I recently got back from a week in Italy with two of my friends. It was
myself, Teri, and Debbie - better known as The Driver, The Co-Pilot, and The
Voice of Reason :)
Our itinerary for one week was optimistic, but we were
determined to see as much as we could. The plan on our first day was to arrive
in Rome and drive to the Amalfi Coast. As a
travel
agent, I try to put myself into 'worse case scenario' s
ituations so if my clients ever need advice on what to do, I can
tell them. So, I purposely put myself on an overnight flight, knowing that as
soon as we got to Italy, I would have to drive over 4 hours to the
Amalfi
coast - tired and hungry. Mission accomplished! - not only was I tired,
hungry, with a headache to boot, but our flight that was supposed to depart at
9:45 p.m. didn't depart until 2:00 a.m., getting us into
Rome
much later than expected. Airlines! - can't live with 'em, can't live without
'em! However - it is also my job as a travel agent to turn unexpected situations
into good opportunities. So.....while our flight was delayed....the three of us
indulged in massages and pedicures at the Airport Spa! If
you are eve
r stuck at an airport, I highly recommend passing your
time this way :) If you want to check out which airports have this, click on
http://www.xpresspa.com/.
We picked up our rental car and GPS and headed out into the great
unknown - by that I mean, driving in Italy. I have never driven in Italy before
and really didn't know what to expect. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was
going to be, but one thing I will caution people on is that the 'road rules' in
Italy are really more like guidelines....obeying them is optional! For example,
a Stop sign is more of a suggestion than a demand. If you are an overly cautious
or timid driver, my suggestion would be to take the train throughout Italy.
However, if you are an adventurous driver not easily intimidated by other
motorists, than seeing Italy by car is great. Stick to what you are comfortable
with. Most of the major roads (usually starting with the letter A) have either
two or three lanes. Like here, the right lane is for those going at a slower or
average speed, the middle lane is for those driving a little fast, and the left
lane is for passing and driving at incredibly high speeds.
By the time we got close to the the
Amalfi
Coast it was dark out. This ended up to be a blessing because if I had been
able to actually see the roads I was driving in daylight, I probably would have
panicked! It was difficult enough, as tired as I was, to drive the narrow,
winding roads of the Amalfi coast, but had I known that to one side of me were
cliffs to my death, I don't think we would have made it to our hotel. Happily
enough, we did make it, and were in store for a wonderful stay! More on that in
my next post.....