Tuscany ... The Road Trip
“We’re off on the road to Toscana!” No, Crosby and Hope never did make a “Road Movie” for Italy but the region of Tuscany is a great place to embark upon your own Italian road trip.
I know many people that have traveled to at least one of the many tourist hot spots in that diverse region. Florence, Siena and Pisa to name a few Tuscan cities, are all worthy of the traveler’s attention. But I know of only one adventurous gal that has opted to see Tuscany by car. Many zoom along in tourist buses held hostage to schedules, pre-defined “attractions” and the company of fellow tourists all trying to “do” Tuscany in a day.
Truth be told, many American travelers are a bit scared of taking road trips in foreign countries and images of crazy people in Fiat 500’s zooming around a 6 lane round-a-bout in Rome come to mind. Absolute terror! The thought of even a minor fender bender requiring negotiation in a foreign language can give you a cold sweat. But the diversity of Italy and Tuscany in particular is lost without traveling through the countryside.
I won’t say that driving in Italy is a calming experience ... it is not. But driving in the U.S. can be just as maddening and in some ways, much more disturbing. For one thing, Italian drivers are consistent. You typically know what they will do in most circumstances. If you hesitate, they will all be ahead of you. If you don’t see the light change in 5 milliseconds, they will promptly wake you up with their horn. Italian drivers always have someplace better to be and that is always someplace ahead of where they are. With that understanding, I find it rather easy to drive in most parts of Italy. The Naples area is an exception even though I “earned my wings” driving on the Amalffi Coast. They were almost angel’s wings. The Napoletani are close to suicidal where motors are concerned.
But Tuscany is not so daunting to drive through and the rewards of a Tuscan road trip are immeasurable. In this introduction to motoring in Toscana I’ll discuss some of the basics that might be different from hopping in the car for a trip in the U.S. and then move on to some specific suggestions in the next articles.
Perhaps the most important suggestion I can make is to rent a small car. Rent the smallest car you feel comfortable with. This is completely against the standard American driving mentality but there are several good reasons to turn down that “free larger car upgrade”. Regardless of the exchange rate (significant at the time of this writing), gas in all of Europe is a lot more expensive than in the U.S. so why be watching the gauge instead of the views. The roads are often narrow, parking is difficult, and turns can be tight. The image at left is maybe the tightest turn I've seen but hey, at least it's one way! The wall by that car's front bumper is covered in paint scaped off the bigger cars. I wouldn’t go bigger than a VW Golf, and then, only if I needed the room for passengers and/or baggage. For families with kids ... you are not heading through 5 hours of endless wheat fields in Kansas so the kids do not need the back seat of a minivan with a DVD player to watch Little Mermaid again! Play some road games like “Cows” (including all barnyard animals is recommended for Italy). If you don’t know how to play “Cows” or any other road games, get the minivan and go to Disney World instead.
The other drivers are not really a big problem in Tuscany but the roads and road signs may be different from what you are accustomed to. Not counting highways (Autostrade), the country roads can be narrow. The variety of vehicles you will encounter are very interesting and when combined with the tremendous views, it is easy to become distracted ... well, just don't.
There are also many places where high stone walls border the road on both sides, especially in the hills around Florence. These are some of the most beautiful roads you’ll see but it helps to know the driving procedures. During the day, give a quick beep beep on the horn when approaching a blind curve and listen for anyone doing the same coming from the opposite direction. At night, flash your high-beams instead.
If you are on a two-way road that simply won’t fit two passing cars, you might have a standoff. Someone has to give! Who should be the one to back up to the closest wider spot to allow the other to sneak by? It will usually be a matter of what is most practical. If you are going uphill and/or a space exists closest to you ... just back up and over and allow the other car to pass. If you are going downhill and/or there is an easier spot behind the other car ... wait them out. Make some innocent gesture like “I can’t do anything about it” and hope for the best. Just make sure it looks innocent and don’t get into a pissing match or you’ll be at the standoff longer and more cars will come to make it more difficult to resolve.
The natural impatience of the normal Italian driver should work to your benefit if you feel stuck because they will want to get it over with as soon as possible and be on their way. You may get a gesture to indicate you are a stupid ass. Assume that you are ... it’s their country, and they will quickly make passing possible. But are you really on a two-way road? If you passed a smallish circle sign with a horizontal line (see page 2), you are in big trouble. That’s the “do not enter” sign ... eg. one way, and not yours! Don’t expect any signs besides those, but in most cases you will see signs facing you on the right side of the road when it is two way which is a comfort.
... continued on page 2
