Creative parking
Whenever I park in one of the few remaining free parking zones of Girona, I am always struck by how creative the Catalans can be when leaving their vehicles. You will find them at all angles in every spare space. They are up the pavement, in front of the no parking signs and by nine-o-clock there is the barest of space to tour the park looking for your little piece of freebie heaven. Irritating though this is if you are forced to use your power steering to its max to get out, there is something so satisfying about finding just the right spot!
Of course you have to be quick! When my ever-patient father was parking the car a couple of years ago, having identified a suitable space, he kindly let the young lady driver past whilst he got ready to manouver into it. You can guess she wizzed past him, grabbed the space and went on her way into town. I was in the back seat bouncing up and down explaining to him the error of his ways. Speed is of the essence if you find that three by two metres!
Now I don't want you to think that the authorities don't clamp down on parking outside the box! Some days, out of the blue, (we suspect when the coffers are looking empty) the little, white, Girona Council tow truck will come along and take every dodgily parked car away to his den on the other side of town. Your fine is ninety euros for the tow, plus whatever illegible fine your ticket claims, PLUS the joy of paying the taxi to get there in the first place. The thrill is not knowing what month this will be!
Why am I telling you this?
I was talking to one of our visitors this week about Britain as the "nanny state" and how that contrasts with here. More and more aspects of life in Britain appear to be under state control. It seems that the British government can no longer rely on the collective common sense. One of the daftest things I heard about was a mother who could not take her children (who could swim) to the pool midweek as there were three children and one parent. She had to wait until the weekend to get the right ratio of child to adult supervision. What? As for parking, woe betide those who put their wheels over the line!
Rules for driving a car here, as with many aspects of life, are interpreted loosely. They are a matter of general guidance. There's a traffic light on entering our village with a trigger to slow down drivers - only the strangers comply and it puts the wind up friends who come to stay when we all sail through on the red. Don't get me started on the way they use roundabouts here!
Of course, there are laws in Spain for which a strict policing policy would be an excellent idea. Drink driving for instance, when a very lax attitude has meant that drivers still pile into bars for their mid-morning snacks and possibly a glass of brandy or red wine. I have wondered for years how good a job the electricians can do in the afternoons after a set lunch which includes a bottle of red.
However, there is no denying a certain amount of ... flexibility is useful.
This weekend the signs and lines told me that I should only drive right, down to the roundabout, and then go left. Nahhhh! No cars and left I went, feeling like a naughty school girl as I did so.
There is one group of drivers I have a special hatred for and would insist that all rules apply. I believe that in England you have a similar infestation - the owners of up market, four wheel drives, who believe that no legislation applies to them. High on my hit list is the guy with the Porsche who constantly parks on the single yellow line at the entrance to the parking for my gym making the turn difficult, even when there are spaces just 3 metres away. Oh, second would be the guys in the BMWs who think that the importance of their caffeine hit far outweighs the needs of the other poor loosers who must negotiate around his double parking for the café on the main street. Let's not forget the mothers in their enormous Mitsubishi tanks who deem it their right to pull up infront of you unannouncd to drop their little darlings right by the school gate. Can you hear the gnashing of teeth from here?
On balance, I shall continue to enjoy the laissez faire attitude to life's little rules here and continue to play fast and loose with the tow truck.
If you have any comments for me about creative parking or any other issues, please drop me a line on CanTorras@gmail.com or contact me via my website, http://www.cantorras.com/
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Karen
Of course you have to be quick! When my ever-patient father was parking the car a couple of years ago, having identified a suitable space, he kindly let the young lady driver past whilst he got ready to manouver into it. You can guess she wizzed past him, grabbed the space and went on her way into town. I was in the back seat bouncing up and down explaining to him the error of his ways. Speed is of the essence if you find that three by two metres!
Now I don't want you to think that the authorities don't clamp down on parking outside the box! Some days, out of the blue, (we suspect when the coffers are looking empty) the little, white, Girona Council tow truck will come along and take every dodgily parked car away to his den on the other side of town. Your fine is ninety euros for the tow, plus whatever illegible fine your ticket claims, PLUS the joy of paying the taxi to get there in the first place. The thrill is not knowing what month this will be!
Why am I telling you this?
I was talking to one of our visitors this week about Britain as the "nanny state" and how that contrasts with here. More and more aspects of life in Britain appear to be under state control. It seems that the British government can no longer rely on the collective common sense. One of the daftest things I heard about was a mother who could not take her children (who could swim) to the pool midweek as there were three children and one parent. She had to wait until the weekend to get the right ratio of child to adult supervision. What? As for parking, woe betide those who put their wheels over the line!
Rules for driving a car here, as with many aspects of life, are interpreted loosely. They are a matter of general guidance. There's a traffic light on entering our village with a trigger to slow down drivers - only the strangers comply and it puts the wind up friends who come to stay when we all sail through on the red. Don't get me started on the way they use roundabouts here!
Of course, there are laws in Spain for which a strict policing policy would be an excellent idea. Drink driving for instance, when a very lax attitude has meant that drivers still pile into bars for their mid-morning snacks and possibly a glass of brandy or red wine. I have wondered for years how good a job the electricians can do in the afternoons after a set lunch which includes a bottle of red.
However, there is no denying a certain amount of ... flexibility is useful.
This weekend the signs and lines told me that I should only drive right, down to the roundabout, and then go left. Nahhhh! No cars and left I went, feeling like a naughty school girl as I did so.
There is one group of drivers I have a special hatred for and would insist that all rules apply. I believe that in England you have a similar infestation - the owners of up market, four wheel drives, who believe that no legislation applies to them. High on my hit list is the guy with the Porsche who constantly parks on the single yellow line at the entrance to the parking for my gym making the turn difficult, even when there are spaces just 3 metres away. Oh, second would be the guys in the BMWs who think that the importance of their caffeine hit far outweighs the needs of the other poor loosers who must negotiate around his double parking for the café on the main street. Let's not forget the mothers in their enormous Mitsubishi tanks who deem it their right to pull up infront of you unannouncd to drop their little darlings right by the school gate. Can you hear the gnashing of teeth from here?
On balance, I shall continue to enjoy the laissez faire attitude to life's little rules here and continue to play fast and loose with the tow truck.
If you have any comments for me about creative parking or any other issues, please drop me a line on CanTorras@gmail.com or contact me via my website, http://www.cantorras.com/
I'm looking forward to hearing from you.
Karen
Labels: Catalonia, creative parking, driving in Spain, Girona, nanny state, tow trucks four wheel drives
posted by Karen Peirson at 04:14
2 Comments:
I agree with it. I think that at the end is a survival matter when you have so many people in a short space with no parking spots.
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