What a great way to start off the New Year. Today in the mail a notice from the Comune di Firenze (Florence) that in December, 2010, I drove the wrong way into a cul-de-sac, (you see the logic here?) temporarily closed due to the proximity of the US consulate building, and was photographed by a traffic camera. The direction of traffic on this road changes with the time of day when it is open and not closed to through traffic and that information is posted on a small sign in Italian.
The roads and traffic patterns in Firenze are a nightmare at best, and incomprehensible on a good day. We were looking for our hotel, made a few wrong (obviously) turns, and finally found it. Catch the date? December 2010. A year ago.
The fine is 117 euros, exchange rate today equals $151. Imagine if I had been doing something really stupid like driving on the wrong side of the road, or speeding. I did have fun on an earlier trip with the Carabinieri (http://searchesworld.blogspot.com/2011/01/tales-of-firenze-getting-in.html) , and could have gotten into some trouble, but didn’t.
Not so this time. So “Arrivederci Firenze” is all I have to say. Next time we go to rural Calabria or maybe Abruzzo. There you only have to deal with the Mafia. I must say, though, despite these petty annoyances, Sally and I do love to drive around Italy. Great people, places, food and wine. Just stay out of Firenze.
Image: http://cbswpbz.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/traffic-chaos.jpg?w=600
The roads and traffic patterns in Firenze are a nightmare at best, and incomprehensible on a good day. We were looking for our hotel, made a few wrong (obviously) turns, and finally found it. Catch the date? December 2010. A year ago.
The fine is 117 euros, exchange rate today equals $151. Imagine if I had been doing something really stupid like driving on the wrong side of the road, or speeding. I did have fun on an earlier trip with the Carabinieri (http://searchesworld.blogspot.com/2011/01/tales-of-firenze-getting-in.html) , and could have gotten into some trouble, but didn’t.
Not so this time. So “Arrivederci Firenze” is all I have to say. Next time we go to rural Calabria or maybe Abruzzo. There you only have to deal with the Mafia. I must say, though, despite these petty annoyances, Sally and I do love to drive around Italy. Great people, places, food and wine. Just stay out of Firenze.
Image: http://cbswpbz.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/traffic-chaos.jpg?w=600
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