Driving in Rome, Italy
'Italy" is in the title because there is also a Rome in New York, Ohio, and Georgia. Just typing "Roma" won't help because there is one of those in Texas and Sweden, not to mention the tomato. Now you know.)When I got in the car with Lorenzo in Rome, he excitedly said "Now I get to drive you around!" (Which is good, because I don't really want to drive in Rome. Or any place where the signs are different, non-existent, or in a foreign language.) (Well, except for stop signs. They say "STOP" everywhere, even in Rome (fermare) and France (arretez)) (I know, I know, I left off the accent.)
Driving on the highway was mostly normal, as far as I am concerned. They pass on the right, which is common here too. They even tailgate at 110 kpm. (70 mph) It is when you start driving on the streets of ancient Rome when things get interesting.
Very few streets are straight. Oh, it might look straight for a block or three, but then it turns and goes off in a random direction that is not necessarily a right angle. A direct route to a good restaurant or the best gelato is full of twists and turns and one way streets. (We are dealing with food here, in one of the premier food places in the world, so it is all worth it.) Like all major European capitals, Roman streets require patience on the part of the driver and passengers. Knowing where the signs are helps; but I didn't even know what they looked like.
Those of us privileged to live in a country where most streets were constructed AFTER the invention of the automobile are spoiled in that way; we have major thoroughfares and minor streets and we can count on there being enough space for 2 cars if it is a 2 way street. Not so Rome. I have been through a 2 way street with parking on both sides and there was room for two cars driving in the opposite direction only in a quantum tunneling sort of way.
(Actually, some guy almost hit us. Lorenzo swerved, rolled down the window and spoke to him (in Italian, I have no idea what he said) and the other guy apologized. Which is not the sort of behavior one associates with Italians. So now you get to go revise another stereotypical opinion.)
Size matters. My Honda minivan could not exist in Rome. The cars over there are all small. Lorenzo has a smart car. With smart car suspension. (Read "near non-existent suspension".) You know you are tired when you can fall asleep in a smart car driving on Roman cobblestones. (Ask me how I know this) So I took a nap before our afternoon gelato run.
Driving in Rome is a sort of a dance. There are rules, but, really, why even stop at a Stop sign (which I didn't always find) if there is no one coming? And it isn't that they are aggressive, but is there any reason why you can't start into a 4 way stop intersection if your turn is next and the other guy hasn't completely exited? After all, you are not going to hit him, right? And even with "right of way" (which I believe has to exist in Italy, otherwise there would not be a rule to flaunt), there is still room for negotiation on who goes first.
Anyway, I would like to report than Lorenzo is a good dancer.
posted by Marion @ 8:14 AM
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