Travel 12

Travel Diary 12.

It’s raining and showering and things are wet and muddy. Including the fields on either side of road driving into Milano. No that that matters too much as the crop is rice! Dozens of fields of rice growing. If it wasn’t for the temperature difference, we could have been in Asia. Who would have thought … rice! We discovered later that this is a staple crop hereabouts and it is a special variety of rice used to make risotto and when we tried the risotto, I can see why. It tasted magic! The grain is shorter and fatter than what we normally get in Australia and Kerrie says it is available in Australia. When cooked, it is a fair bit “stickier” and the risotto as a result, is thicker and more “pasty” than what is normally found back home. Good to able to resolve the risotto issue as it tastes and eats better as well!

We arrived at Camping Milano about 5.00pm , booked in and advised them that “Mi disparche, no parlo Italiano” to which the people there smiled and replied in broken English “No problem, we have little English”. As it turned out, their little English was a lot more than my little Italian!

As it was the raining, the Italian lady at reception asked what we were going to do. I pantomimed “Sleeping” and said I was very tired. She nodded and said “Yes! I come bed with you and sleep also!”. I was a bit taken aback for a second and smiled and said “Really?”

The man broke out laughing and then the Italian lady realised what she had said and also broke out laughing as well and gave me a burst of Italian to which I had no response. Kerrie just stood there shaking her head as if to say you can’t help yourself can you Peter! Never mind, it was all good fun. The Italians seem to love laughing and enjoy life except when playing at being Senna on the roads. Then they seem to change personalities and become a bit aggressive and appear to be only out for themselves.

We had noticed that particularly in Genoa and it had been a nightmare driving there through the city. Particularly as it was rush hour with every man and his dog in a hurry to get home on his scooter or in their little cars. This was the worst traffic driving situation I have ever been in and I have driven hundreds of thousands of miles in all sorts of places.

They close, up missing you by inches and I mean inches! The number of times I thought I was going to be hit! Overtaking on no overtaking areas, cutting you off, stopping in a lane way and blocking traffic in the process, putting their emergency lights on and getting out of their cars to go into a shop to buy something! Amazing! All seems to be dealt with without too much fuss by the locals. But we did hear numerous sirens and see heaps of ambulances racing to probably another accident. We never saw any accidents and fortunately have not, so far, been involved in any. But, boy, has it been close! The concentration level required is huge and I was dog tired after a full day of driving. So, by the time we hit the camp site I was glad to turn off the engine!

Think of the narrowest laneway in any city centre you know. The kind of laneway reserved for delivery vans and situated behind downtown city buildings. That is the size of their normal road in and around cities. Now think of cars parked in the laneway with right hand wheels half on the footpath. The rest is divided into two lanes going one way. My van takes up one and a half of these lanes! So, every scooter just overtakes where they can and cuts in when about a meter in front and sometimes they do not even wait for the meter gap! Their shoulders and handlebars are about 3 or 4 inches from the side of the van and all travel like this while going at between 40 to 50 kms per hour. I’m going at about 15 to 20 as that is all I am prepared to risk!

Later when talking to our new friends, we found out that people from Genoa are renowned for this behaviour. Even Italians think they are mad! But not as mad as people from Napoli apparently. Surprisingly, no one mentioned Rome which, from what I have heard, foreigners should not drive in and I had gathered impressions that Rome was the worst. Apparently not and after Genoa, I have no desire to drive in either Rome or Napoli!