June 13, 2008
First things first: we have arrived in Milan, Italy; all 5 suitcases! That’s the most important aspect which I am sure will soon be overshadowed by adventures and old and new lessons.
We arrived in the pouring rain. Now, we all read about the “to do’s “when travelling….old lessons learned long ago. Lessons like:
Know what your foreign currency is worth (yes, it’s prettier that US dollars but it is NOT Monopoly money…(more on this later).
Even though it’s midnight, we’re exhausted, there are signs warning about “honest and not so honest” cab drivers, we still might slip up a little….or a lot. In hindsight, we did review our errors, like: “do you see a meter?” ANS: “no.” Response: “oh, ok.”.
“How much do you think this will cost?”. ANS: “I don’t know”. Response: “oh, ok”. Upon arrival at the hotel, the driver stops up a hill from the main entrance (still pouring rain) and remarks that he can’t go down the driveway because…? Ummm, it’s blocked. Is it? “Oh, ok”. I’ll just run down the hill and get a cart or something while Kim pays. Upon return (with the cart). “I don’t see a blocked driveway”….Kim:” this is costing us $90”. Me:”oh, ok. Do you need more money?”. Down the hill we go with our 300 lbs. of luggage, in the pouring rain (did I mention that?) and being the polite American travelers that we are, we say “Grazie!—thank you!”….Thank you for ripping us off, for seeing that we were the perfect tourist patsies, that it should have been a $35 fare but we gladly paid $90 because we are Americans and we just received our stimulus package and we are happy to share (with another country).
Being good social workers, it’s good to debrief our experience prior to (trying) to go to sleep. “honey, let’s not do that again tomorrow”. “Oh, ok”.
Euros: crispy and pretty. They are worth about 1.4 to the dollar; in other words: One Euro = about $1.45; not .63 cents. Friendly reminder, the dollar is worth about .63….so best to keep that in mind as we calculate future cab rides.
Finally, if the cab driver says the ride costs equivalent to $90, we should question that price. If the cab driver stops at the top of the drive way leading into the hotel and says he can’t go in there, be a bit more curious, especially as he dumps all the luggage in puddles of rain and quickly drives away. And, last lesson for tonight: don’t say “thank you” and mean it.
2 comments:
Love your blogs Rachel. Kim get out of the damn bed! This all sounds so familiar. You feel like you are on another planet for awhile and then you will settle in to your new routines and absorb the beauty of it all. Once the jet lag is over and the double cappuccinos kick in you can take it on. The Italians get things done on their own time so be patient it will get done. Gas prices are high there too that might have contributed to your fare. Gelato and brioche sandwiches help!
Hi Guys! Nancy forwarded me you blog site....oh yes, sounds quite familiar as Nan said! And I echo that it does get mo betta after the shock wears off...going as "native" as you can will help you cope. As I remember almost 7 years living in Italy, peeps that went as "native" as you could and accept the culture fared much better than those that stayed "american" and just griped about the vast differences in the way business gets done! Good luck!!
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