Driver’s License Arrived

I was awakened this morning (that would be, er, yesterday morning, as I’m writing after midnight) by the doorbell, but I only had 30 seconds to be grumpy about it. It was the mail carrier, delivering my French driver’s license (two signatures required for delivery). Back when I passed my road test, I asked my driving instructor how long it would take to get the actual license in the mail, and she said that two months was typical. But it came in only six weeks (to the day), which is nice. Especially considering that in another week, we’re heading to Spain for a weeklong vacation, and we’ll be in an area where it’s awkward to get around without a car (while one-week car rentals cost less than cab fare to and from the airport—go figure).

Now I definitely need a new wallet. French driver’s licenses (which are sort of tri-fold booklet type things) are significantly larger than the credit card-sized licenses we get in the U.S., and neither my license nor my carte de séjour will fit in my current wallet. (Or, there’s always the man-purse option, this being Europe and all, but I like to travel light.)