A blustery day on the LakeM

A blustery day on the LakeM
A blustery day on the Lake

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Getting Around in Italy

We have become quite familiar with le autobus, la bicicletta and a piedi in other words, riding the public bus, bicycling and walking. Most Italians do all of the above and then some... We sincerely believe that every Italian kid over the age of 14 rides his or her own motorscooter. Today at noon we saw kids heading home for lunch on their motorscooters wearing nothing but flip flops, shorts and tank tops....and they move right along. We spend quite a bit of time riding motorcycles and would not even think of getting on without being all geared up. Picture this though.. A woman coming home from the beach riding her motorscooter with her small dog riding snugly between her feet..or a young mother riding with her small daughter standing between her legs. It's nothing to see people on motorscooters or motorcyles passing cars, buses or trucks on straightaways and even on turns. The streets are narrow and winding and you might wonder, as we did, if there are many accidents. Here's another interesting phenomenon......the drivers are extremely considerate and polite. As soon as someone steps into the street, cars, motorscooters etc. Slow to a halt. It all seems very controlled....no honking, no shouting, just a continuous flow of traffic. Now we can't say if this is true in Rome or Naples but here in Liguria people on machines are very polite and careful. We have also noticed another interesting fact.....cars here are petite and it seems, especially made for this market. We see, in addition to the expected Fiats, Opels, Citroens and Peuguots.... Hondas, Toyotas and Fords all made to use diesel and in addition, the models are much smaller than the models made for US. Obviously all of these modes of transportation are more fuel efficient than big American vehicles and can we learn something from this? Gas and diesel average about $ 7.85 per gal. Exploring and learning about different cultures.....it is all part of expanding our understanding of people around the world. Bella Italia!



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3 comments:

  1. Ciao Berney! I finally found time to' read your blog... On the iPad!!! :))))
    Hope this weekend the weather is not too rainy... Looking forward to' more news!
    Big big hug to' you both
    Sarah

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  2. Berney, I've changed my settings, so this is my test comment. Bear & I had fun seeing Maia, Matt and kids at Shelburne Museum Goes to the Dogs on Sunday. It was a spectacular day! Keep on blogging. Love to you both, Laura

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  3. One more test - realigning my photo...

    ReplyDelete