Here is chapter 2!
After a long flight, the plane landed in Paris, France.
"Bonjour, Carla, me pretty madame!" Raoul greeted as Carla got off of the plane.
"Hello Raoul. How are you doing?" Carla replied.
"I'm excellent, thank you for asking! How about you?"
"Oh, I'm fine, thank you very much. Got a good sleep on the plane so I'm not tired at all. So what are we going to do first?
Raoul had to think for a few moments. He had not really planned the day out, and he had expected Carla to be extremely tired. "Uhh...let's see...hmm...I'd imagine that you are probably very hungry. You want to get something to eat?"
No idea was more appealing to Carla at that moment. "Yes! Cause I am starving. Oh I can't wait to see those fancy French resteraunts-"
"Uh, actually, I was saving one of those for dinner. I was just thinking of going somewhere simple to eat."
"Oh. So where were you thinking of?"
"Umm...there's this delicious bakery that we can go to. I mean, it's just baked goodies and all, but I think you'll like it and it will satisfy your - and my - hunger. At least for the time being."
"Uhh...ok."
The two cars left the airport and went to the bakery that Raoul mentioned. They both got French Rolls. Carla devoured hers down.
"So what do you think?" Raoul asked. "Did I tell you that they were delicious or did I tell you that they were delicious?"
Carla giggled. "Oh, Raoul you are funny!" She decided to have a little fun with him. "Let me think...umm..oh, boy, this is a tough decision...uhh...oh, yeah, they were delicious!"
Raoul laughed in typical French style. "I'm the funny one? You are mistaken, madame; you are the funny one! Hahaha!"
"But you're the one who started it! Hmm, delicious or delicious? There was only one option there!"
"But you were the one being all dramatic over it!"
They both stared at each other, then laughed some more. "So what are we going to do first in Paris?" Carla asked after she had calmed down.
"Well...I thought that we could go for a little drive through the countryside first...then we'd come back to Paris. If that's ok with you, of course!"
"Actually, that sounds like a nice idea!"
The two cars left Paris, and drove through the countryside of France. Some of it was natural forest, while other parts of it was farm country. They even passed by a few rural 15th century villages. Carla enjoyed the scenic drive.
After a while Raoul wanted to start a conversation with Carla. "So, tell me more about yourself."
"Like what?" Carla asked.
"Well...what about your interests?"
"Firstly - and perhaps obviously - I love to race. I also love to dance and party! I also like to take it easy at times, as racing and dancing can be exhausting. Oh, and I care about the environment. And I like football - or soccar, or whatever you want to call it. But just about every Brazilian does!"
"Sweet."
"Oh yeah, and I also like adventures. But I don't like it when Cruz - my pit crew chief and step-father - worries over me every second I am on an adventure or am doing anything in which he cannot supervise me over. I also don't like waiting, and I'm a little scared of the dark. I despise it when guys are only attracted to me because of my body. And I hate being scratched from races."
"Haha, don't we all?"
"Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry; you were asking for my interests and I eventually starting telling you my dislikes. I'm sorry, I get off of topic at times."
"Hey, don't worry about it; we all do that at times."
"So what about you? What are your interests."
"Oh, me? Well, I like to race as well, and I enjoy performing tricks - I actually was part of the Cirque du Voiture."
Carla was interested. "Cool! But what's that?"
"It is a French circus."
"Neat...can you show me some of your tricks? Please?"
"Of course!" Raoul balanced on his two right wheels and drove around in a figure 8. He then jumped up into the air, doing a backflip while in the air. He landed on his two front wheels, then spun like an iceskater. He jumped into the air again, this time doing a side twist. He landed on all fours, and bowed.
Carla cheered excitely. "Wow, Raoul! That. Was. Amazing!"
"Thank you! And that was just the basics."
"Oh boy, you must show me more later on!"
"Don't worry, madame, I will!"
"When?"
"When I perform for you and all of the other World Grand Prix competitors - aka our friends - the next time we see each other."
"Oh...ok."
The two continued to talk and drive through the countryside. After about 2 hours, they arrived at a rural town. And in that rural town was a bistro. They went in it.
The bistro was small, but it was very cosy. It was not crowded. They seated themselves at a table.
"You wait here; I'll be back in a moment or too," Raoul drove off.
He went into the kitchen. An older red Tesla car noticed and recognized him. "Bonjour, Raoul!"
"Bonjour, Colette!" Raoul greeted back. "How are you doing?"
"I'm doing wonderful, thank you! So how are you doing?"
"I'm doing good!"
"Great. So what brings you here at this time?"
"Colette, if you don't mind, I ask of a request from you..."
After he finished talking to Colette, Raoul drove back to the table. "Sorry for the wait."
"That's ok," Carla said. "So where's the menu?"
"There won't be a menu today, madame. It's gonna be a surprise. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be back in a bit."
Carla was confused when Raoul left again. A few moments after he came back, the waiter brought them their bread.
She took a piece of the bread and ate it. "Yum. Why is French bread so good?"
"Cause it is," Raoul replied as he took a piece of the bread and ate it.
The two finished eating the bread, and afterwards Raoul excused himself and left once again. Carla was very confused.
Raoul came back to the table 45 minutes later, and a few moment after he came back the waiter served their meal: lobster bisque.
"What took you so long?" Carla asked, concerned.
Raoul thought of how he could avoid answering the question. "Uhh..." He noticed the bisque. "Hey, look, our food's here. Bon appetit!" Raoul immediately started to eat the soup. Carla did the same.
They ate the soup, savouring the flavour. When they finished the waiter came to take the dishes.
"That was really good!" Carla said.
"Agreed. Now, I'll be back in a bit..." Raoul got up to leave.
But Carla stopped him. "So where have you been going? What are you doing?"
Raoul hesitated. "Uhh...I need to go to the loo." To convince her, he crossed his hind wheels.
Carla was now extremely worried. "For the fourth time? Is there something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong; I'm fine!" Raoul realized the mistake that he made in using the excuse he did.
"Are you sure? Cause this is not normal. Something could be very wrong with your bladder!"
"No, my bladder is fine!"
"Perhaps there's something wrong with your intestines!"
"No, my intestines are fine!"
"Are you sure? Perhaps something is wrong and you just don't know it. You should see a doctor-"
Raoul nearly panicked at the thought. "No I do not need to see a doctor!"
Carla noticed his panicky expression. "Raoul, don't worry about ruining our date! I'd rather see you get the medical attention that you need!"
"It's ok, Carla, I don't need any medical attention. Uhh...I'll be back in a bit." Raoul left.
Carla was relieved when he came back, and the waiter arrived with their dessert - chocolate-covered strawberries - a few moments later.
Carla ate one of the strawberries. "This is delicious!"
Raoul popped one of the strawberries onto his mouth. "Oui, they sure are!"
The strawberries were quickly devoured. The waiter came to take the dishes.
"My compliments to the chef!" Carla exclaimed.
"Would you like to meet the chef? The chef just happens to be here right now," Colette said.
"Sure. Wait...are you the chef?"
"Normally, yes, but this time I'm just your waiter. He's your chef." Colette pointed to Raoul.
Carla was shocked. "Raoul...you were the chef?!"
"Oui," Raoul replied. "Surprise!"
"Wow." She came to a realization. "Wait, so when you said you had to go to the loo...you were just making up an excuse to go back and cook?"
"Oui. It was a bad excuse, I know, but I just couldn't think up of anything else to say when you asked me why I was leaving so often."
"Yeah, it was a bad excuse, but I'm just so glad that you are not having any problems relieving yourself!
Raoul felt a little awkward. "Uhh...same here, I guess..."
Carla giggled.
"So you liked the food?" Raoul asked, even though he knew what the answer was, just to change the topic.
"Oh, it was wonderful! Raoul, you are an excellent chef!" Carla hugged Raoul.
Raoul blushed a little. "Thanks!" He looked over to Colette. "So how much do I owe ya?" Raoul asked.
"Ah, don't worry about it, Raoul!" Colette said. "It's on the house!"
"Cool! Thanks! Not just for the food but for letting me cook it as well!"
"You're welcome!"
The two race-cars said goodbye to Colette, then they left the bistro. They drove out of the rural town, back into the countryside.
As they drove, they went by a protected nature reserve. Raoul decided to take Carla there, since she said that she was into the environment. "This forest most closely resembles the ancient forests that used to exist all throughout France," he told his Brazilian friend. "But it is missing the native species that are extinct or gone from most of France."
"Like what?" Carla couldn't help but ask.
"Like the bear and the wolf."
"Oh, that's sad. Will they ever come back?"
"I have no idea about the bears, but wolves were recently discovered in south-eastern France. Biologists say that they came from Italy."
Carla decided to joke around. "Francesco told the wolves to invade France!"
Raoul was laughing uncontrollably - in typical French style. "Hahahahaha Carla that is extremely funny! Francesco's army of Italian wolves! Hahahaha! And they shall take over all of France! Hahaha!"
Carla laughed along with him, enjoying the joke that she had created.
After they had finished laughing, the two cars explored the nature reserve. They enjoyed viewing the native forests. On occasions, they saw a wild animal. As usual, they continued talking.
"You want to start heading back to Paris?" Raoul asked after a while.
Carla responded with a question. "Have we really been out here that long?"
"We've been here for about an hour, and it took a little longer than two hours to arrive here, so it'd take at least the same amount of time to get back."
"Ok then."
"Did you enjoy the forest?"
"Yes, I did. It was so peaceful, and beautiful."
"That is good."
The two cars hopped back onto the road. After about two hours, they made it back to Paris.
The first thing that Raoul did was take Carla to see the Eiffel Tower. "Well, this is it - the icon of Paris and of France!" he told her. "So what do you think of it?"
Carla looked up at the icon. "Wow...it is absolutely gorgeous! No wonder it is an icon!"
Raoul smiled, glad that Carla appreciated the icon of France. After that he took her to see the other Paris icons, such as the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Arc De Triomphe, and The Louvre.
"Wow, Paris is beautiful!" Carla remarked. "You must love living here!"
"Actually, I don't live here," Raoul admitted. "I live in Alsace. I do come here often, though. Which reminds me, we are staying at a hotel tonight. Rest assured, though, it is a fancy one."
"Uhh...ok."
All of a sudden, a growl-like sound could be heard. Carla covered her stomach with her front wheels. She was embarrassed. "Err, sorry about that."
"Sorry about what?" Raoul asked.
The sound could be heard again. "That. It was my tummy. It means I'm hungry."
"Perfect. Cause our dinner reservation is in...15 minutes!"
"Oh, good. Where are we going?"
"The one and only, five-star Gastow's!"
Carla licked her lips. She had heard about that place, and about how delicious the food there was. She grabbed her friend's right front wheel. "Let's go!"
The two cars went to Gastow's. Once they got their seats and the menus, the two cars continued to speak.
"I really hope that you are enjoying this date so far," Raoul said.
"I am," Carla replied. "Very much." She looked at the menu. "Now, what do you suggest I get?"
"Escargot," Raoul instantly replied. "Well, actually, I was thinking that we can share the meals. We can get that and the large ratatouille dish. And some soup, and cheese, and a few other stuff."
"That's a good idea."
"You don't have to worry; I'll do the ordering. Anything that you will not eat?"
Carla looked over the menu. She spotted something that she would not eat, and told her French friend. "Horse."
"Me neither, so you don't have to worry about that!"
After a few minutes of going over the menu items with Carla and choosing which ones they wanted, Raoul ordered the meal. Not long later, the server came with the wine they ordered.
Carla took a sip of hers. "Wow, this is good."
"Only the best in France is served here, madame," Raoul told her. He took a sip of his. "Tis from the best wine country in France!"
"Ahh, so that's what all of those grape farms we kept seeing were for?"
"Oui."
After a while, their food came. By then both Carla and Raoul were very hungry, and immediately started to eat. Raoul went straight for the escargot, while Carla ate the ratatouille. Eventually they switched.
Carla tried the escargot. She made a face. "Ugh...I'm sorry, Raoul, but I don't like the escargot."
Raoul took it from her. "That's ok. You don't have to like it. It was good that you gave it a try, though. Here, have this soup."
They continued eating, then ordered dessert. By the time dessert was finished, neither of them could eat any more. "Man, if I eat one more bite of anything I think my stomach will explode," Raoul said.
"Agreed," Carla added. "So are we going to the hotel now?"
"No. I have one more place that I want to take you." After he paid for the meal, Raoul and Carla left Gastow's. After a few minutes, they reached the destination.
Pont Des Arts. "Wow, it is beautiful!" Carla remarked.
"You know, couples are supposed to kiss when they cross the Pont Des Arts," Raoul informed.
Carla smiled. "You want to kiss me, don't you?"
"Oui. But only if you want to; I'm not gonna force ya."
"Well, I do want to."
Raoul and Carla leaned closer to each other, then did a French Kiss. Neither of them knew how long it lasted, but they enjoyed every second of it.
After the kiss was over, the two cars went to the hotel that Raoul had reserved.
As he had said, it was extremely fancy. The hotel room itself was large, with a bed that could fit two full-size cars.
"Wow. This is very nice," Carla said.
Raoul hopped onto the bed. "I'm glad you think so."
She got into bed with him, and he snuggled up against her.
A knock could be heard on the door. Raoul got out of the bed to see who was disturbing them at this time. He opened the door, and saw his pit crew chief.
"Bonjour, Bruno!" Raoul greeted.
Bruno grabbed Raoul by his side-view mirror, and dragged him into the hallway. Raoul looked at Bruno. "Uhh...am I in trouble?"
"No, of course not!" Bruno grabbed a heart-shaped box of chocolate and some red flowers, and gave them to Raoul. "These are for you to give to your girlfriend. Flowers and chocolate, the classic gift of love. I didn't know what kind of flowers she would like, so I stuck with the tried-and-true favorite, red roses."
Raoul enthusiastically took the roses and box of chocolate. "Thanks, Bruno! She's gonna love this!"
"No problem, Raoul! You two have fun, now. See you later."
"See ya, Bruno!" Raoul went back into the hotel room, hiding the gifts behind him."
"So who was it?" Carla asked. "And what'cha hiding?"
"It was my pit crew chief Bruno. And I'm hiding nothing." Raoul replied.
"Really? It sure looks like you're hiding something!"
"I'm not!"
Carla was not convinced, but decided to not press on with it. "Ok...so what did he want?"
"Oh, he just wanted to...uhh...tell me something..." Raoul lied.
"What did he tell you? Looked like you were in trouble."
"No, I was not in trouble, and it's nothing that you need to know about."
"Ok."
"Oh yeah, and I got something for you!" Raoul showed Carla the roses and the heart-shaped box.
Carla squealed in delight. "Thank you Raoul!" She sniffed the flowers. "Oh, they smell so good! And are so pretty! What's in here?" She opened the box. Inside it was heart-shaped chocolate. "Yummy!"
"I hope that you like it."
"Like it? I LOVE it! Thank you!"
"You're welcome."
Carla put one of the chocolate pieces in her mouth. "Oh, these are so good! Want one?"
"Sure."
She popped a piece in his mouth, and he placed one on her tongue. They continued to eat the chocolate until it was gone.
Raoul laid back down on the bed, and yawned. "I think I'm going to go to sleep now."
"Ok, me too. Goodnight, Raoul."
"Goodnight, Carla."
The lights were turned out, and the two cars fell asleep.
"Yes, they actually eat horse meat in some European countries, including France :(" Sad...