Driving in Italy and the Italian Autostrade

Many foreigners get on the Italian Autostrade (what Americans would call Interstate) and they aren't totally prepared for the experience. Personally, I've not had any huge issues driving on the Autostrade but my experience has been mostly in the Northern part of the country and I've never driven south of Rome which from what I'm told is an even more extreme experience.

The first thing to understand is that despite what many say, the Italians are actually excellent drivers and they take driving VERY seriously whether on the Autostrade or driving anywhere else. You don't see nearly as many fender benders and silly accidents in this country as we see in the United States which is a good thing. You will experience tailgating, ridiculous passing maneuvers, and smaller margins for merging however, if you take driving seriously like I do, it can overall be an refreshing and liberating experience. I see Italians as a very patient and understanding people until they get behind the wheel. They then become seemingly obsessed with getting where they are going and are good at doing so. They are great parkers as well and will come up with some really creative parking spots not visible to the non-Italian eye.

On the Autostrade you normally have to pay tolls and you get your ticket on the way in. As you merge be prepared for VERY small acceleration and merging lanes. They are almost always really small. The right lane is normally filled with the trucks which usually have a max speed of somewhere in the neighborhood of 80-90 KMH (around 55 MPH). If your driving around the speed limit which is usually set at 130kph (80mph) figure on staying in the center lane. If you need to pass somebody you'll want to ALWAYS pass on the left. I know in the states we have this bad habit of passing on the right or hanging out in the left lane going slower than other traffic but in Italy you simply don't pass in the right and you'll rarely see it. Keep the tradition going and get out of the way! Once you've passed someone get out of the left lane immediately and carry on. Often you will have someone come up behind you out of nowhere as your trying to pass someone. They will usually flash their lights at you trying to get you to move over. I have definitely been really frustrated about this but its just the way it is. Prepare to be blinded by flashing high beams at night or don't pass until no one is around. You will see people traveling at 150-160 mph occasionally in that left lane and they have zero patience for waiting on someone traveling the speed limit. It's ridiculous but best you just go with the flow and not get frustrated. They also have a terrible habit of passing you on the left and then moving in front of you leaving almost no room. Don't increase your speed as someone's passing you or you may unwillingly be performing the pit maneuver. It will literally scare you half to death and make you think they're going to crash into you but just keep your cool. They actually expect you to use the far right of your lane as they are passing you as well so they can have more space and often utilizing part of two lanes, provided there are no other vehicles in the lane next to you. I don't really understand this but they do and just because they are good drivers does not mean everything they do makes sense.

Another thing to remember is watching your speed on the Autostrade. They typically use Speed Cameras and probably 99.9% of speeding violations are as a result of the camera. The good news is that they actually warn you ahead of time before you pass one, so if your paying attention you'll know its coming. Be careful though because some Autostrade's have many of them. They have cameras on the smaller roads as well and they too have warnings ahead of time. I wouldn't recommend speeding but it never hurts to know about it. Recently they've introduced the speed tutor system which clocks your speed at several cameras tracking you along the way. Arrive at a camera going the speed limit but well before your due to arrive and they'll know you've been speeding. It's apparently very controversial though and I've had a few Italians tell me you can go upwards to 150 kmh without worry but don't count on it!

I've logged thousands of miles on the Italian Autostrade and with so many foreign people (like myself) driving, nothing is completely certain. You'll encounter many drivers from many other countries on the Autostrade so be prepared. I can only suggest being patient and also being confident and making it known what your doing. If you are trying to merge into traffic don't be polite. As long as your not going to cause an accident or kill anyone get in there! Overall its not like driving in India or anything and for the high speeds involved its remarkably safe.

One other thing . . . Don't drink in drive in Italy! The legal limit is 0.05% and if your caught you'll serve 10 days in jail or pay a 20,000 euro fine. They aren't kidding around!

Driving The French Riviera

My friend and I set out on a Friday morning for France after renting a Fiat Panda here in Vicenza. While I've always heard of the French Riviera I was simply not prepared for the sheer beauty of just about everything we ended up seeing. It was a good 6 hours but we crossed over into France in around 6 hours. I thought it was odd that unlike the Italian-Austrian border the Italian-French border had very little warning about entering a new country. When traveling to Austria the signs begin to be in German around 100 miles before you actually get to the border. There we're also signs pointing you in that direction as well. The French border suddenly sneaks up on you. None of Italy's borders except for Croatia, have border controls however so its a bit uneventful no matter where you cross. Cinque Terre is a beautiful part of Italy that straddles the coast of the Mediterranean and will certainly leave you in awe of its ocean view vineyards and towns hovering on the edge of its cliffs. For whatever reason the French Riviera which pretty much connects this part of Italy seems to give you more in terms of beauty. I would describe some parts of it like Arizona except with vegetation. The views even from the highway we're simply stunning. Unlike much of Italy, the French have not jammed all of their highway corridors with industrial centers and have somehow figured out ways to hide them better, making for some spectacular (and unexpected) views just from the car windows. Cliffs hover above the road and while there are hill towns, vineyards and even some industrial zones, it definitely was on a smaller scale than in Italy, and the land seemed more untouched. While Italy is about as beautiful place you will ever see, this part of France in my opinion had it beat albeit not by a large margin. France clearly has a lower population density and this seemed to really open up scenery without too much interference from power lines, radio towers and smokestacks.

Our first stop ironically was not in France but in Monaco which is not very far from the Italian border actually. I have to say the first glimpse you get of Monaco is simply amazing. I've never been to Hong Kong but it almost reminded me of pictures with its high buildings right on the water. Monaco was about the cleanest city I have ever visited in my life. There was literally not a spec of trash to be found anywhere and you felt like you could eat right off the sidewalk. The waterfront was gorgeous and while there we're a lot of really high buildings the main city center practiced the same moderation you would see in most European city centers. You won't come to Monaco to see a lot of history but the Prince's Palace on top of the hill was great with some of the best views of the city looking down. No visit here is complete without a visit to the Monte Carlo Casino or at least outside people watching. There we're so many Bentley's and Ferrari's parked or driving around that it became ordinary which is something I've never really experienced. Monaco is certainly a playground for the wealthy. We then went on to Nice which was nice, and yet again another beautiful waterfront city. The new and old city center have their own positives, and a walk at dusk along the water is a perfect way to end your day of sightseeing. Nice was also extremely clean and well maintained. We walked up the many steps to the overlook near Chateux de Nice and watched the sunset over the water.

The next morning we went to see the famous Ponte du gard Roman Aqueduct near the town of Remoulins. It was an amazing and imposing structure that doesn't look nearly as large in pictures as it did in person. It's surrounded by a river and forests and seems to hide itself until the last moment after you've parked and paid for admission. It was great and is really a wonder of the world and also of course its a Unesco site. The only downside was that the very top was not open like it has been in the past and we hiked all the way up several stories to find that out. The view from up top makes up for it and there we're also trails all around that would enable you to spend an afternoon enjoying the surrounding nature. We visited numerous towns (too many to even mention) and while none of them we're actually not worth visiting, I felt like Arles was somewhat disappointing. While surely its another beautiful French town it seems to have overreached slightly on its courtship of tourists and while it boasted a terrific Colosseum the multiple museum and historical site pass we got there left just a little to be desired. Not to mention after visiting so many French towns your standards are going to be pretty high. I wouldn't suggest not going there, but it didn't seem to live up to its reputation as a "go to" city. Avignon was a nice place and we scored a terrific place to stay there at the last minute when our YMCA bid didn't pan out as expected (they weren't open at 5pm and we didn't feel like going back just to check in). We stayed at a place just across the bridge to the city center that looked like a campground but with rooms as well and it was perfect. The city of Avignon was beautiful and the former Catholic Church headquarters we're really interesting. The city is a little dull at night and there are very few people around. Finding something to eat other than tourist food was not easy and was actual a fail but we did score a good kabob. The last city I would need to mention is of course Marseille. Driving into Marseille is a bit traumatic at times and the city is much bigger than I think most people actually realize (metro pop 2 million). It has a huge immigrant population and is definitely a good place to find a variety of food. While it used to be a really dangerous city, things have been cleaned up apparently over the years and I did not feel unsafe there. On the other hand many parts of the city we're filthy with broken beer glasses everywhere. The night we stayed there we walked out of our hotel room (near the train station and not the best of neighborhoods) and there was a rally of some sort with flags of a nation I didn't recognize and huge bonfire right in the plaza. I am surprised at the lengths cities are willing to go to try to embrace other cultures sometimes but its not such a bad thing. The city doesn't offer a whole lot of sightseeing opportunities and even the nice old man that stopped and asked us if we needed help pretty much made that fact be known. We appreciated his honesty. We mainly stayed around the waterfront.

Probably my highlight of the entire trip was the trip home. We steered completely clear of the freeway and took the coastal routes hugging the jagged cliffs along the water. It was really something else and worth the few extra hours of time it took. The water is so blue and so clear its hard to even describe. I can't even imagine how spectacular it must be in the Spring or Summer when its even more green with flowers dotting the landscape. We drive all the way to Monaco from Marseilles along the coast stopping a few times to enjoy view. The best lunch I had the whole trip was actually a subway sandwich on a small beach sitting on a rock overlooking the water (note the picture above taken by my friend John). The best Subway sandwich I've ever had. If your looking for a Paris alternative in France you have to consider the Riviera and the Bruxelles region.

The best things . . . scenery and nature, friendly people

The not so great things . . . . Expensive tolls on the freeways

Vicenza: The city of Palladio and where I live

pop 115,000 dates back to 157 B.C.
Vicenza, located less than an hour west of Venice between Padova and Verona is a definite treasure hidden among the many popular destinations of the Veneto region of Italy. I've lived in Vicenza for over a year and a half and not only has it inspired me with its beauty and impressive architecture (thanks to the legendary architetto Andrea Palladio), but its been a great launching pad for accessing several other countries and the Alps.

A Unesco World Heritage Site, Vicenza is a great place to escape the furious tourist scene found in nearby cities like Venice and Verona and still find treasures around every corner. It's main street (Corso Palladio) is lined with beautiful buildings and is a perfect place to start your exploration of the city. The street stretches from the Southwest at Piazza Castello and proceeds in a Northeast direction ending at Teatro Olimpico and Palazzo Chiericati. Lots of shopping and usually a heavy local crowd can be found on Corso Palladio, especially in the early evening. You'll definitely want to veer off of Corso Palladio a few times with the Duomo (near the southwest end) and most importantly Piazza Dei Signori which is the heart and arguably the most beautiful and scenic part of the city. Its anchored by the magnificent Basilica Palladiana and also home to the clock tower. People watching, while sipping a spritz in Piazza Dei Signori is not that expensive and is a must do. A block or two further south past Piazza Dei Signori on Ponte San Michele is the picturesque "Love Bridge" (the name speaks for itself)running across the river and is pedestrian only. Back along Corso Palladio you'll finally end up at the oldest enclosed theater in the world, Teatro Olimpico, built in 1580. For less than 10 euros you can tour the theater and a host of other museums around the city.

Just outside of the city center is the most famous of Palladio's buildings "la Rotunda" located on Viale Rivera Berica. If you up for walking some, a very rewarding experience would be to follow the main road from the train station (turn right as your walking out of the station) and proceed by keeping right until you reach a big roundabout and a huge gate with a very tall set of steps. The steps lead to Monte Berico, a beautiful church on the top of the hill overlooking the city. If you prefer you can also take a bus from the train station, buy your ticket at the Tobacco shop inside the station or at the little machine just outside where you board the bus. Just look for the bus that says Monte Berico on it. Monte Berico is a fantastic way to see Vicenza from above, and you can continuing walking down the hill on the other side and run into the "Rotunda" which should look very familiar to Americans as many of our buildings we're designed based on this one. Its one of the most significant and important buildings in the world. You can tour it, but only during the summer.

Vicenza is a great city and its worth a day and an overnight stay to take it in. I would recommend arriving around lunchtime and staying overnight. You should be able to see the bulk of the city in this time.

Places to eat:

Pizzeria Vesuvio
Corso Andrea Palladio, 204 Vicenza
Great pizza, inexpensive and in a perfect location

Spaghetteria Al Fiore
Borgo Berga 15 Vicenza
Just outside the City Center on the road to la Rotunda. Lots of pasta choices here

Tutti Gelato
Contra Fraschi Del Gambero
Just steps from Piazza Dei Signori its known by everyone that lives in Vicenza as the best place for gelato. They aren't open late usually but hopefully in the summer that will change.

Places you may want to avoid:
Be careful around the train station at night especially. There have also been some issues at Campo Marzo (big park across from the station) at night time. During the day there is very little to worry about anywhere and Vicenza is overall a very safe city.

Ryanair - A Great Travel Option in Europe

Despite the immense bad mouthing Ryanair gets on the web, after flying with them to Paris from Venice Treviso Airport last month I came away with way more positives than negatives. The airline is the largest in Europe and has 950 routes to just about everywhere. Yes, its definitely a no frills airline and everything including scratch off lottery games (yes that was not a typo) are for sale on the plane. You do get a complimentary seatbelt however. I have read numerous not so pleasant reviews of the airline but one fact that trumps all in regard to Ryanair is the price for flying with them. Its remarkably low, and I was able to fly round-trip to Paris for under 100 Euros. Yes, the airline doesn't usually fly to the main airports of the cities it flies to but the amount of money it costs again usually will make it ok. For instance at Paris-Beauvais Airport in Beauvais France, a comfortable bus will shuttle you to Paris where you can board the metro and go wherever you want. It was 13 Euros, and it took about 90 minutes. To the contrary a trip from DeGaulle (CDG) will probably still take an hour and is only a few Euros less, so I thought it was worth the hassle. I found they weren't overly strict on the bags either. The website is loaded with warnings on exceeding your baggage limitations but if you travel with the basics (you will have to to avoid charges for luggage), you will be below their limit. If you somehow show up with more you either dump the excess or you pay a hefty charge for each KG you go over. I did witness one female traveler transferring some items from her bag to the carry-on luggage of a not so enthused male companion after their bags we're weighed. Now, I will say that it may be worth the small fee to use their early boarding option. I think it depends on which airport you use, but it can be a real crazy situation. Since Ryanair doesn't have assigned seating there are families and everyone else hoarding to the gate as soon as the boarding is announced. At Venice Treviso airport it went fairly orderly. In Paris Beauvais it was borderline pandamonium. I can't say enough that just to avoid fighting or clawing with these people its worth the 4 Euros to just get priority boarding and you go to the front of the line. It would be different if most humans are civilized and thoughtful of others but they simply aren't unfortunately. I don't really mind being way back or anything but the frustration of seeing all of these crazy people cutting in line and running (yes running) to the plane is enough for me to enjoy the chaos from my seat on the plane. This leads me to my only real complaint about Ryanair and that is their Beauvais Airport Departure Area. Along with at least one or two other airlines the Departure area of Beauvais Airport is small, with virtually no seating and there are people everywhere! Literally you will walk in and stand for an hour or two depending on your flight which could be delayed forcing you to stay longer. They don't publish any departure gate information until it begins to board so you have people guessing which gate will be theres only to find out its clear across the other side of the terminal. Its literally a zoo with people pushing and knocking people over to get to the front of the line. I have to admit I absolutely hated this airport. But, like they always say you get what you pay for and it ended up getting the job done. I was among the last 40 or so people to board however in Beauvais and still bagged an exit row seat with all kinds of legroom and sat next to my friend so it all worked out. Overall, I came away with a positive experience with Ryanair and will definitely use them again.

RYANAIR

Pros-
Really Cheap prices, lots of destinations, pretty good about being on-time

Cons-
Crowded Airports, baggage limits with pricey alternatives

Ljubljana Slovenia - Mid October 2009

I didn't spend long in Ljubljana but the day that I spent there was certainly worth the trip. A part of the former Yugoslavia, honestly Ljubljana won't win any major awards for the go-to place in Europe. But,its really a beautiful place with fantastic scenery and some really good food. The Triple Bridge was really nice with the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation dominating the landscape. Near the Bridge the Olde town area and Mestni Trg square with Robba's fountain and St. Nicholas Cathedral are certainly worthy of terrific pictures and a great place to sit down and eat and enjoy the sunset. Walking through Old Town Mestni Trg (Town Square) was nice although construction cut off a major artery into the area visibly annoying and costing the businesses there. Its a nice area but a vast portion of it becomes pretty deserted after dark. Many compare the streets and alleyways in this area to that of Prague. Hovering above is Ljubljana Castle with breathtaking views of the city and the Alps in the distance. You can walk up or take the Funicular to the top for a small fee. I would recommend the Funicular just for the experience. You can always walk down or vice versa. The Castle itself is not the most attractive castle you will find in Europe but it gets the job done. I didn't actually tour it which you can, but just strolling around it up on the hill overlooking the city will probably satisfy your trip up there. Overall I would recommend coming here even if just for the day. Its not going to be a history buff's dream most likely, but it definitely does have history and its overall a beautiful, clean and safe place to stroll around and take in the scenery and sampling some of the good food.

Sights C This isn't Paris or Rome, but its nice

People A Very friendly people who almost all spoke English

Food B+ Not bad, but I don't know if I'm qualified enough to say much. I will say I tried a piece of pizza from a To-Go Pizza place and it was not good at all and gave me some serious heartburn.

Public Transportation N/A They have it, but I didn't use it

Safety A I felt very safe in Ljubljana even at night. I'm sure it has its parts but based on my experience you probably won't see them.

Cleanliness A Definitely a clean city even outside the city center

Introduction

Well as most already know, I'm setting off on the endeavor of my lifetime. I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area establishing residency and applying for an Italian Visa to go and live in beautiful country of Italy. I arrived here on June 28 and decided I would start keeping a sort of journal to chart my experiences. I started this journal pretty late so I will try to sum up whats happened so far.

Day 1
I of course arrived in San Francisco airport then from there I took a turboprop to Monterey where my friend Stacey was waiting for me. We then decided to go ahead and go straight to San Francisco (yeah I know what was the point of going to Monterey). I basically decided I would cave in to my internal dislike for such a thing and we headed for the largest Gay celebration in the universe "San Francisco Gay Pride". It was fun, and we saw a lot of things we were both expecting to see and sometimes not expecting to see. Funny as it is, I think my first observation from the whole thing was how many people were smoking weed on the streets. It was everywhere to say the least. Overall we both had a good time and after a nine dollar beer we headed back to the car and drove by the Italian Consulate. I had butterflies in my stomach immediately. We then headed on back to Watsonville which is almost 2 hours south.

Day 3 - Car Rental
Stacey was going to be away for the entire day, so I decided I would rent a car and drive up Highway 1 which is without a doubt my favorite road in this country. I first went to Santa Cruz and walked on the Pier and the boardwalk, took some pictures, had a slice of pizza and t-shirt at Pizza My Heart, and then headed on up the PCH toward San Francisco. This road is simply amazing, and it hugs the coast for most of the trip to SF. Cliffs upon cliffs, waves crashing, lighthouses, and rocky enclaves come at you so fast its almost impossible to not stop and take it in out of the car. As you approach San Francisco you cut through woods and huge rocks, with another treasure of scenery standing by around each corner. I went to the city and had a really nice time. I drove up and down the northern part of the city gawking at the many beautiful mansions that seemed to go on forever and ever. I have always like touring extremely wealthy neighborhoods and San Francisco has never been short of them. I like to be surprised and for my preconceived notions to be wrong, and I actually didn't realize just how many wealthy homes there are in the downtown area. It simply amazed me. I then headed south to the infamous Haight-Ashbury area (site of the Summer of Love) and thought it was pretty neat. I got offered weed twice (I declined) and overall just mainly walked through. I did stop at a huge record store and purchased a few records since I figured they would be easy to take with me. John and I are starting a record collection. I picked up about 5 titles each costing roughly 3 bucks and with that I headed to Baker Beach to see if I could get some good pictures of Golden Gate Bridge. It's really a great beach with a wonderful view. I climbed on some rocks trying to apparently kill myself, but luckily I didn't slip and bust my head open and got some great pictures of the bridge. I then wrapped up the day and headed on home, enjoying more picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean.

Fourth of July
On the Fourth of July we went to the beach (God I need Stacey here to get the names right of the beach) but it was really nice. I got sunburned during the day, went to a bar late in the afternoon with Stacey and two of her friends, and then we headed back out to the beach with her friends (Paul and fiance whom I cannot remember name, again where is Stacey)and joined by his mother we watched fireworks on the beach. I'm telling you in almost 30 years on this planet, I don't think I've ever seen this many fireworks being shot at once. You could see them up and down the beach far in the distance, miles and miles away. It was simply amazing. What was also amazing was the cops trying to enforce a fireworks ban. This was the strangest thing to me. Literally I watched as the cops were giving some people hell, writing them a ticket, and making them leave the beach. While they were doing this fireworks were streaming through the night bursting in all directions. It was a really bizarre and really in a way kind of sad. Something that this many people do, for the most part harming nobody, and their government actually trying to take it away. Its obvious that sometimes liberal governments would rather stop people from doing things that they enjoy so they can cut costs. One observation I could clearly make so far in my trip was that there was a lot of people out here who are patriotic. It almost seemed like they were a little more than the South where I'm from if that could be possible. Now minded, I was not in San Francisco, but I was in a very liberal county. I completely underestimated the celebrating of Independence Day, the flags everywhere, the parades, the clothing etc. It was everywhere and it made me feel a little better about my country than I did before I left. On the East Coast we almost get led to believe at times that this area of California especially was quite different than the rest of the state and overwelmingly different than the rest of the country. Its not seemed that way to me at all really so far. Anyway so yes fireworks going on everywhere, cops trying to stop it but majorly unsuccessful, and meeting Paul's very old fashioned, charming and all around nice mother. She made some very like-Jay statements about the country, the cops, and Michael Jackson and was a pleasure to meet. Overall I had a fantastic time at the beach. I can't believe I forgot to mention we went to the San Francisco Giants game against the Astros the night before. It was yet again the same story for me. The Giants are suddenly winning 13-0 and its the third inning!!!! Needless to say there would not be another run scored the entire evening and this baseball game fell into the books as "pretty boring". It was nice in a way though and I still enjoyed the game. They had fireworks after the game, and I was once again slightly surprised at the amount of patriotism. In the town of San Francisco, liberal hated Lee Greenwood's Proud to be America blared on the speakers to the whole crowd as fireworks rose out of the bay behind the centerfield scoreboard. And, the city didn't require "I won't forget the men who died" to be changed to "those" who died. Its the little things about the city that sort have been winning respect with me here and there.

Lots more happened with Stacey and I had a great time with her. Unforunately I'm gonna have to fast forward for now. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to this.

San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco International airport is one of three major airports in the Bay Area, and normally serves as a not only a domestic hub, but a major pacific international hub with lots of flights to Asia. I've been to SFO a few times and overall its a pretty good airport. I have only used the Domestic area and have flown United and US Airways. Its clean, manageable, and in a pretty good location. The airport is located south of the city, and provides subway (BART) service to downtown which is nice although its a bit pricey. Getting from terminal to terminal via the local airport train is also relatively easy and doesn't take very long. Even if you get on the wrong one going in the wrong direction it seemingly brings you back around in a few minutes. There are places for someone with a laptop to plug it in located all over including the seating areas. San Francisco is fairly up to speed with more modern airport amenities including things you can't do at some airports like renting a DVD player, a medical clinic, and some museum galleries. It even has an aquarium. I like the people movers inside the airport (they are bouncy which for some reason I like) and they are placed pretty much everywhere. Signs are well placed, and large to see from far away, yet not overbearing. I haven't experienced any delays at SFO, but from what I hear they can happen, especially if the infamous San Francisco fog is present around the airport. Food is not too bad, but I would like to see a few more of the national chains believe it or not as sometimes I'm in a hurry and don't have time to sift through all of the different places trying to figure out what they have and how much it costs etc. I'm also a picky eater so that comes into play.

Some things I don't like about the airport are having to leave security to make a connecting flight. This really annoys me, and I most recently flew into SFO and had to basically run to my next flight after a 30 minute hold up at security so I could make a connection in another terminal. I understand its rare for large airports to have everything behind one security check, but some do with Chicago (minus the international terminal) being one of them and also Charlotte. Wireless internet is not free which is another thing I really don't like. Also if your renting a car in San Francisco be prepared for some frustration. I could not believe how small their rental counter area was. There were people sitting on the floor, lines spiraling into other rental company areas and not even room to walk from one part to the other. Rental cars tend to be very expensive here as well.

Overall its a decent airport and if you like big planes there are few places in the United States to see more of them. The last time I was there I saw 6 747's which is quite a few to be parked at the airport at one time. The terminal is good at showcasing traffic on the tarmac as well.

Airport rating B+
Eating B-
Crowd management A-
Amenities B+
Ease of getting around A-
Car Rental D
Public Transportation A-