The Wisdom of Driver Training & Hike Around Besalú

This is my last entry about obtaining a driver's license in Spain, but I thought I would reflect on the benefits that I discovered from going through this process.

I was not a happy camper when I found out that I could not just transfer my Virginia driver´s license to a Spanish one and that I needed to take both the written exam and driving test to get a Spanish driver's license.  It's logical that Spain would require you to have a Spanish driver's license if you live here for over six months (U.S. states require the same thing), but I believe that because the U.S. does not have a national driver's license, but rather 50 driver's licenses from the 50 states, there is no nation-to-nation agreement for a U.S. citizen to transfer their state license for a Spanish license.

Here in Spain, they do not issue learner's permits and allow a person who already has a driver's license to accompany a person who is learning to drive.  One must use a car with two sets of peddles (one on the driver's side and the other on the passenger's side) and generally one must enroll in a driver's school.  The bottom line is that it costs.... a lot.  Probably I will spend around 400 euros, including the test fees and driving practices.  But in the end I think it was worth it.  Why, you might ask?

Well, as an American, do you know the difference between:

I know it's kind of small, but you get the point.  Some of the European signs are obvious to Americans, but others are not so intuitive.  Some of the signs above could land you a ticket and one of them, if not followed, could cause a serious accident or death!

And that's just the written test.  I have found that driving in the city of Barcelona is a very different experience than driving in an American city.  We have the same rules such as pedestrians have the right of way and yield to the car on your right.  However, our city roads are very much controlled by stop signs and traffic lights.  There are very few chances of error there.  Also, although theoretically pedestrians have the right of way, in reality the automobile rules.  Pedestrians need to watch out!

Not so on many Barcelona streets.  In residential areas, there could be 3-4 pedestrian walkways

within one city block!!  And pedestrians know they have right of way and may assume that the driver knows that too and will walk into the walkway, sometimes without really looking.  The level of alertness for a city driver has to be much sharper.  And in Barcelona, there are so many more pedestrians than we would typically find in a U.S. city, other than in tourist areas.  This is not to say that pedestrians here should not be alert and walk with precaution.  There are some crazy drivers here, especially some motorcyclists and moped drivers.  But the rules are followed differently here than in the U.S.

For example, yield signs are ubiquitous in Barcelona.  The driver needs to be aware, not only whether they need to yield, but whether the
driver in the crossing street should yield to you.  So you need to look for Do-Not-Turn-Right signs, which usually means that traffic is coming from your right and you need to yield, but not always!  Especially if they have a yield sign facing them, which you need to look for as well.

So, in spite of the expense, I am grateful for the training that I'm receiving.   My driving skills have definitely improved.  I take my driving test on May 28 and hope to pass on the first try.  The factors that will play into passing will be my own state of mind, the evaluator who will be assigned to me, and the conditions that I run across during the 35 minute driving session.  Wish me luck!!

Hiking in the Comarca of Garrotxa and Visiting the Town of Besalú

A couple of weeks ago, I hiked about 17 kilometers in the mountains around a beautiful medieval town called Besalú.  It was a warm but gorgeous day and a rigorous but fun hike.  Below are some pictures of the trip.

Driving 102 & Florence, Italy

From Theory to Practice

I took my written driving test last week and I passed!  I missed one question out of 30.  So I passed Driving 101 (my term).  Now I need to pass Driving 102, or the actual driving test.  I have two chances to do so.  If I fail both, I pay another 90 euros and start all over again.

I have driven a car since I was 16, 45 years.  You would think this would a cinch.  Think again.  First,

you are driving the Auto School car, which is unfamiliar and which is a stick shift.  I know how to drive a stick, so I didn't think that would be a problem.  But you also need to show that you know the functionality of the specific car that you are driving in, how to turn on the lights, the front fog lights, the back fog lights (which I had never heard of before I started studying for the written test), how to open the hood and the trunk, where the reflective jacket is that you are required to wear when you are on an interurban highway and your car has broken down and you need to get out of the car with the vest on, etc.  Then of course you need to drive around the city, listening to the evaluator's instructions of where to go, and watching for vehicles, pedestrians and all the various signs on the road.

I had my first practice test this Thursday.  It went okay, but it was not stellar.  I would not have passed if it was a real test.  So it convinced me that I needed to sign up for about 8 practice sessions (at 25-28 euros a pop) and shoot for the driving exam on May 20.  It's tough to set up these practice sessions.  There are two cars each hour from 7 am to 11:30 pm 7 days a week, but the slots are pretty filled up.  So I have two sessions for next week and six more the week afterwards.  Hopefully I'll be ready on the 20th.

Short Trip to Florence, Italy

I have not taken many European trips since I moved here, other than some trips within Spain and to London.  My first year was all about settling in Barcelona, improving my Spanish and becoming more integrated with life here.   That is still happening, but I will hopefully be taking some short trips over the course of this year, especially with meeting up with Chris, who will be living in Kiev and rendezvousing in various cities in Europe.

I had the pleasure of reconnecting with an ex-colleague from the OCC, Doug R.  He was in Barcelona for a month last August, loved it, and decided to take his next 6 month European stay from Florence, where he was living for the last two years, to Barcelona for 2015.  He needed to go to Florence for a week and asked if I would like to come.  I thought that would be a great opportunity, so I booked a flight and went there for four days, staying in the apartment that Doug rented.

Although the weather was a little cloudy and it rained some, Florence is a beautiful but small city.

Doug & I on Manuel's Terrace

 It's all very walkable.  The place is filled with tourists, which is the unfortunate part.  But the architecture and the art there is amazing.  Doug is good friends with a Bolivian named Manuel who has Italian roots and owns a property management business for short term rentals.  We arrived and we were soon on Manuel's roof terrace for a barbecue overlooking a gorgeous section of the city and chatting with his extended family in Spanish, all of which I was not expecting but enjoyed thoroughly.  We met up with Manuel two other times, once to go to the local soccer game (the team is called Fiorentina and they were playing Cagliari - a city on the island of Sardinia - Fiorentina lost) and have dinner, and the other time was to visit his business office and have some coffee before I jumped on the bus to leave.  It was nice to see a non-tourist aspect of Florence and to meet Manuel and his family.

Doug took me around most of the city and I spend a few hours visiting the Uffizi Museum, which has wonderful paintings and sculptures, some of them by DiVinci and Michaelangelo.  I also had my fill of genuine Italian pasta, pizza and wine.  I found it very interesting that the bread in Florence is unsalted.  I talked to one of my Italian friends from my Spanish class afterwards and she said that that is typical of Tuscany and that Italian bread is very different in different regions of Italy.  I also tried a very regional sandwich in Florence called Lampredotto, which is tripe very well cooked and seasoned so it is very tender, with an olive oil-based sauce in a bread roll.  It was actually really good.  My good friend Cristian who lives in Barcelona and is from Bologna, Italy, had never heard of it.


If the weather had been better, I would have gone to Lucca, a medieval town close to Florence.  I'll save that for another time, hopefully with Chris and we can do a Tuscany tour of Pisa, Florence, Lucca and Sienna.