May 3, 2001
Shela's Tight Spaces & Horrified Faces Before Firenze

Ancient walled cities and small towns dot the countryside, if I hadn't known better I would have sworn I was dreaming. The only thing to remind me that I was in the twenty-first century was the occasional gas station and wires like giant octopus tentacles streaming from building to building. Tuscany hasn't been introduced to cable television as yet, for on every rooftop stood a television antenna. All of that aside, the country is so infused in the past that one actually feels as if you've stepped back in time. Everything moves slower there. In every little town we were in, there was a coffee bar on the corner; outside were tables set with white cloths and they were occupied by old and young men drinking espresso and swapping stories. When you walked down the street the women and men would look you in the eye and smile, always saying "Buon Giorno!" It's impossible not to be affected by the warmth that exudes from the Italian people. With the exception of the little rat we met in Rome (more about him in a later story). everyone was wonderful to us, but I suspect that they are just a warm friendly people and would be that way towards any stranger. We were three women alone in a strange country yet I never felt out of place. Well almost never. There was the driving....

We all woke bright and early to go to Florence. It was our first big excursion and we were very anxious to be on our way. But first things first, breakfast! Nikki and I had our usual espresso and cigarettes and Terri scarfed down the leftover veal and peppers in between her wheezes and coughs from our smoke. This was to be Terri's breakfast for the entire two weeks. She would eat the leftovers in the refrigerator, much to Nikki's and my nausea. Sometimes it was veal and peppers, sometimes it was spaghetti with olive oil and garlic, no matter, she ate it! Finally after slurping up the last pepper we were off, but first we needed to stop at the bank.

I was feeling pretty confident about driving and zipped right off to the bank. I dropped Nikki and Terri off in front and waited. Then for some unknown reason I decided to turn the car around so I'd be facing in the direction we wanted to go. The little street behind me seemed the perfect place to turn around. I put the Daewoo in reverse and backed up then took the right up the little street. Now from where I was sitting the street looked like a flat road, but once I turned onto the street it became a steep incline. "Oh well, I thought, I'll just turn around the first chance I get." The first chance I got was in a teeny, weenie drive way. I turned in, then put the car in reverse and backed out. That was the first sign of trouble! Scrape! Scrunch! I had hit a wall behind me! So I put the car in first gear and then scrape, scrunch again! "What the hell?" I was stuck between the wall and a brick post! I got out of the car to assess the situation. Yes, I was definitely stuck! I got back in the car and tried to get out of this predicament. Scrape! scrunch! I was horrified to be stuck like this, I turn the wheel, I pull forward scrape! scrunch! Damn, turn the wheel again, back up, Scrape! Scrunch! Oh No! How do I get out of this mess. What's that? A car blowing a horn at me! Someone wanted to get by, and here I was stuck horizontally, blocking the road. Beads of sweat broke out on my forehead and upper lip, my glasses were fogging up and this creep was laying on his horn! Over and over he blew that horn, why didn't he just get out and offer to help me anyway? The idiot, can't he see I'm stuck here?? After what seemed like forever but was probably only a few minutes, I finally maneuvered the car out and was on my way down the hill back to the bank were Nikki and Terri were waiting for me. Close to tears I jumped out and walked around the car, this time assessing the damage. How was I going to explain this bill for the damage to my husband, John?? The entire front of the car and part of the back was scratched and dented. Nikki looked forlornly at the bumper then turned to me and said, "We're in Italy, how bad can it be?"

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