Inspirational Designs, Transportation in Rome

Cars are one of my many obsessions. I should not just say cars because the obsession caries over to many forms of transportation. The catch is, they have to be appealing or well designed. This bus met our plane at the airport in Rome and carried us to the terminal. It isn't really special in the looks department, but it is a very cool vehicle. It kneels to allow passengers on and off. Why can't our buses do that? You could push a wheel chair right up on it with no problem.
You may have heard me go on about vehicles before. If so, you know that Volkswagens have a special place in my heart (even with their nutty electrical systems) vans most of all. I spotted this little custom model in a shop window. Isn't it adorable?

I still have lots of photos from of cats in Rome and I promise to do another post just for them.
This post is all about things with wheels. A few days before we were to return home, we stumbled upon a Roman Car Show. There was a street fair to encourage "Green Living" and tourism amongst other things. The car show was part of it. Look at the face on this one, it is hard to say who is smiling more the car or the driver. Don't you just expect Sean Connery to jump in and take off?

This tiny little car is smaller than the an old VW Bug. It is cute and the sun roof is well designed, just roll it down, snap it tight and your ready to go.

Spring is the time for "Fashion" and the Romans take it seriously. Many of the cars had models in period fashions as passengers, here are a couple of the more unique ones. The lady in white and black has zippers all over, even the hat is covered! One of the galleries was partially closed off for a few hours for some sort of fashion show. We got to wander among the mannequins when they were done.

Who doesn't love a gleaming red sports car?

Doors open backwards on this one. I can see where that would be helpful in tight parking situations. Parking and driving in Rome looks like a nightmare. We did not even try and as our hotel was wonderfully located, we did not need too.

This is from my teen years. It is one of my favorites. Sleek!

A bit older, but adorable. This one is also on the small side.

You can't talk about Rome and transportation without mentioning the Vespas. Note the side car on one and vintage costumes for both. The design had changed a bit over the years but they still look like fun. (I don't think I want to try to learn to drive one in Rome traffic though, Yikes)

Did I mention that parking in Rome is an art form in itself? These two cars are "Smart" but are their drivers? Notice how they are parked pointing out in a parallel spot. We saw this a lot, neat trick. Somehow I don't think my Tacoma will fit quite the same.

Vroom,

Kat