Crazy Crazy Driving

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Well after half a day we are ready to give up and give the car back to the rental hire people! After nearly not getting it, as our credit card, although it had enough credit, was refused, and they don't take debit card or cash, I remembered I had brought a second one as a desperate backstop and stored it in a different location in case luggage was stolen or went missing.

Many an argument was had at the Hertz counter today. We had booked a GPS and resigned ourselves first to the cost of 78 Euro, then had an email saying it was an extra 50E for the GPS being returned to a different area, and after our mad unsuccessful dash to purchase a Europe card for our own one, we booked the GPS at the exorbitant price quoted. Only to find today, no, it is not a booking if you didn't prepay, even though at no point was prepayment suggested or requested, and no more in stock.

After nearly getting squished several times trying to go in what seems like the wrong direction on the roundabouts in Pisa to find an electronic store and purchase a GPS (to save ourselves from divorce, as you all know how badly I read maps). We have decided that every is just beeping to say hello to the tourists and be friendly. It seems there are very limited road rules, or should I say safety rules, as on a roundabout cars seem to try to exit from the inner lane, and then beep you if you are in the way, or they just slip up between you and another car, deciding it should be 3 lanes instead of two.

Arriving at our accommodation in one piece we settled in then decided we should venture out to find a supermarket marked on a map as this accommodation is our first self contained so we are looking forward to cooking some eggs for breaky and I haven't seen chicken on a menu for 3 weeks.

After many side roads to look for the supermarket we finally found it was actually right on the edge of San Gimignano (about 10 mins from our accommodation), but 4 loops of the crazy carpark/tour bus pickup zone and even asking an attendant how to enter the shopping centre car park (a boom gate with about 30 spaces) we gave up and came home starving with no groceries.

We rested up and braved exit again to find a restaurant for dinner, and begged them to sell us a carton of milk so that we can sort out our breakfast as the shops don't open early on a Sunday of course.

Luckily we do happen to have cereal from our stop to buy the GPS, but that is a whole other story about my shopping trolley being taken off me, so I couldn't carry much in the way of groceries in my arms.

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Photos

View of San Gimi from our garden
nice place to relax in the afternoons.

Our accomodation
It is a flat attached to a family home. They have 2 rentals on their property.

Comments

[Raelee Bruce]

You Poor Things
What a nightmare and I thought getting beeped at in Canberra while gawking at Parliament House while going around the roundabout was bad!!!! Nicola said I did OK as I was beeped at twice and only swore once. The scenery is magical. I hope the rest of your time doesn't involve crazy driving. Take care. Love the pics

[johnandcheryl]

You were doing well then, compared to Italy, although today the bike tour fellow said if they beep when they pass they are just letting us know they are passing, not trying to hurry us up. Think it is different when you are in a car though. I wish I had the video camera running sometimes, they just add a lane, by squeezing up between you and another car, leave the roundabout from the inside lane, overtake on crazy blind corners where there is no room and no way to tell what is coming, but it is just the norm here. John is getting the swing on it, and now we just honk back and wave hello.