And then the nightmare started: the ticket machine didn’t take our toll card, not my bank card, not my credit card … and meanwhile the Italians were honking behind us. ‘ Yes, damn it’ I was murmuring; ‘ This F machine isn’t working!’ So I pushed the service button – I don’t like asking for help so this was quite a thing to do for me. An Italian answered the call – and like most Italians – he didn’t speak English very well. At first he speaking Italian that we couldn’t understand and then he shouted: ‘The black hole – The black hole!’ Haha what the F… the black hole? – in the meanwhile I’m visualizing all dirty and weird images – I’m shaking my head. ‘okay, Jaimy concentrate’ I’m telling myself.
So… he meant the black money slider, but it just wouldn’t open I’m telling him. But he kept repeating ‘ The black hole, the black hole!’. Status quo; a blonde frustrated and stressed lady who pushes all the buttons . ‘Oh my, another tourist’ the Italians behind us were probably thinking. Luckily the Italians – despite their excessive honking – are also very kind and helpful people. A woman came to help me and told the man of the service button that the money slider won’t open. In the end we succeeded with cash and we managed to find a parking spot. After I turned off the engine, I took a moment to ease the stress …’breathe in – breathe out ‘… I felt better after a few seconds, but then we found out there were no toilets. So we had to make a stop again…the second time went a bit smoother.
We didn’t beat ourselves up that day, and after a couple of minutes rehabilitating we just kept smiling!