Tuscany ... The Road Trip
page 2   -   return to page 1

Of course the road traveler should immediately purchase a decent road map and put the one from the rental car agency in the glove box. Most of the really interesting roads in Tuscany evolved from ancient paths without the advance knowledge of the coming of the automobile and you are going to want some help locating the town names when you get misplaced. But there are highways of course. And one of the great benefits of the Italian Autostrade is the Autogrill. At this highway-only chain of rest stops you can get a decent panino, a caffè for a quick boost of caffeine and just about anything else you might need. Maybe a nice bottle of Scotch and a box of fancy Baci chocolates for the friends you are visiting or some toys to keep the kids from asking "are we there yet" again. If you just happen to need one, you can buy a whole prosciutto, swing it over your shoulder on the way back to the car and have your passenger cut you slices while you drive. The Autogrill is a hands down head to head winner with Roy Rogers and McDonalds!

When discussing road signs and finding your way to a specific destination by car in Italy it is important to define the difference between being “lost” and being “misplaced”. It is possible to find yourself in either condition but the former condition is much less likely if you relax, enjoy the experience and look fondly upon the places you happen upon while in the more frequent “misplaced” condition. Speaking for myself, I am never lost, just temporarily misplaced!

A recent road trip into the marble hills above PietraSanta found us driving through the small town of Seravezza. A stream runs through the middle of Seravezza and the map shows a road on either side joining upstream into one road again. Pulling into one side of town over a small bridge piqued my curiosity and two older men were sitting at a bar in the small square as I zipped by. A few turns later I was going by the two men from a different direction. OK, let’s try this turn instead. Again I was met by the “no enter” signs on all but one option which brought us back to our seated pair, now visibly amused. A third try yielded the same result and the two men were now most entertained. I had the notion that they called a pal when we first went by and said “OK Mario, put up the tourist signs” whereby the “do not enter” signs were quickly placed and we were shuttled back to the square from every possible intersection. We had some fun exploring “One-Way Seravezza" but ultimately determined that the two routes were in fact simply one way streets to keep the traffic moving.

A likely scenario is that you will be following road signs to someplace and will be confronted by one of several bewildering options. One is where two signs to the same place point in two different directions right next to each other. That's easy. There are simply two ways to go to the same place and when they put up the signs they didn’t want to make that decision for you. Just take the more interesting of the two options.

The other is when you come to an intersection of some kind, especially a round-a-bout, and there are what appears to be 50 signs on top of one another pointing here and there. Hopefully you have another pair of eyes in the front seat to help and can find the right road without causing an accident. If not, just pick the way that seems right and hope it’s interesting. You can always backtrack. Remember, you are not “lost” you are simply “misplaced”. Of course there may be two signs to the same place in two different locations on a round-a-bout. If you happen to see them both, you know what to do by now.

Highways in Italy are much the same mess of loops and exchanges that do their best to throw off a good sense of direction. Fortunately there are less highways in general but navigating into and through the large cities can be a challenge and you may very well end up really lost. Your best bet is to ask someone that looks most like a local resident and hope to pick up the trail once headed in the right direction.

A road trip in Tuscany is a great deal of fun and remember that the best discoveries are made when you get a bit “misplaced”.

Next up ... our first stop in The Opinionated Traveler’s Tuscan Road Trip, the mysterious ruins of the cathedral of San Galgano!

Want to know when we have posted the next Tuscan Road Trip chapter? Add your address to our Traveler's Mailing List and we'll let you know.