Punch, Smart Car, No Punch Backs! -- The Streets of Rome

ERICA  In the streets of Rome, the streets are always filled with people, cars, tables, and much more. The streets are always bustling with just enough room to hold everything that the Italians cram into it. The streets are very narrow, and would easily compare to an alley in the United States. Except for the fact that there is so much going on in the streets, and they are not so dark and gloomy. Unless the street opens up into an open area, tall apartments cast shadows over the streets. There are no apartments with a rotating door, a desk clerk, all that jazz. There will be shops filling the buildings, with random doors in between that lead to apartments. Almost everyone lives in apartments, because the villas* in the suburbs are much more expensive. All roads lead to Rome. Have you ever heard of that saying? It's kind of true. In ancient times, Rome was one of the only places with roads. Most of the streets today are still cobblestone roads. When you are driving in a car, you tend to bounce up and down a tiny bit in your seat. Speaking of cars, if you go to Rome, you will find that most of the cars are Smart Cars, or other small cars. As you probably may have figured out from my earlier explanations of the roads, Europeans like small cars because of the narrow roads, and all the bustle in them. There is also very little parking. You will find cars parked in the most random of places. And sometimes you can see a car that is surrounded by four other cars and you think, How are they going to get out of that mess? The roads are sometimes pretty dangerous, because most of the smaller streets don't have lights. People will be meandering in the middle of the road, and then all of a sudden you see a car trying to maneuver it's way through. The roads of Rome are very interesting, and often fun. And it is true: All roads lead to Rome.


* Villa means large and luxurious house. The villas may be the size of the average house in the United States, but they are much bigger than the apartments.

These pictures were taken looking out of our apartment window, into our street, Via Delle Carrozze. This is one of the few quiet streets right next to the famous Spanish Steps and parallel to Via Condotti. A great location for a home base in Rome.