The last couple of weeks have been quite a challenge for me. Lots of unexpected things have happened, including 5 trips to hospital in the city centre, which meant driving on my own.
Anyone who has witnessed Italian driving first hand might just get why this was so scary.
I’ve only had my car for 12 months, and for five of those, it was in the garage after the engine blew up on the way back from Florence. The rest of the time we’ve been in lockdown and unable to travel further than 30Km’s.
Talk about being thrown in at the deep end.
Everything is a challenge. Lorries on hairpin bends, lorries that drive faster than the wind, little l’ape’s (the typical three-wheeled cars) that drive at the speed of a snail, tractors, deer, wild boar, motorbikes. And then there's the fast driving on the outskirts of the city, the autostrada where the entry and exit slip roads are like playing Russian roulette, the stop-start city driving in narrow streets with cars pulling out from all angles, finding a parking space and parking restrictions.
Makes my heart race just thinking about it.
My mini is called Dave, after my dad. It went on sale on his birthday, and I took it as a sign that this is the car I should buy ..... and do you know what? I think my dad was with me. He knew how prettified I was, how a near-miss over 15 years ago left me rigid with fear about making a mistake, but everything went beautifully and without incident. The traffic lights were on green, no cars coming up on the inside lane when getting onto the autostrada, and an unexpected parking space in an otherwise full car park.
I did it; I learnt a lot about myself….. however scared I am I can do it.
My confidence is growing, and now I know that if I face my fears head on, I know the next time things will be just a little bit easier.
Face your fears xxx
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