Monday, August 01, 2011

Italian Driving School Diaries - Back behind the wheel

I'm going to sign up for Rome's Car Sharing program. Since I haven't been behind the wheel in Rome in over two years, I thought it would be a good idea to take two refresher lessons with my former instructor, Bruno.

The good news: I didn't forget how to drive a stick/manual transmission.

The bad news: I get very nervous driving in Rome.

The combination of driving stick (which is new to me) and not being used to scooters or the massive number of pedestrians freaks me out.

In L.A. we don't have to deal with pedestrians. Maybe a few downtown or near Hollywood/Highland, but nobody walks in L.A. You could be driving down Beverly Blvd in the middle of rush hour and count the number of people walking on the sidewalks with one hand.

In Rome, it's a different story.

Bruno said, "have no fear." I know he's right. I hope in time I will get used to driving in Rome.

One my friends who lived in L.A and N.Y.C. before moving to Rome a few years ago, drives like a native. She's going to let me practice driving with her car. I was told (warned) I must drive around Piazza Venezia.

Great.

3 comments:

Paola said...

Ah, practising in Roma will definitely get you a skilled driving.
Just go with it.
Put it that way!

Gil said...

Don't worry about it as you will soon be driving like you were born in Rome!

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

Thanks Paola and Gil. I need to calm down and not get so freaked out.