Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Scooter: City Life in a New Light
It's official, I have finally become absolutely Italianized.
I own a scooter.
It took over ten years for the day to come, but now my husband and I have splurged on Italy's favorite vehicle with 2 wheels.
It's liberating. Traffic is a breeze. There is a sense of freedom. We dart around town instead of plodding along in traffic at rush hour. It takes 5 minutes to get downtown. There's no fatigue involved like when cycling. The gas mileage is great!
On the other hand, it can be very cold with chilly wind rushing over your hands and through your pants. It can be dangerous: if a mistake is made, and even if it's the car's fault, I will probably suffer some serious consequences. I have to be "all eyes"!
It's a new scooter world for me and a very Italian one.
I am now relearning the roads through the city since z.t.l. (zona traffico limitato-restricted traffic zone) areas have previously been off-limits to me, a car owner who does not have a business or residence within those borders, and on a bicycle, I haven't had to respect one-way signs through town like scooters should do. Now everytime I get on the saddle, I have to rethink the roads to take, make mistakes and discover this new method of moving through urban space. I have to think like a scooter driver which is uniquely different than the cyclist or car driver.
"Buona guida," I think to myself, "e che brivido!"
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Spero che ti adatterai presto a questa tua italianizzazione della guida. Questa per te, nuova visione della città spero ti piaccia. Cari saluti.
ReplyDeleteNon ti preoccupare. Mi adatto a tutto!
ReplyDeleteParli come una persona che si muove in giro per Padova in motorino?