Post by Ella
Staying in a pedestrian only area in Arles and having a rental car meant finding a place to park added to travel challenge. Our AirBnB host gave us the location of a parking garage that was “secure and monitored “ 24/7. A 15 minute walk to the apartment. Okay, that works.
We left the car for two nights but needed it yesterday for our outing to Carmague. Being Sunday, the place was quiet. We retrieved the car, drove to the exit, inserted ticket, tapped with credit card…payment refused. Tried a different card. Refused. Inserted card instead of tapping. Refused. Exit gate remained firmly closed. Yikes. Were we stuck here forever? Another round of trying the same cards, which of course wasn’t going to work. I searched out the parking office. Closed on Sunday.
Then, like magic, a parking attendant appeared (did someone push the “hey, idiot tourists trying to get out” button?) The guy looked at our ticket and said…”it is too much for this one..come I show you”.
Turns out, the little pay box at the exit could only handle small payments. If you get over 25€, you have to go find the big momma machine, pay there, get an exit ticket and then use the exit ticket to get out. Day saved! Thank you kind attendant.