The Art of Driving a Bus while on a Cell Phone

We had Friday off.  Paola had her big social buffet on Thursday and said, "take Friday off, see you Saturday at 10:30".  Ok then.  Julie and I made plans to go to Rome.  That's what you do when you're in Italy with a day off, you go to Rome.  Friday morning came and we were going to catch an early bus to the train station in Poggio Mirtteto and then the train into Rome.  Julie came up ill and instead we spend the better part of the morning trying to explain to two very nice ladies in la farmacia (pharmacy) that she needed something for her stomach.  After explaining that she wasn't pregnant, she wasn't vomiting and she didn't have cramps, she got the appropriate medicine for nausea and we headed back to the apartment.  At twelve she was feeling better so we headed back down to town center to catch the noon bus.  The bus came and it said Poggio Mirtteto, so we hopped on.  About a third of the way there the young girl driver made a right turn we hadn't experienced before.  No problem, we thought, its a new driver, young and a girl.  Not to be sexist but, I guess I am.  She was flying around corners on a very narrow roads, up an down hills, drafting behind slower moving Fiats driven by old people all the while on her cell phone.  When we got to a place we had never seen before, she made a U-Turn.  About that time, I asker in my best Italian, 'we go Poggio Mirtteto ora?"  No, no. She rattled off something, so we sat back and enjoyed the view.  Finally, we got to a train station. Buses always go to train stations, you just need to stay on it long enough, and got two tickets to Poggio Mirtteto.  Two euros and a stop later, we knew where we were.

By then it was too late to go to Rome,  so we thought we would go to the market to get food for dinner and it was closed.  Siesta time! So we got a beer and bought some chips at the local sports bar, waited till 3:15 to go to the market, still closed. We saw the bus for Casperia, got on, waited 20 minutes for the driver to get off his break, and made it back home.  Went to Conads, it was closed.  Siesta time!  Went back at 6, got stuff to make chicken soup.  Got some fresh bread, made the soup and called it a night. So much for our day in Rome.

I swear, that young girl drove the bus while talking on her cell phone and made every turn like she was in a Ferrari.   It must be in the blood.