A Funny Thing Happened on the Way Through Tuscany ~ Is Your Car Bigger Than the Road?

Lately, I've been watching YouTubers who discuss blogging and I've learned that storytelling can connect you with your followers in a way that makes them feel like they know you. So here is my first attempt at storytelling.

This story begins in a tiny town in Tuscany. The town was so tiny that I don't think it really had the need for an official name. Those who live there obviously know where they live and those who don't won't remember the little town since it was just a speck on a map on the way to a bigger adventure.

My husband, two friends, and I were on a day trip from Orvieto traveling through Tuscany to spend the day in Montepulciano. Our rental car, a Fiat 500, had served us well through the earlier parts of our trip and as we set out for the day (car filled with snacks) we never anticipated that our journey could quickly come to a screeching stop in a tiny Tuscan town.

As we drove through the town admiring the beautiful scenery we never once thought that lodging our car in what looked like a roadway but turned out to be a walkway could turn into an I love Lucy episode where Lucy, Ricky, Fred, and Ethel get their car stuck between two Italian brick walls. Our tiny car was just too big for the more tiny corridor and as we approached it all signs that we should turn back were prominently displayed. There was an old Italian man shouting at us, two waiters shaking their heads while pointing in the opposite direction and several lost tourists looking inquisitively in our direction. Did this stop us?  Absolutely not! "We got this" and "just go slowly" were shouted from the back seat of the Fiat as my husband cautiously maneuvered the first turn.

I couldn't resist jumping out of the car to capture our story on video. It's amazing that I could even open the door to get out given our tight quarters. The car pressed forward for a few more seconds and then it was game over! I'm not sure if it was the shouting Italian or the gathering crowd but it was at this point that my husband decided that retreat was the only option.

Driving forward in an obscenely tight corridor is one thing but driving in reverse is an entirely different feat altogether! After 10 agonizing minutes, the Fiat emerged from the walkway and the crowd cheered.

As it turns out the tiny town was Proceno.

A lovely little town big enough to have a castle!