Once a week in Florence they clean the streets. This happens in the middle of the night, and there is normally not a huge amount of evidence that the cleaners have been the next morning.
Unless, that is, your car happens to be there on the day they clean the streets, as we found out when they towed away the Panda for being in the wrong place on the wrong day.
There was, however, no sign that this was what had happened, and I thought the car had been nicked, especially as the streets were full of other cars and it seemed that it was only the Panda that was missing.
Anyway, after 2 harrowing days, the car is now back. And the only pain that remains is the whopping great fine to pay for the towing. Certainly it is something that you hope will not happen more than once. I will have to find out where the sign is that tells you what day and time is street cleaning time.
I also wonder whether if the car had been cleaner, they would have left it alone. Apparantly with work we get a discount on a car valet place near to the office, so I am heading there on Monday to get it a makeover, or at least a spit and polish.
One other memory of the missing car days is how very kind everyone at work was about it. Silvia and Rosa gave me the numbers to call to check on the car, and everyone shared their tales of cars that had been pinched, then returned by the police, normally in perfect shape. Lucia and Rosario who sit opposite me and had to put up with my long face on Thursday, sent me jokes to cheer me up, and we all went off for coffee (and on Friday, for a gelato!) to compensate for missing transport. Silvia also offered to lend me a bicycle to get about on. Really lovely.
If anyone ever needs a lift, I'm happily equiped to offer one again!
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