24/07/2017 – La Spezia, Italy – Driving from Milan
The year is 2017 and we decided to complete a pre-Brexit tour of mainland Europe before the privilege could be torn away from us. To complete the trip we treated ourselves to the quintessential hairdressers car, specifically a 2003 Audi TT which we thought would be perfect for making the most of the autobahn and for having fun driving around windy European roads.
We had a wonderful time in Milan, visiting all the highlights tasting both the most delicious ice lolly and also the best gelato we’d ever had up to that day. We were also on a high after managing to park in the tightest parking spaces we’ve ever seen.
It was on one of these drives, between Milan and La Spezia, we noticed it sounded like we had swapped the TT for something a little more sporty, initially we thought maybe the German car decided it would be more Italian. Unfortunately, the reality was the muffler had sheared clear of the exhaust, creating noise enviable to 17 year-old chavs, but highly embarrassing to us at the time.
While we were in Milan we had discovered a really interesting AirBNB to stay in, just outside of, but overlooking La Spezia. The apartment was built into a cave in a hill with a view of the coast from the terrace. On arrival to the apartment, I took no time before telling the host about our predicament and asking for help. Unfortunately the language barrier was wide and in my eagerness to communicate the problem we had with the car, I earnestly told the host that the ‘car fuma’ which she took to mean our car was burning and needed extinguishing.
After a brisk walk back to the car while trying to get Google translate to work and eventually resorting to showing her the problem directly, she very kindly got to work calling various local mechanics for their help. Later that evening she let us know to go to Autofficina Garage Angeli in the morning so that they could help fix the problem.
The following morning we enjoyed breakfast with a view from the terrace, and contemplated what we might need to change in the itinerary. We asked the host whether the apartment was available another night, but unfortunately it wasn’t so we decided to make our move early to see what the mechanic said.
The mechanic said we need to wait a week for a new exhaust kit from Audi and that it should cost 1,500 euros to fix. The car was barely worth that much and so I asked him if it would be possible to weld it back together well enough that we could continue on with our journey and make it back home. He wasn’t too keen, but agreed when we promised we’d get it fixed properly when we returned home.
After agreeing the method of repair, we anxiously waited and I withdrew 300 euros, hoping that would be enough to cover the repairs with some of the other cash we were carrying. We couldn’t really afford to spend that much repairing the car, but didn’t want to abort our travels at this stage, with so many amazing places left to see.
After two hours and a couple of chases, the younger mechanic waved me over to show me the repair. He told us his father wouldn’t accept any money which was such a relief but I did still offer several times! When it was clear they wouldn’t accept any payment I took a couple of fists full of sweets from the glovebox, passed them around and dropped a load onto their desk for them to enjoy later.
After all of that excitement, we then headed on to the incredible Manarola in a much quieter car.
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