Driving Italian Style

I thought that driving on the highways in Italy was like taking life in your own hands until we finally got to Rome. I had been to Rome before and already knew that most of us around here couldn’t survive however, I had never been in our own vehicle there. Our compact car, a Lancia(pronounced Lahn ch e ah), was perfect in the city if not a little under-powered on the highway. Small is good. Compact, good. If you look at the picture on the right, you will notice that these little cars will park anywhere that they can find a space. And why not, right? Can you imagine if someone did that in Cincinnati? I can see the tow truck coming now! We saw scooters and motorcycles everywhere also. Why not when the streets are so narrow and parking is so difficult. On one of my walks, I even saw a quad! Are you kidding me? I guess that if you can ride it, it’s legal. One of the vehicles that I saw around Italy was a three wheel truck. Yes, I said truck.

The size of the vehicles is not the only issue. While my husband was concentrating on driving (luckily he is an amazing driver both of vehicles and motorcross bikes), I was trying to read a map and navigate. Ok, note to all: objects on the map of Rome are not as far apart as they appear! By the time that I found one thing on the map, looked down and then back up, we were already way past where we were going. It doesn’t help when your step daughter tells you the wrong side of the river but that’s what taxi’s are for. ( I love you dear) We finally just parked the car and hailed a tassi. I was told by more than one person that actually live there that they do not drive in Rome! The metro system, taxi’s, buses and more make it much easier so learn from our mistake. Please.

 Notice scooter, quad, motorcycle       This IS a two way street                                                                                                                           These Smart Cars are perfect!