You paid how much for a tank of gas?!

   So I had to break down and buy gas for the car...luckily someone gave me 50 liters worth of gas in coupons that are like money.  I was thinking it was a lot but it's only 13.2 gallons.  You may be aware that gas in Europe is sold by the liter.  So I filled up the car last Monday thinking I'd have some gas coupons left over.  Much to my chagrin a full tank took 48.5 liters or 12.8 gallons leaving me NO gas coupons.  The left over was returned to me in change.  The cost in Euros was 86.13 if memory serves.  A quick euro to dollars conversion shows $111.37 for 12.8 gallons of gas or $8.70 per gallon.  Yikes!!  I guess I don't feel so bad for paying $3.85 per gallon in San Antonio.
 
   You might be wondering about the gas coupons...as a member of NATO, we're authorized to purchase a ration of gas coupons per month based on vehicle size.  We buy the coupons at a reduced price thus chopping the gas price roughly in half.  So I guess I'll smile as we pay $4.35 per gallon instead of $8 or $9.
 
   Quick van update: I mentioned in a previous post that the driver-side window was broken in transit.  Turns out it was not broken, the window motor (the part that makes it go up and down) died.  There was no evidence of force or damage by an external source.  Therefore, the carrier will not pay for damage considered "standard" wear and tear.  What is aggravating--we replaced the part less than 2 years ago in San Antonio, if we're lucky we only have to wait 10 days to get the part in, we're paying a daily storage fee for the van to sit at the mechanic's shop, and our monthly gas allotment is tied to getting the van registered which requires an inspection which it may or may not pass because of the window.  With out the coupons, we're paying through the nose for gas, capisce?  We can still make our weekly Sunday bus ride to church without the van.  Although today it was very cold and windy (probably in the 40s) after church.  Waiting 30 minutes for the bus in the cold was not fun.  We huddled at the bus stop like penguins in the Artic.  We penguins need cheaper gas.