Under the Tuscan Sun
We eventually made our way to Tuscany to get a good dose of rustic relaxation after the intense expense of the French Riviera. Driving through the countryside had us both excited as the rolling hills were littered with hundreds of vineyards which meant one thing: lots of wine! So, we ended up checking into a hotel in Pistoia – about an hour out of Florence. For the whole time we were there, we went to the same little wine bar and sat back whilst we drank their recommended drops and complimentary giant platters with each bottle – we had a total of 9 platters in the 3 nights we were there. One night in particular, we were convinced that 3 bottles of Merlot wasn’t enough and ventured out to a nearby outdoor bar with gas heaters. It wasn’t long before a bunch of young girls pounced onto Ads and had him shout the biggest communal mojito in the universe. Beyond full, we left the girls to polish off the dregs as we walked around in circles trying to find our hotel. After our 5th lap, we bumped into the girls again and asked for them to help us find our way home, but they scammed Ads into footing the entire drinks bill whilst Kez stood in dismay and horror. Ads snuck the credit card into Kez’s pocket before he was literally dragged back to the bar and Kez went to find some English speaking help. Enter Luka. Tall, dark and handsome, Luka. Kez put her best damsel in distress foot forward as she explained the situation – and later found out we’d just been had by a scam plotted against unsuspecting tourists. Ads eventually escaped without too much financial battering and eventually reunited with a distraught Kez in front of the Hotel. The next day, we recounted the previous night’s happenings and reminded ourselves to be a bit more savvy in future. The next night we went back to our fave little restaurant, had an amazing pigeon risotto and the last of their recommended Merlot and later walked in the brisk air to find some gelato. We found a little hole in the wall gelateria and ordered two Ferrero Rocher gelatos to the strapping young lad behind the counter. As he handed over the gooy goodness he looked up at us with bulging eyes. “Do you remember me?” he asked. After a good 30 seconds on drawing blanks, Ads thankfully broke the awkward moment with “Awwww, LUKA!!!” – realizing it was the legendary cat that helped us out the previous night. We thanked him again and scoffed our gelato all the way home, banging on about the coincidence we just had.
WIN:
Thanks to Lonely Planet for actually warning of such tourist scams.
FAIL:
Reading about the scam in the Lonely Planet AFTER the fact.
theflightclub 