Driving in Rome

Even for me, it's hard to believe I'm complaining about 50 degree weather. But given the humidity in Rome, 50 feels much colder. That is how I came to drive into the centro today for my Italian class. While my back has fully recovered from whatever ailed it, I now have a head cold, so blazing downhill on my bicycle in 50 degree weather just didn't seem appealing.

So there I am, driving into the centro without a permit (you must have a special permit to drive in centro between 8am and 6pm), which hasn't stopped us before. But, this time, it wasn't so easy to find a parking place. Had my luck run out? Finally, on my third giro around the Piazza di Spagna, I found a spot. Right on the corner, as well. So imagine my surprise when I returned three hours later to find another car sitting just in front of mine, touching my bumper... a small car that decided there was certainly room for one more vehicle before the intersection. It took a while, but I managed to pry myself out. At least I didn't get a ticket!

Later, I was driving the kids home from school. I was driving straight ahead with the green light in my favor, when, all of a sudden, a bus coming in the opposite direction tries to squeeze in a left hand turn -- right in front of me! How crazy is that? A bus trying a maneuver that maybe a Porsche could pull off. I held my ground and moved forward into the intersection causing the bus to have to stop short of completing the turn. Then I let the bus driver have it -- in English. Josh always says if you really want to piss someone off, yell in English so they have no idea what you're saying. I think it worked.