europa

I drove in Italy in 1999 on the coast going from Pisa to Rome. It was a pleasant ride.

When we stopped for gas I amazed to see that they had a full service bar.
" Fill er' up and give me a Rum and Coke."
I was shocked there wasnt car and body parts at each intersection.

The scariest part is that I will be driving the Amalfi this fall

sandi_travelnut

Most of the AutoGrills have a bar. I too noticed the drivers standing at the bar downing wine quickly before getting on the Auto Strada and driving 100mph.

TylerTraveler

This too was a huge negative for Florence in my opinion. I knew a girl who got smacked by a Vespa and the Italian guy was angry at her and yelled at her as she lay on the ground...

Not cool.

I don't like having to dodge the things 24/7. You just don't have to do that in other European cities. I'm pretty anti motor of any kind while I'm walking around some 1000 year old city. Venice is nice... you only have to worry about falling in canals

On the other hand I would love to have a Vespa here in Oregon

worldinabag

Scottstig

Sounds like a real plan. I too share this dream especially after reading "Vroom With A View" by Peter Moore - http://www.petermoore.net/vroom/vroom.htm

eigasuki

<<My scariest experience ? Florence , one O'Clock , crossing the road next to the Arno, when the lights changed and I was almost knocked down by 5 vespas being ridden side by side at full throttle - by nuns !>>

If it's any consolation, when my daughter was in Rome last year, she saw a nun fall off a scooter going around a corner. She still hopes God isn't going to punish her for finding it just a tad amusing.

eliztrav

Hey, guys, it isn't the Vespas that are so awful, it's their drivers! Or, well, some of them. OK, a LOT of them! Highly recommend the aforementioned book, A Vroom with a View. Just finished reading it & enjoyed it thoroughly.

Sue_xx_yy

Rome would be better off with something called 'traffic regulations' that are actually enforced. Where I live, my pedal bike, let alone a motor assisted one, is treated by authorities as a vehicle of the road - heaven help I should not stop at crosswalks, etc. because I'll be fined no less than a car driver. That said, you can bet I wear a helmet - because cyclists are great targets for cars, too.

I do agree about the noise issue; it might be possible to engineer scooter engines having a lower pitch if not fewer decibels. But I still think that on balance they are less detrimental to cities than cars or, for that matter, full-sized motorbikes. (People where I live are starting to complain about why cars are required to have mufflers, but Harley-Davidsons are permitted to emit ear-splitting roars. And as a cyclist, I'm not much more at ease at the thought of being clobbered by a HD, as a car...)

I'm completely confused as to what Vespa arson has to do with the paving over of cobblestones....????

annhig

WE loved the parking in Rome. The best spaces stayed vacant to less than a minute [ we sat in a restaurant and timed how long it took !] Near our apartment,just off via cavour, there was parking right in the middle of the street between the two streams of traffic - at first we thought this was just one miscreant, but it seemed to be a regular practice, and often there were two or three cars parked, right in the middle of the road! Don't think it would work here.

europa

annhig,
I saw people just stop their car and get out regardless where on the street they were. Amazing !