Little Stalky Experiences Valet Parking

For Mystical Roo's birthday we stayed at the Hilton in Sydney.  I booked us an executive suite and was looking forward to a little bit of luxury.  We set off for Sydney in a gold Nissan X-Trail.  Not a bad car per se but certainly not the best.  It sounds like a plane for a start and the wing mirrors are not to be trusted.  It's a bit rough round the edges.  It might have a bit of chewing gum stuck to a window.  But it does the job.  Most of the time.  It gets us from A to B.  Most of the time.  That morning we happened to have Mystical Roo's surf board with us so that he could have a birthday dip at Bondi Beach.  This surf board is a beast and we had to strap it to the roof of the car.  We don't have anything official to strap it to the roof with so we use bungees and rope.  Oh yeah and we protected the roof of the car and the surfboard by laying it atop a few layers of fake grass.  As you do.  On a separate note, if the bungees are being held in place by a closed door then don't - I repeat don't - open that door.  That's one way to lose an eye.  Or anger the driver parked next to you.  Anyway, bungees aside you have to picture how beautiful the x-trail was looking.  The roof was covered in fake grass with a bright red surfboard strapped in with bungees and rope.  So when we pulled up at the Hilton we looked some what out of place.  I thought we'd just park ourselves but we had no choice but to accept valet parking.  We pulled up behind - no I'm not joking - a Bentley and a Mercedes.  So, Bentley, Mercedes, dodgy x-trail with dodgy surfboard attachment.  I had to giggle.  I don't know about Mystical Roo but I've never experienced valet parking before.  It feels a bit strange giving your car keys to a stranger to do for you what you could quite easily do for yourself.  And then there's that awkward moment of oh am I supposed to tip?  Mystical Roo reasoned that it seemed strange to tip someone who probably earns more than you do.  So we left the x-trail, surfboard and all in the hands of a stranger.  When we came back less than 24 hours later I think I nearly fainted when I saw that the cost of parking amounted to $170.  Luckily for us, as guests of the Hilton, this was reduced to a more digestible $46.  I had actually called to check the cost of parking so I think I knew we wouldn't have to pay the $170 but it still made me nervous.  $170 on parking!  That's just crazy.  We paid our ticket and wondered what to do next.  It seemed we didn't need to wonder for too long as the x-trail made a speedy entrance.  Good old x-trail.  I wonder if Mystical Roo told the valet parking dude about the dodgy hand break and weird method of putting the car into drive.  I know what you're thinking, oh, Little Stalky, should you be driving this thing?  Well I wasn't.  Mystical Roo was.  But it's perfectly safe.  You just have to understand it's little intricacies.  I wonder what the x-trail made of its night in the Hilton.  I hope it wasn't intimidated by big scary Bentleys and what not.  I'm sure it held its own.  After all, it did have a big ass surfboard strapped to its head.  And some fake grass.  Travelling in style, our own unique style.  But quite frankly if I'm paying that much for parking and much more for the room then I think we can drive whatever the hell we want.