Very short post.
Last day with my friend the tractor truck. I call him that because he runs on diesel and is louder than my grandfather's old tractor. And more expensive to rent than a truck, relevant when you see what is coming.
I had been driving the old tractor all over Tuscony, with visits to Siena, Monteriggioni, Follonica, Saturnia, Pisa and Florence. Today, was the last day, after about 8 days of driving on the wrong side of the road, dodging insane Italians on all manner of vehicles. Tractors, motorbikes, cars, trucks, scooters, bicycles and don't forget the occaisional suicidal pedestrian or gawking tourist. They threw everything they had at me and the old tractor, and we just laughed.
Until today.
Pulling up outside Europcar to return the keys, get our stuff out and quickly run to the train station togo to Milan, I heard a sickening crunch and a corresponing lurch against the steering wheel. 'Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap' is about the only thing that went through my head. Better yet, there's already a policeman at my window, going 'seriously, I can't believe you just did that'.
Not only was I right outside Europcar, I was also outside the police station. It gets worse. The car I hit wasn't just a car, it was a Mercedes. What's worse, the Mercedes belonged to one of the policemen in the building. What's worse, the policemen around me started to ultiply. The guy from Europcar appeared and seemed to be negotiating something for me/him/us. All of this was happening in Italian as I wondered if it seriously would be all that bad an idea to run away.
'Don't worry, happens all the time says the policemen owning the car' (he probably got some sweet insurance deal out of it all'. 'Don't worry, happens all the time', says the Europcar guy.
Damage to cars being his headlight, and some rubber that rubbed off his bumper onto the side of our car that can easily be removed by hand. Damage to mine and Annabel's wallets. Well, its too embarrassing to say, except that we need to pay the full premium, regardless of the damage, and that we may as well have rented a tractor, a truck, and a rocketship, sent them half way to the moon and back as well as refueled them 3 times before returning them to the depot minus their headlights and paid or their replacement, and it would have been cheaper.
Am safely in Milan (cos I know you were worried)
Ciao.
4 comments:
oh holy hell!!!!!
thats shocking. im so glad you got out okay (well, sort of)
waha.
Am also glad that you're okay - when you said that you'd been in a car accident i was worried you might have been physically injured.
It seems you've been financially injured though - sympathy for you there little buddy....
uno retardo ragazzo. understand that?
holy hell that was the funniest thing i've read all day.
just in case you're missing brat - an organic man hit on me in the supermarket because my banana's were facing upwards, a guy in an orange fluro vest working inlydiard st hit on me, and the fireman has finally stopped hitting on me. well... that really wasn't about brat so much as about me. you KNOW i'm egotistical, don't act surprised.
when do you get home? ainsley's moving in sunday. weeeeeird. :)
ciao bello.
back on friddie! Want to go nd see Indiana Jones wit me??? I can't wait. I almost went to see it in Italian but then realised probably wouldn't enjoy it. Found out last night that Sylvester Stallone and Dustin Hoffman have the same Italian guy doing their voice overs. Can you imagine what it would be like to hear Harrison Ford sound the same as Hugh Jackman?
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