Just before returning to England from my three-month-long stay in Lyon during the spring and summer of 2009, I had one other mission to accomplish in my Renault 4. A French friend of mine was getting married in her home village, nestled amongst the French Alps south of Grenoble. I had reckoned on the drive there from Lyon not taking more than a couple of hours, but in fact it took twice that long due to convoys of French holidaymakers heading south and into the hills at the height of the national annual getaway. Just about every vehicle ahead of me was fitted with bikes or a roof box, and a slow-moving procession from the motorway turn-off at Grenoble had me stuck for over an hour, causing me to miss the wedding service. Hero as I consider my Reflexia to be, there was nothing she could do on this occasion and I had to sit suffering in searing heat at five kilometres per hour, knowing that just across the mountains my friends were getting hitched without me.

At least I was able to join the convoy of wedding vehicles afterwards as we kitted them all out with paper bouquets and headed to the reception taking place a few kilometres further away, whereupon local tradition dictates that drivers beep their horns through every town and village, drawing attention from onlookers of whom many were curious at the sight of my familiarly French yet foreign intruder.

The day after the wedding, I returned via a touristic route around the mountains, taking in some breathtaking views. With the Renault 4's forty-eighth birthday approaching on August 3rd, my own Reflexia celebrated her twenty-fifth birthday this year, so I hope she enjoyed this scenic drive as much as I did. Most cars wouldn't expect to still be around at her age.