Driving

I would like to address those who avoid renting cars in countries where driving is on the left-hand side of the road. I feel it is not necessary to miss out on the pleasures of independent travel in these places.

My wife, Nancy, and I have rented cars in numerous countries where they drive on the left, and we consider the extra stress to be minimal. In many instances, it is easier to drive in those countries than in some others because signage is usually in English and the roads often are well marked.

The matter of my traffic fines in Florence and Siena, Italy, has come to a conclusion (“Beware of Limited-traffic Zones,” Jan. ’10, pg. 12). I lost the Siena appeal, but winning two out of three is not all bad.

JOHN THORSON

Darien, IL

The subscriber’s letter about leasing a car for 30-plus days in Italy (Nov. ’09, pg. 51) led my husband, Klaus, and me to contact the agent at bonvoyagebycar@yahoo.com. The agent claimed he could get us a better price than we would with a lease/buyback via Peugeot or Renault.

We then contacted Kemwel (Portland, ME; 877/820-0668, www.kemwel.com) and were told that, as the direct agents with the manufacturer, they handle 80% of the lease/buyback contracts with Peugeot in the US, thus no one else can offer a lower price.

My husband, Dick, and I received five traffic citations in the mail in October ’09, each involving a €116 (near $175) fine, for traffic violations on a trip to Florence, Italy, that took place two years before!

Apparently, under Italian law, the police have 360 days to send the notices, UNLESS the car involved is a rental car, in which case the allotted year doesn’t begin until the rental company informs the police of the renter’s name and address.

Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the United States.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.

This month’s winner is THOMAS J. MUDGE of Marquette, Michigan:

Here are some notes on Spain from a trip my wife, Betty, and I took to the Costa Blanca area for a week and a half in April ’08 before continuing on to Greece. It was our first trip to either country.

We found southeast Spain to be very beautiful. We stayed with our friends Bob and Maryann, of Connecticut, who had rented a villa for a month, and our friend Jan, of Kansas.

by Deanna Palic

What’s one thing we would do differently if we were to take our last trip over again? (See Oct. ’08, pg. 2.) After our experience in late April and early May ’08, we would not drive ourselves in England again.

Previously, we had driven all over Great Britain, South Africa and New Zealand, so we have experience with driving on the “other” side of the road. However, on this trip the traffic overwhelmed their roads, from the country lanes to the motorways.

by Inga Aksamit, San Rafael, CA

“Are you going to go zip-lining?” everyone asked when told that my husband, Steve, and I were headed to Costa Rica for our next set of adventures.