I awoke this morning, Saturday, knowing what was ahead - a real American breakfast. After two weeks of boiled eggs, prosciutto (not really complaining here), tarts, croissants and diminutive quantities of coffee (sometimes no more than a tablespoon), I have been anticipating this for some time. Two eggs perfectly fried, Wrights thick cut bacon from the microwave, sauteed mushrooms, cantaloupe, toast with brown sugar and a large cup of strong American coffee...yum yum!

I decided to include this epilogue to tie up some of the loose ends including some details that I failed to include in the body and a discussion of the driving abilities (or lack thereof) of Italians in general and Sicilians in particular.

Coffee - You can find coffee bars everywhere in Italy, often as part of a forno (bakery) or autogrill (see below). Patrons frequently stand at the bar while they slowly consume their coffee and talk. This can sometimes be a hindrance to others.

Bathroom stop - At out stop at the Valle dei Templi (the Valley of the Temples), I neglected to tell about the, uh, public facilities. Just prior to the entrance stood a public restroom. At first I was puzzled by the lack of indication of where the  's room and the 's room were. Then I noticed the symbols on the stall doors and realized that this was a multi-sex facility. For those concerned, the doors and stall walls went from the floor to the ceiling so there was no chance to reach under or look over. On exiting, Sharon and Pam and I agreed that was the first time that we had "gone" together.

Driving - Some years ago I rented a straight shift car in England. Initially it was a challenge and there were times it was quite demanding. Last year the main source of stress while driving in Bristol and Bath, England, was the width of the roads. However, now that I have experienced two weeks in Italy, all other driving experiences pale to insignificance. In the States, people are thrown into fits of road rage because someone "cuts them off". In Italy if you haven't been cut off at least twice in the last 4 minutes, you are somewhere other than driving. In fact, I think the American judicial system should make it mandatory punishment for anyone convicted of road rage to drive one week in Sicily.

In Italy there are Stop signs (that, oddly enough, look just like our stop signs), lane lines and speed limit signs. However, as Pam suggested and my experience indicates these are only suggestions; you are free to make up your own rules as you go. Pedestrians take their rights seriously, often not even looking up but expecting the autos to bow to their right of way.

And then there are the scooters and motorcycles. These vehicles do not appear to even be subject to the suggested road rules. Cars are nothing but obstacles hindering them from going in a straight line. They buzzed around me when least expected eliciting many expletives deleted from my mouth and a few exclamations from Pam and Sharon.

I think Pam hit on a plausible explanation for Italian drivers - they are opportunists. That is, when they see an opportunity to improve their driving lot in life, they take it. However, if they were strictly opportunists, the streets would soon be clear and the Italian equivalent of junk yards would be full. For the system to work, they also have to be realists. Consequently, when one person takes an opportunity, another would have to realize that, unless they yielded their position, there would be a wreck and neither would gain. I do not mean that drivers here are one or the other, they are both! So what is really going on is a complicated dance without structured steps or music. But it works. I did not see the first fender bender in my two week waltz.

In contrast, I believe Americans are one or the other. Here we would say that they are aggressive or submissive. If one aggressive driver attempts to cut off another aggressive driver, the result could be an accident but will certainly result in some level of road rage. On the other hand, two submissive drivers will come to a four way stop and sit for several minutes waving the other on.

Why the difference? I believe that it is related to our differing environments. In the States, we are use to wide open spaces, large lots and wide driving lanes. On the other hand, Europeans live in more crowded areas with small lots and narrow driving lanes. Thus, American's personal space extends further, perhaps several feet around their body and at least 10 feet from their vehicle. Europeans (and non-Americans in general) have a smaller sense of personal space. If you've ever stood in line at Disney and been crowded from behind by a "fureigner" you know what I mean. This is an example of their small personal space colliding with our large personal space.

I leave it to you to decide if a) I am correct in my conclusion and b) which system is actually better. And at this point, I'm really not sure (about b that is).

One last thought on my driving experience. I was impressed by the totally digital display of the Volvo. I don't think I have seen such since the old 1985 Oldsmobile Toronado. And both the Volvo and the Nissan included an icon displaying the current speed limit. I noted that this was so accurate that I almost suspected that the speed limit signs had some type of transponder reporting their value. However, I have come to suspect that they use visual speed sign recognition. (This is now creeping into US autos.) And I was so impressed by the Nissan Qashqai that I have reserved one for my upcoming trip to Ireland in September. And I am considering trading my Pathfinder for the American equivalent (the Rogue). (Update, I have bought one!)

The Autostrada - The autostrada is a four lane road system with limited access. In this they are most similar to our interstate system. The major difference is that, rather than having wide medians and shoulders, they have tall guard rails, generally taller than a car, in the center and on the sides. However, they seem to come in two different flavors - those with smooth surfaces that also has some semblance of pull off lane (a pleasure to drive on) and those with pot holes and rough spots connected by short pieces of smooth pavement (not so much a pleasure as a challenge to miss the larger rough spots) with no pull off lane. However, both types include pull off areas at reasonable intervals. Speed limits on the autostrada varies from 70kph (about 45mph) to 130kph (about 80mph); however, I was regularly passed at high rates of speed even when my speed had crept up to 145kph (90mph). I would put some of their speeds at well over 100mph.

As we drove from Rome to our stay in Tuscany, I quickly noted that I would be overtaken at high speed and, as the car passed me, they would swerve to their right (toward me) as if they wished to tap mirrors and then cut right across my left front bumper into my lane (even though their lane was open ahead for as far as I could see). (In the States, we would take this as being "cut off" which would would often result in road rage.) Merv, who was following me, asked later if I had a large magnet in the car that was attracting all of the cars. I didn't, but this continued to happen over the next two weeks.

The Autogrill - The autogrill is a concept that has no equivalent in most of America.  It is a combination rest stop, filling station, fast (and sometimes slow) food restaurant and convenience store. The more elaborate can even include a small grocery store, liquor store and deli. While you exit the roadway, you do not actually exit the autostrada so it is easy-off easy-on at its best. For a quick meal, you can get any of a number of panini, pizzas and such (but no hamburger or fries). And of course the coffee bar. More of these in the US could greatly improve the driving experience, especially if you are traveling with women. (In the US you will see a gas station with limited grocery items and possibly a hot bar with chicken, etc. And more and more they may include a fast food chain such as a Micky Dees or Subway. However, I have not seen them on the interstate, at least not yet.)

Driving Videos - I carried my dash cam with me so that I could record our trip. I was looking for panoramic views of the countryside. Little did I know that it would document Italian driving. Here is the first video (hopefully others will follow). First, please excuse the video quality. I should have washed the window regularly. (I will know this in the future.) And please excuse some of the language which is naturally brought out by the drivers and their driving. And I have sped up portions of the video to reduce the boring aspect and have added a sound track of one of my favorite Italian classics, Con te Partirò played on cello, to offset the frenetic driving. And you will notice me constantly talking to myself and the GPS system (which we lovingly referred to as Our Lady of the GPS). This is a natural conduit for stress relief. The dinging sound you will hear in the background is either the fasten seat belt warning or the proximity device.

Our drive to dinner in Catania was quite harrowing. Partly because it was rush hour, but mostly because it was Sicily.

We figured that, after dinner which was about 8:30pm, the traffic would be less. However, this did not prove to be true and the return trip was even worse than the drive there.

While in Tuscany, Amy also drove. On a day trip to the hill towns of Montalcino, Pieza and Montelpuciano, she found herself driving where she did not really wish to go.

To Viaggio in Italia