Our GPS

Our daughter gave us a Garmin GPS device some years ago. We were so impressed with the thing that we bought the GPS map-on-a-chip for Europe and we’ve used the GPS when we’ve driven through Italy. 

It is so easy to get lost driving in Italy. There are only two kinds of roads, superhighways and ordinary two-lane roads. The superhighways are terrific and the speeds are determined by the capability of the car you’re driving and, of course, by your nerve. The ordinary roads, however, are another matter. Lots of twists and turns, rises and falls. Narrow bridges. And though there is a system for naming state and regional highways with numbers, the Italians seem to have overlooked the need to put up signs that show the numbers. Intersections are often a forest of signs indicating twelve towns to the right, nine towns to the left, and six towns straight ahead. It is not a surprise that Italians swear by their navigatore or, as we call them, GPS devices.

We traveled on Saturday from Florence to a spot for lunch at an inn in the hamlet of Nottola. We had a fine meal there. Afterward we drove on for an hour to our destination in Orvieto. We’d been in contact with the owner of the place we were staying in in Orvieto and we had the address. We’d seen the location of the place we were staying on Google maps and we’d entered the exact location in our GPS.

What could go wrong? We drove happily down the road from Nottola to Orvieto. No need to consult a map. We’d let the GPS direct us to the place we were staying.

The owner had noted that the apartment, which we had rented for a week, had free parking included only a few steps away. And the parking was covered.

As we exited the superhighway at the Orvieto exit, we saw the town high up on a great outcrop of rock with sheer cliffs on most sides. Very impressive.

The GPS guided us toward the town and at a Y-intersection told us to continue on. We ended up in front of the railroad station where cars were picking up passengers. It was a very, very dead end route that we had been guided to. (We were at letter A on the map. The map was generated by the GPS device and shows the route in dark gray that we took to our apartment at Ripa Medici in Orvieto.) 

We realized that we had guessed incorrectly when the GPS gave us ambiguous directions but we recovered and took the correct street. The GPS told us to turn sharply to the left and climb up a steep road to the town. Then the GPS told us to turn sharply to the right up a very narrow street with fat trees on either side. The street grew more narrow until we came to sign aimed in the other direction that kept traffic out. To our right was a military property of some kind. And the road was about 10 feet wide with fat trees on either side. (See letter B on the map.)

We backed up very carefully.

Our apartment was on the other side of Orvieto but, since we hadn’t actually looked at a map, we were unaware of that important fact. Orvieto is a small city but it is a city full of narrow, one way streets that twist and turn.

We drove across the city (to letter C on the map.) It seemed that we were making progress. The GPS said that we were getting closer to our destination.

At this point we were entering the medieval quarter of the city. The streets narrowed, some climbed up abruptly, others fell sharply down, twists, turns, and the GPS kept us on a merry-go-round of tiny streets only a little wider than our rented car. (See letter D on the map.) Finally, the GPS suggested that it would be a good idea to drive along a “street” that was along the wall of the city about 10 stories above the ground far below. (See letter E on the map.) At this point the GPS said that we were only a few hundred feet from our destination but we gave up, parked the car (illegally, of course), and walked to our apartment with the help of some local people. 

The next day, Sunday, I took a picture of Annette in the middle of the street that we refused to drive on. This is a wide section of the street.

Sabrina, the owner of the apartment, took pity on us and asked for the keys to the car. First, she drove the car to the apartment and we unloaded our luggage. Then she drove to the city parking garage (at letter F on the map.) From above it looks like an empty, flat space. Actually, it is a three story parking garage with access to the city by way of elevators and escalators. Included in our rental was a smart card that gives us access to the garage. And the garage is, in fact, covered.

Based on this experience it is probably a good idea to have a map to back up what your GPS tells you. In Orvieto our GPS gave us accurate information and poor advice.