Tuesday morning, and we are up before dawn, because we catch the Freciabianco train to Verona at nine o'clock. I had made a taxi reservation the night before, and he was there precisely at 0745. But first, the problem of getting out of the apartment. Massimo's instructions were: "Just toss keys in box. Then you are through".
This one took me a while to figure out. Remember there are three keys to the apartment; one to open the massive door at street level that admits you to the courtyard, the second key gets you into the building. By the way, there's a giant drainage grating you stand on while opening this door. One fumble and your keys disappear into the Milan sewer system. The drop box is a short flight of stairs up, opposite the elevator, aka, vertical coffin on a string. Both of these doors slam shut behind you like prison doors, and the only way to open them is with the key, no matter whether you are inside or outside. If we followed Massimo's instructions, we would be trapped; locked out of the apartment on the stairwell; no way to get out of the building, no way to get out of the courtyard onto the street. Find out what happens to our hapless travelers on the next exciting episode. (Note: I believe I changed the settings to allow comments. If you rescue us from the stairwell, I will send you a coupon for a free espresso at Guido's Bar in Milan.)
No comments:
Post a Comment