I think all is well. Remember that the Euro costs me $1.30 so lunch at 8.50 euro costs me well over $13 each. The French waitress comes to the table and we make a choice from two main courses. There is a side conversation with the waitress and Eric. I think they must be friends. I order the 9.50 euro deal as does Jules. For some strange reason both Eric and Patric get an entre. Then out comes the main course and a large carafe of wine. Humm who ordered that? We all get down to work. It is delicious of course. As we finish there is another conversation with the waitress and Eric. The plates are cleared and out comes desert for Eric and Patric. They clean their plates eat all the bread drink all of the wine eat desert roll and smoke two cigarettes each. Jules does not drink but smokes. This process takes 2 hours and Jules is chomping at the bit to get going. Jules eats on the job with one hand while running the hammer with the other so this lunch process is truly foreign to him. He is type A and going nuts to get back to the job and my inner calculator is running at full speed. I get up and walk in to pay the bill 52 Euros. Yep they ordered what I told them to order then added on all the other stuff one at a time. One lessens well learned by me. On the spot Jules and I decide to pack lunch and give these bozo’s 10 euro each and let them buy their own lunches.