In Quebec city I made my way downtown, circling many times through different exits because there is so much construction and I don't understand the French highway signs. But I found a nice place to park, payed the parking meter for a couple of hours and went on my merry way. I strolled down the streets, enjoyed the beautiful architecture and trendy shops. After a nice cold chocolate beverage from a nice little cafe, I started back towards my car. It wasn't there. There was still 32 minutes left on the parking meter, but my car was gone. It turns out the street turned into a city bus depot between the hours of 1500 and 1800. I just didn't understand this when I parked because I am not used to the 24 hour clock and I don't read French. I thought it meant no overnight parking. I phoned my daddy and while I was trying to figure out what to do, I found a security guard who spoke English and he gave me the phone number to call. I called and the answering service was only in French! I tried pressing 0 to get an operator, but I was just disconnected. I found another guy who spoke English and he called the number for me and got the address of my car. It was only about a 4 block walk away. As I approach I realize, it isn't impounded, it is just sitting there. There is a ticket on my dash, but other than that, a little jiggling of the key and steering wheel to unlock it and away I go. The ticket is for $133, but I won't be shelling over the cash.
I leave Quebec first thing tomorrow morning and I will be done with all things French for quite some time to come... with exception to fries, maybe toast and of course *kissing.
*Participant yet to be determined.
No comments:
Post a Comment