Coffee yes, but the US doesnāt have the same coffee culture. Wine though? At a place you can only drive to or from? Might not be a great look if someone has a glass and then proceeds to cause a wreck on 95.
Yup. Letās only have our wine-serving establishments inaccessible by road. 
I hear youā¦
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I, for one, have always wanted to see someone YOLO-ing their car right off the Millard E. Tydings bridge (which is a kinda scary bridge when windy)
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Hit traffic on that bridge yesterday for the first time ever.
Years ago I was sitting on the upper deck of one of those double decker buses between DC and NYC on a very windy day. Crossing that bridge was an experience Iād not like to repeat.
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That the one thats like just inside Deleware?
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Iāve been across this bridge when the wind was blowingā¦ do not recommendā¦ plus there is a HUGE toll! Honestlyā¦ tolls in France are ridiculousā¦ so really, screw French roads and their tolls. Donāt ever drive in Franceā¦ because of the tolls and most of your US credit cards donāt work. Stupid.
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iāve got some recommendations on a few good conference roomsā¦ beautiful scenery and powerpoint presentations.
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Between the Maryland House and the DE State Line. 3 lanes on each side, just a normal guardrail-height wall on the outsides, and prone to strong crosswinds.
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Okay, @jazznutUVA, generally on the topic of Europe and driving and any contribution that easy availability of a glass of vinoāwhen you stop to pissāhas on that, what countries have the best and worst drivers?
Iāve only driven in Italy but they stressed me the heck out. They all tailgate like itās their job. Second only to Mass-holes.
But the stats suggest itās actually relatively safe to drive there.
And serious tip for @zh00s here: donāt drive downtown in Florence. Thereās all sorts of limits on where / when you can drive and from my memory, itās not the most clear to non-Italian speakers where the go / no-go spots are.
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A few years back when I was driving through Italy, my credit card wouldnāt work at the gas stations. And on Sundays, none of them were staffed.
Rolled into Milano airport after driving all day from Val Gardena with like 10km left on the tank. Was super stressful.
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Yup I remember it well, just couldnt remember the name. I used to coach at University of Delaware and lived in Alexandria Va made the drive several times a week.
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What part of Italy? Italy can be roughly split into the Roman South and the Milanese Northā¦ in the Milanese North the drivers are much better and more in control. The Autostrada are maintained better and the drivers may be fast, they will not drive you off the road. In the Roman Southā¦ and especially in Rome & Naples, the drivers are crazyā¦ I believe there are more Vespas than people (impossibleā¦ but I would argue it is)ā¦ always get full insurance when you rent a carā¦ ALWAYS.
Worst drivers Iāve seen in my travels? If I have time I would give you stories of how bad they wereā¦ Istanbul, Naples, Dubrovnik, Baghdad (up-armored GMC Envoy? Yes), Kabul (thin skin Toyota pick-up? Yes), Arc du Triumph round-about, Vilnius, County Derry.
Best drivers? Anywhere in Germany, most of my travels in the UK (there are some crazies though), Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Tallinn, Spain (Catalan region only)
Meh driversā¦ most other places Iāve been.
There is a kiosk at the end of every row of gas pumps at stations in Italy that you can use your credit card when the station is closedā¦ but you have to pre-pay before you pump. So if you pre-pay ā¬50 and then you only put ā¬38, it spits out a slip that allows you to come back the next day and get your ā¬12 backā¦ do not recommend. I have at least 5 of those for when I āreturnā to those gas stations. LOL!
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Oh yeah, forgot you were quite familiar. We can outnumber @DFresh11 on the correct way to pronounce Newark.
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Haha yep. Actuallpy forgot my profile pic here is taken wearing UD gear.
@jazznutUVA add Bangkok to that bad driver list. The roar of 3million scooters is the soundtrack of a horror film
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Returned a rental car at the train station in Florence in April. Extremely stressful, mostly because my wife and I have very different ideas about Google maps. She myopically follows the given directions, regardless of where they lead us, and I want to see the overall route so we can avoid difficult areas. But since she wonāt drive in a foreign country, Iām at the mercy of her co-piloting. At one point, there was less than an inch of space on either side of our rental car as we crawled down one of Florenceās medieval, former oxcart roads.
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I survived medieval walled cities, driving around Rome on Italian superhighways but nailed a guardrail literally as I was pulling into the spot at the Fiumicino Avis. My wife enjoys telling that story
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The areas are called ZTLs: Zona a Traffico Limitato. The can be 24/7 or just rush hour, or random, inscrutable times. The idea is to limit traffic and pollution, generally in the historic centers. However, you can usually call your hotel with your license plate number and get a free pass to drive to and from your hotelāthough just at arrival and departure, not whenever you come and go during your stay.
One other related pro tip: I have committed numerous ZTL violations, but never received a ticket in the mail. But I have also never rented a car in the traditional way in Europe. If you are a non-EU citizen staying in Europe for at least two weeks, you can do a short-term lease with any of the French car companies, Renault, Citroen, and Peugeot. Our last trip we leased a Renault Arkada for 9 weeks for $2,300. This fall, weāre leasing a Renault Austral for five weeks for $1,800. These can be picked up an and dropped off ānearā most major airports in Europe. And for whatever reason, the ZTL cameras donāt seem to bother with the cars with red tags.
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The old joke in Italy is: in Milan, traffic lights are the law, in Rome, theyāre a suggestion, in Naples, theyāre Christmas decorations. Iāve driven in all three. No problems in Rome or Milan, but Naples is terrifying. However, one rule to follow in any city: only worry about what is in front of you. The people behind you have to worry about you!
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Yeah, this was a hard-earned lesson for me as well. The GPS took us to an entrance to the Piazza Santa Maria Novella that was gated and closed. I took a quick look at the phone and asked my wife to get directions to the other entrance to the piazza on the far side. But the phone kept losing signal in the narrow streets, so the directions would freeze and then spasmodically give nonsensical directions.
I asked my wife to ignore the directions and just look at the map and find me a one-way street going towards the piazza. She took this as mansplaining. Letās just say it was not the finest moment in our 34 years of marriage.
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No one knows
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