Parking incorrectly costs 129 Euros here!

I told you yesterday about the great parking space we snagged in Montalcino. It cost two Euros per hour from 8 AM to 10 PM – which we diligently paid. To avoid any risk, I dragged myself out of bed at 8 AM this morning to buy a new parking ticket. I went to the parking machine, paid for two hours, and returned – only to find a ticket stuck on the windshield: 129 Euros! A police car was parked less than ten meters away.

I was boiling with rage! Still, I remained polite, showed the ticket and my parking ticket, and asked what the issue was. “You can not stand there,” said the officer. Why, I asked. “You can not stand there,” he repeated. I explained that we were within the markings of the designated parking space and there was no sign anywhere indicating that motorhomes were prohibited from parking. “You can not stand there.”

The female officer was becoming increasingly impatient. She got into the car and indicated to her colleague that she would like to leave now. I asked again what would happen next. He shrugged, and I replied, “I can not stand there.” He nodded, got in, and they drove off.

I realized we had to move immediately, lest another patrol car show up and issue the next ticket. However, in our anger and outrage, we forgot to secure our belongings in the motorhome. On the first turn, a half-full jar of Nutella flew through the air. I wanted to pick it up when I grabbed a brown liquid – the coffee from last night, still half-full.

We desperately searched for a place to stop, but there was nothing on this winding downhill road. The gas station became our salvation. It was only a few kilometers to Pienza, our next stop.

About an hour later, we had everything more or less back in place. Fortunately, we quickly found a parking spot in Pienza – designated for motorhomes. Half of it was occupied by cars. I felt like handing out tickets myself…