I am writing this in the early hours of the morning of 9 May, with my laptop literally perched on top of my lap whilst I am sitting on my bed, as there is no suitable table or desk in my room. But I am in glorious Venice, and have just spent last night boating along the Grand Canal, and am fearful that as one magical experience follows another on this wonderful tour of Italy, I will forget important details about our previous days if I do not work on bringing my posts up-to-date.
On 4 May we reluctantly departed from Rome to head first to Siena, on the way to Florence. That day we were christening the tour company's brand new Mercedes coach. So first I would liketo correct the impression of driving in Italy that I initially gave. We have now driven through much of Italy, along highways, through mountainous country into Switzerland, along winding narrow streets with barely enough room for two cars, let alone a huge coach, through a multitude of tunnels and in peak hour traffic around Milan. I had based my initial comment about chaotic traffic on a short drive from the station in Rome to my hotel, where motor scooters in particular were shooting around everywhere. I have to say that while you have to watch out for motor scooters and cars when walking along narrow laneways in townships, the traffic has been very well controlled and the roads and highways have been in excellent condition. There are quite a number of traffic police out and about.
Almost everyone drives a very small car, because of the issue of parking. Some cars only have one seat! This of course brings many advantages: less air pollution, less serious accidents, lower fuel consumption . . .
Moreover, on the whole, drivers here are more considerate than I have encountered in Australia. All this time we have only seen the results of one minor bingle at a busy roundabout. (There are lots of roundabouts here.) And because there is no pub culture here - people have wines with their meals instead - drink driving is not an issue. Along the highways sensors record number plates and times, so if anyone arrives somewhere further along too soon, a fine automatically arrives in the post. Trucks are carefully monitored, and their drivers cannot drive for excessive amounts of time. So in fact I feel far safer driving here in Italy than I do in Australia. Interestingly, there are a number of toll stations along the highways, but they do not hold up the traffic at all. The road is widened to many lanes at those points, all is electronically monitored, and our coach passes through without any delay.
On the other hand, can you imagine if the road authorities in Victoria were to erect barriers along the Great Ocean Road so those who drive along it cannot see the wonderful surf beaches or the twelve Apostles? (Well, there are less than twelve now, as a couple have collapsed into the sea, but you know what I mean.) That is what the traffic authorities have done here along some of the most picturesque places, such as along the road overlooking the famous Porto Fino, so that people are not distracted from driving very carefully. I daresay that came about because of the serious accidents that have occurred in those spots in the past, but it was so frustrating and disappointing to see big tall barriers instead of magnificent scenery. On the other hand, life is precious and this no doubt has saved many families from the heartache of losing loved ones or seeing them badly injured.
We are most fortunate to have an absolutely brilliant and very safe coach driver, so we can really enjoy our journeys around this beautiful country. And the first place we visited after Rome was Siena, a very hilly, picturesque old township. Here we learned for the first time that people cannot simply drive into towns like this and park where they can. When they arrive, coach drivers first have to drive into a special ‘station’ that is full of coaches and obtain a permit to enter the outskirts of the town. When they purchase the permit they are told where they can drop off their passengers - at a certain distance from the central locations. They then must park right on the outskirts with the many other coaches visiting that day.
Anyhow, it was rather overcast as we made our way into Siena, as you can see from the photo of the fountain where we were dropped off. But by the time we walked through a maze of narrow steep laneways lined with enticing little shops to the big square, it was lovely and sunny. After the huge amount of walking we had done the day before in Rome, it was just wonderful to sit under the outdoor awning at one of the many cafes around the square and and watch the world go by as we ate some lunch. Heaven! And what a heavenly place too, full of historical buildings as you can see from the photos.
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