Padova: Look Ma! No TomTom!

In our world of readily available maps, GPS devices, and directions, I have to say I was a little scared at the thought of navigating around without a GPS here in Italy.  But I forced myself to accept the challenge of reading a map again, and go exploring. Of course, that didn’t mean I couldn’t start small either. Trip numero uno: Padova. About 45 minutes from where we are in Paderno.

Now, I have to admit, I wasn’t completely without GPS help. With the help of my iPhone and a little WIFI trick, we were able to activate the map and get our GPS location. When we traveled outside of the WIFI service, the direction capabilities may have been gone, but the phone would still keep track of my location. This worked for the first half of the trip down, though I lost all reception about 15 minutes outside of Padova.

So, trick numero due: Follow the street signs. The first thing I’ve learned about driving in Italy is that you can find your way around fairly simply thanks to all the street signs in and around the cities (the 2^nd thing I learned was how crazy driving is here, but more on that in a moment). If you don’t know the exact address, you can just follow signs to the city and make your way there as you go. This second method worked ok, though it did eventually lead us to making our 1^st official site visit in Italy at an Ikea.  And Ikea in Italy has gelato, so we got another 1^st in, Behold!

From there, we were able to get basic directions back into the center of town by asking an associate (knowing some Italian is definitely recommended…thank you Duolingo). From there, we enjoyed the old town tour of Padova, including the largest cathedral I have ever been in (no pictures allowed…not even drawing was allowed! One too many art students, I guess).

Now, as promised earlier, a word on driving in Italy. The driving guide we got from the program that we’re teaching in here has an appropriate description of the driving experience, one that I learned in the first few minutes of driving: “Driving in Italy (and Europe, in general) demands that you are a ‘mature’ driver. By mature, we mean that you have the ability to drive anywhere without experiencing extreme irritation, frustration, and trouble”. I would add: the bigger the city, the more “mature” you need to be. 

After day 1 of driving here, I can only report: I love it here. Anyone who knows my driving will know that I fit right in with frustrating and irritating driving. Back home, people drive at (or even slightly below) the speed limit. Not here. The speed limit is only a suggestion! Heck, so are no tailgaiting and 3 seconds distance rules! This is my kind of driving experience.