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Austria – Vienna, Salzburg, Halstatt And Sound Of Music
Austria simply can’t be beat when it comes to beauty. You’ve seen the country in the Sound of Music, but the cities of Vienna, Salzburg and the alpine town of Halstatt are just as nice. Vienna Vienna is a city with a ridiculous amount of...
Discover The Rose Bowl Flea Market In Pasadena California
The Rose Bowl Flea Market And Swap Meet, at 1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena Ca. 91103, is probably the largest and most famous swap meet held in California. On the second Sunday of each month, rain or shine, over 1,800 vendors from all over the...
Hollywood - From its very beginning to what it is today
History
On January 22, 1947, the first commercial TV station west of the
Mississippi River, KTLA, began operating in Hollywood. In
December of that year, the first Hollywood movie production was
made for TV, The Public Prosecutor. In addition,...
How We Experienced The Passions of Roman Life.
We haven't met... yet, and until now you wouldn't know that I
make part of my living by writing about the city of Rome, its
people, passions, food, sport, history and culture. In fact, I
own a web site called Lets-Travel-Rome.com, which kinda...
Possible car rentals in Bournemouth
When you arrive at the Bournemouth airport, usually the first thing you want to find is some information on car rentals. In Bournemouth there are a lot of rent-a-car companies, so finding them is not a problem. Just connect to the Internet and look...
Private jet rental takes you wherever you need to go
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Richmond, Indiana Attractions
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Santa Catalina - Island of Dreams
This beautiful island lies just 26 miles across the ocean from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Yet it might be thousands of miles away. As soon as you step ashore you can feel the pace of life slow perceptibly. Even the name of the main...
Vacations - British Columbia
Are you torn between taking a luxurious, pampered holiday versus
an outdoor, sporty vacation? If you and your holiday partner
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Ya Mule! Backpacking In Siena, Italy
Ah, the glamour of backpacking through Europe. Of course, the glamour comes with a price as I found in Siena, Italy. Siena Siena is located an hour or so outside of Florence, Italy. My handy dandy guidebook suggested it was a side trip that...
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Driving In Greece - What Is It Really Like?
Generally speaking, Greek drivers are not the best in Europe, but they are not the worst – those people know who they are! I have been in driving in Greece for a while now and have witnessed many examples of bad habits on the road, which have shocked my rapidly departing British sensibilities. It is not uncommon for drivers to hoot their horns at traffic lights, even when they are still on red and to fly through red lights. There is a reason of sorts for some of the occasions when the latter occurs. Traffic lights, even in the capital, are not remotely controlled at different times of the day to allow for changes in traffic flow. Therefore in rush hour, for example, there can be dozens of cars waiting to go through a traffic light, which stays green for only ten seconds or less. This results in stressed out drivers sneaking through on red because they are tired of waiting. I have also been surprised on more than one occasion when going down a one-way street, by someone coming at speed in the opposite direction towards me. I have decided that if I ever dent the front of my car, I'll head straight for the next car heading at me the wrong way up a one-way street and let the other guy's insurance company cover it. Sounds good in theory at least.
The Greeks seem to have a blatant disregard for their own safety – drivers and pedestrians alike (watch out for Greek grannies walking down the middle of the road with their shopping). Seatbelts are rarely worn and children can often be seen jumping up and down on the back seat, as though they were playing in their rooms, or wedged between two adults on a motorbike. There is very much a “it will never happen to me” mentality, but the statistics show that unfortunately it does happen. I always wear a seatbelt, whether I am driving or I am in someone elses car. It often raises a strange look from Greek taxi drivers, as though you are somehow questioning their ability to
drive.
A Few Tips
- The first and most important one is to just be alert. This will keep you safe 99.99% of the time. I realised recently that I am now no longer just looking at the car in front of me, but I am also unconsciously looking through his windshield at the car in front of him. You will soon develop quicker reactions and a sixth sense for when someone is going to do something unorthodox. Driving in the UK would probably feel positively dull now!
- Care needs to be taken on roundabouts, because it often seems that the rule is the person who drives most aggressively, regardless of whether they are on the roundabout or entering it, is the one who has priority.
- Unlike in the UK, when another driver flashes his headlights at you, he is not letting you pass – the opposite is true - he is warning you that he is coming.
- In built-up areas, go carefully through crossroads, because people do not always respect stop signs and may also have their view of you blocked by cars parked right on the street corner.
- In response to what I said earlier about red traffic lights, when the lights turn green do not move off without checking that there are no stragglers coming from another junction. When I first arrived in Athens, I thought that the drivers had a slow reaction time when the light turns green lights but now I think, as with driving anywhere, it is safer to take your time.
About the Author: Emmanuel Mendonca is the webmaster and publisher of Greece Travel Articles at http://www.athensroom.com/greece_travel_guide.html - a source of interesting articles and other information on visiting, living and working in Greece.
Source: www.isnare.com
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