Well, apparently here in the Naples area, "stopping" is merely a suggestion. A suggestion that could very well get you hit square in the car ass. You don't stop for stop signs here - I learned this first by having a small freakout when my husband ran one getting on the Autostrade - and he very patiently, without raising his voice in the least (or altering his tone) - explained that this kind of respect for the law would in fact, probably get us killed.
I don't think it's as bad as his experience driving in Columbia. He literally praised the traffic gods when he returned to American soil after that trip - noting that Americans, in fact, stop at red lights and stop signs in the middle of nowhere, and at night when no one else is around - there is just THAT much respect for the law.
We're still trying to figure out the rules of the road here. Sometimes it seems as if the biggest car wins, or if you honk first, you have established your sonority, but mostly it's just a free-for-all. And yet these people are good drivers. Possibly great drivers. I haven't seen an accident yet, and it seems like the more you drive like an American, the more you will be having mini heart attacks, becoming a danger to yourself and those around you (namely your husband who is driving - at least according to him). The game plan seems to be: Bear down and make your way - other cars, pedestrians, small animals, motorcycles, mopeds, signs and lights be damned - as much as possible.
I took my driving test today. Before the test we listened to a brief about driving in this area from a guy who grew up here. As he showed pictures and videos of traffic in downtown naples it reminded me of driving in NYC. No lines on the road, everyone just keeps a reasonable distance of a few small inches or so...
It's possible that had I taken the test earlier I would have known better than to drive up that one-way street (where we got the international head shake for "What the ahem are you thinking? Turn around immediately and go the right way dingo!" from an on-coming moto). The last time we drove around Italy we got into some might tight spots (literally - and we were driving a car just a scooch bigger than a Smart car). Perhaps armed with this new knowledge of traffic signs we will win previously failed battles over maze-like city centros. It only took us about a dozen shots at breaking into Perugia ("look kids, Big Ben, Parliament!"). Ah, but that was back in the day - driving old-school style sans GPS.
On the way back from the SS, the Major was stopped by the local Carabinieri here in town. I had seen them doing traffic stops in the same location the day before, so I wasn't surprised to hear this... I haven't seen a whole lot of Americanos around these parts.
When the police officer approached the Major's car, he asked, "Where are you from?"
"California," replied the Major.
A pause.
"Marines?"
"Yep."
A pause, and a smile...
"Bye, buyee."
And he walked away from the car. Letting a confused Major drive down the road.
In other news - we got to see the apartment again yesterday... This is a view from the fourth floor upper back patio area - that looks out over Pozzuoli bay.
They were working on installing air conditioners and a new hot water heater when we stopped by - key ingredients in our negotiation process.
Out in front of the building is a square where there is a daily market (to the right in the pic), a vegetable truck that comes down from Gaeta, a gelateria, a pretty fantastic pizzeria, and there is also a Metro stop just a couple of blocks away.
It's definitely part of a city, but not nearly as crazy as Naples. It's a port city, and there are historic ruins everywhere. I am really looking forward to exploring this town.
Currently, we are waiting for the SS base housing office - we first have to have a pre-contract meeting at the end of the month, then there is an inspection of the place, then we move to contract. It's a long, drawn-out ordeal, but we are excited about the apartment, its location and the landlord, so we are hopeful that it will all pan out.
Meanwhile, it's summer, and we are staying where there is a pool, near the beach.
It could be a whole lot worse.
