Driving in Sicily

It was the first weekend we had our car. Our nice, big American car. Though let me just say that in America my car isn't that big. In fact I would call it a small to medium car. In Italy it is a Goliath. The big, black beast moves through the very small Italian streets with all the ease of a just awakened, hungry, ornery giant. Ok, it's really not that bad. Yes, it is bigger than most other cars here. And yes we did drive through some 'streets' that would be designated sidewalks in America. Perhaps my ranting is a bit ethnocentric and maybe I am a bit prejudiced towards American streets. But I like them. I like knowing that there is a five feet perimeter between you and the next car, building, person, not a mere inch on either side. That five foot cushion feels nice and reassuring.

On with it already Emily, not everybody has got all day. Yesterday Patrick and I went venturing out. We decided to go have a look at potential towns we would want to live in. It was a lot of fun. The drive up toward Mt. Etna was beautiful. The mountain is an active volcano and on most clear days you can see smoke rising from the depths. Not to worry the last large eruption that caused major damage to towns and killed anyone was in the very late 17th century. (We've been told this multiple times and every time I hear that all I think is 'Oh great, she's only primed and ready for her next eruption.')

We drove through (and by we, I mean Patrick, I was attempting to navigate) Paterno, Belpasso, Nicolosi, Misterbianco. My favorite little town was Nicolosi. It's right near the foot of Mt. Etna. It was beautiful. It reminded me of northern Italy and Switzerland. The houses were beautiful and the foliage was fantastic. Naturally this is one of the farther towns away from base. I know that Patrick was quick to cross it off his list, but he was as enchanted as I, so maybe with a little work I could talk him into it.

The towns here are very different from what I'm used to from Tuscany. I'm beginning to come to the realization that it may be a bit harder to find our home for the next three years here. Especially because the housing department here is short staffed and everyone is out on holiday. It is August in Italy after all (if you don't know, I'll fill you in later). I had this dream in my mind of the little quaint towns with beautiful villas or apartments on the outskirts with a little Italian nonna as a landlady who invites us into her kitchen, teaching me the Sicilian cuisine and doting on my adorable husband. Perhaps that will come, but it's going to be a bit of work on my part.

Now back to the topic at hand (I apologize, I seem to be more scatterbrained than usual). Driving in Sicily is nuts! I've lived in Europe before, but I've never driven. I have witnessed driving in Italy, but Sicily takes the cake! The posted roadsigns on the side of the road are apparently recommendations only. Nobody (except my cautious husband) adheres to the rules. Two lane highway? No! There's room there for four cars. 60 kilometers an hour? No! 120 will do just fine. That being said, they are very good drivers. They have a very good understanding of the dimensions of their car and the street, or cars around them. There are hardly any accidents and they all do a very good job of keeping the flow of traffic going.

I could live with a little crazy driving, what I'm finding hard is the roadsigns for cities, or streets, or highways. Apparently they don't exist. Everyone just seems to know where they're going. They don't worry about what highway, byway, or street they're on. We spent more than half of our time yesterday just trying to figure out how to get back to the base. Which was a ton of fun. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't open my eyes and oxygen wasn't getting to my head. (There are many reasons that I married my husband, and many reasons that I think he's sexy, and his sense of humor tops that list.) Granted we didn't have a map, but honestly I don't think that would've helped considering that there are few roadsigns. And if you are following a road sign don't be surprised if they abruptly stop.

There are so many adventures that we are going to take around this island, some that we planned on, and some that we don't. I'm happy to have my partner by my side making me laugh and sometimes cry through it all. Please wish us luck on finding a place to live, we're going to need it.