| | My kids tell me I need to get up to speed on the whole zombie "situation." Looks like the key piece of equipment I'm missing is a cricket bat. btw, the movie is really pretty good.
We got back from Italy a week ago last Thursday. My wife and I went to Italy to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Five nights in Florence, five in Rome. The days get thrown in as part of the package. And let me tell you, Italy is everything it's cracked up to be. The David, the Collesium, St. Peter's Cathedral. The Duomo, the Catacombs, the Pieta. Romance, food, people from all over the world, and fine wine that is sometimes literally cheaper than water. The Sistine Chapel. Leonardo DaVinci, Botticelli, Masaccio, and my God, Michaelangelo. Words cannot express . . .
So anyway, it was okay. One of the little details that impresed the most was the whole transportation situation. Here's some thoughts (I'll talk about art next time):
Yes, everyone drives like a maniac. However, people pay much more attention to what's going on around them. They have to be, since traffic lights and such are more suggestions than anything else. I once watched a stop sign on a busy street for 15 minutes and never saw a single person stop. But if you need to cross a street, you can literally step in front of oncoming traffic and people will stop. Here they'd just hit you and say you should have waited on the light. And then sue you for the damage to their car.
Cars are incredibly small in Italy. Gas is like $5 per gallon or more, so there's that. Also, since there are no true lanes on Italian streets, the smaller the car, the easier it is to zip in and around other drivers. Half the vehicles on the road are motorcycles, for the same reasons. Traffic in Italy is like a herd of cattle on stampede. Until someone just steps into the street in front of the stampede and everyone either stops or manuevers around you.
Then there's public transportation. The bus system is . . . amazing. It's essentially free if you need it; yes, you are supposed to buy a ticket, but no one checks if you do. Everybody rides, which means busses are extremely crowded. Standing room only most of the time. You get used to it. The point is you really don't need to own a car. And for short trips to the grocery store, walking is good for you anyway. The train system is clean, fast, and cheap.
With gas at $3 and headed up, get ready for scenes like the following in the good ole USA (note how narrow the street is in 3rd photo, and the 'pickup truck' in the 4th):
 
 
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