Blindness and Memory Loss, while Driving

I started this post wanting to say something, but it has completely slipped my mind. Maybe the post should be about getting old and losing ones mind? Nah, maybe it is just the stress of going back to work, or my driving adventure on Friday…

Want a laugh (and embarrassed red cheeks from yours truly)?

Yup, because it is embarrassing to say the least.

OK it’s not that bad…

We were going to the movies that night, which of course involved the complicated procedure of figuring out what to do with the car. More often than not, we park the car in what little free parking there is near the stadium, then go get it after work and go to the movies. Well, since hubby got back from work at 11:30 the night before, the poor man wasn’t able to drag himself out of bed before 9ish. So I told him, just go to work, I’ll take the car to the parking lot before I go to work. And so he did.

Now a few months ago, when I was doing the diving course, I would take the car and find parking no problem around three-ish in the afternoon. Well, by chance, on Friday, I happened to be starting work earlier, at 12:00. But, in my ignorance, was certain I would find parking. WRONG!

I drove around and around the very “well-designed” parking lot (involving a lot of reversing due to many dead ends, and not enough space to turn around, oh and did I mention the multiple illegal parkings, taking advantage of every nook and cranny?). Frustrated, I stopped the car a moment and thought about a new game plan. If I parked the car at the genius AMT bus/car exchange lot, I was going to pay at least 15 euros for the whole day, and we would have had to go all the way back to the stadium to get it, wasting precious time before the movie. Very well. I would take the car downtown, to Piazza Vittoria and park in the conveniently located underground parking for the same price.

Well planned.

Now, to get out of the parking lot.

After various other maneuvers I was able to find the exit and turned left to leave the lot. But, unlike every other time I had to leave the lot, this time, I didn’t have to go straight in order to get home, but had to somehow cross the bridge, to get to the other side. Something that, I confess, in all my years of living here, and in the 5 years I’ve been driving here, I have never  had to do. Not from that direction anyway. But I can handle it, right?

I got to the stop light and saw a bridge. Ah it must be that one. I looked around I SWEAR I saw NO sign saying DO NOT TURN LEFT. So, when the light turned green, I turned left.

Only to find myself going across a one-way bridge in the wrong direction.

I could tell by the arrows painted ON THE GROUND! Um, wouldn’t it have been easier to put up a sign in the first place?

Now, here in Genoa I am a nervous driver and usually get very flustered and agitated when I feel the pressure is on, especially to park faster than the speed of light. Well, my fear and terror, had me reversing and turning around so fast I had no time to feel flustered. Just angry, and yes a little embarrassed.

You see, the bridge I needed to turn onto was the next one, and there was a convenient roundabout to use just a little further ahead. Which I have used a hundred times before as a landmark, and completely forgot about.

So, amongst a hoard of honking scooters, I found the roundabout and was then turned the right way around, and continued on my red-faced way downtown. Parked (perfectly) and went off to work. Pretending nothing had happened.

Right….

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