One problem down

Maybe not in the smartest way possible but given the circumstances and my status of a solo traveler it seemed the only way for the time being.

On Sunday I wrote both to the Piazzola sul Brenta city council and Padova tourist board asking to assist me with information on the transport between the two cities. Surprise! Or maybe not - none of them replied. (hello? is there anybody out there?)  OK, fine, whatever. So I wrote to the management of the hotel I’ll be staying at in Padova providing all the details: that July 14^th is Sunday, that I’ll be needing transport to Piazzola sul Brenta and I’ll be needing transport the same evening back to Padova. I specified that renting a car was an option I could’t use and getting a taxi was an option I’d rather not use (it has nothing to do with money and everything to do with safety). This time there was an immediate response (that is how you win loyal customers) though discouraging: “Dear Mrs Antonova, we are very sorry but there is no service organized to go to Piazzola sul Brenta. To go to the concert maybe you can use the public bus that takes 30 minutes, but there is no possibility to come back.”

WT*!?

But then there was sunshine after rain: “If you want we can arrange a private car to go and come back from the hotel.”

Oh. OH! The price is whopping but, let’s face it, I am in no position to choose. It’s one thing to negotiate with an anonymous taxi driver to come and pick you up late at night in a strange town in a foreign country; and completely different to have an official arrangement with your hotel. So I said “Sure, charge it.”

Maybe on the day of the concert I’ll be able to go to Piazzola sul Brenta by bus. Maybe during the long pre-concert hours I’ll manage to find someone with a car to drive me back to Padova. Possibly maybe. Luck will more than welcome on this trip but I prefer to leave for Italy with as fewer unknowns as possible.