Driving School is now 3 hours in the past and slipping farther away every minute and I’m standing on the shore waving. Will I miss it? Not one bit. Did I make a far bigger deal of it than necessary? No doubt! But the idea of failure was daunting; once something becomes so large in the imagination it can take over one’s existence. Just ask the Captain, who has put up with weeks of careful ‘practice driving,’ endless observations on others’ driving habits and the ‘codice stradale,’ and non-stop worry-chatter. If ever you need a cheer-leader you will find none better.
Poor man – the last straw was at the end of afternoon errands; he announced firmly, “I’m driving.” Fair enough, thought I, I don’t care if I ever drive again. As we wound our way up the curvy hill to San Maurizio we came to a long line of cars trailing behind… a driving school car. What were they doing there? They never, but never, come up our hill because there’s no place legally to change one’s direction. We limped along with the rest until the poor student driver found a wide place in the road where he could pull over and let us all pass. That was the moment when I realized that it was truly over.
You can find more of the details over on the right at Driving School Diary, or by clicking here.
turi said:
You go girl!!!
Cathy Davidson said:
Brava!
chiarabeth said:
Well, we were certainly tempted by some “rustico + ampio terreno” ads…but (unfortunately) it’ll probably be another year before we can seriously start house hunting. We didn’t stop by your neighboring towns this weekend, but the reason we’d never made it to Rapallo is because we’ve always stopped in Santa Margherita or been tempted down to Portofino! To think how many visits to Rapallo I’ve missed out on!
farfalle1 said:
and…? Did you find a sweet little villa up in the hills?! Frigidarium will reopen in early December, so come on back. Did you visit Santa Margherita as well, or Portofino? It’s really fun to take the ferry from Rapallo and make a 3-town tour. You’ll get your patente no problem, I’m sure.
chiarabeth said:
Congratulazioni, Fern! Now I’m the one green with envy. 😉 By the way, I stopped by your town for the first time this past weekend, and goodness, Rapallo is absolutely charming! So lively, historic, and modern all at the same time. Since the Frigidarium was closed…my boyfriend and I browsed the real estate offerings instead.
farfalle1 said:
I’m wearing my lucky red shirt (a la Tiger Woods), my favorite jeans, and a little angel Elena gave me. I think it was the angel… and simpatico Sig. Lungo.
Hilary said:
If getting an Italian driver’s license makes one look as fabulous as you look in that photo, it may well be worth the angst!
Congratulations, you gorgeous thang – we all knew you would prevail.