Operation "Learn to Drive a Manual Car"

What's a weekend getaway without a bit of stress??

When making a roadtrip through Spain, renting an automatic car is not an option, so our only option was to rent a manual car. Neither of us have ever driven a manual car before, but Mike and I are always up for a challenge! Growing up, my Dad was in the process of teaching me how to drive a stick, but life happened and I never got the chance to actually drive one. I decided that was enough education for me in order to figure this out, so with a few follow-up video chat lessons with my Dad, multiple YouTube videos, a virtual drive with google maps and a reconnaissance mission to Hertz, I was good to go.

Refusing to get back in the car after getting lost in the vineyard

Though I managed to successfully trick Hertz into thinking we've done this before and got us to Pamplona, Elciego, and then back to Barcelona safely, it was by no means a smooth ride. Mike mastered the look of "Yea, woman driver" which was given to all the people staring at me as I stalled multiple times in traffic. When I stall a car, I stall it at least 5 times before I get it going again. I got stuck on a steep hill, diagonally, just before a blind curve, then decided to drive on a private road through the vineyard where I had to figure out how to make a multi-point U-turn to get out of the vineyard. Mike had to push the car on a multiple occasions to help me get into first gear. He had a lot of faith that I would decide to stop again to pick him back up. And finally, I stalled on the entrance lip of the parking garage needing Mike to push the car again while also having a homeless guy ask us if we needed help.

Parking in the bus spot seemed like a safer idea

Things I've learned from this experience... Don't drive a stick in flip-flops. Starting the car with the gas pedal is a pretty important skill. When in a bind, Mike will always push the car for you. It's a relief to have people pass you on the road, even if they are flicking you off along the way. I am not opposed to paying someone to drive my car for me. And the expression "You can't do the same thing over and over again and expect different results" holds very true.

Car safely returned back to Hertz

In the end, driving a manual car is fun, but I will never try it again unless I have an experienced driver sitting in the passenger seat with me.