tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36460660.post2702341392748945789..comments2024-03-11T21:31:15.183-07:00Comments on Feeding My Enthusiasms: Across the Pond in IrelandUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36460660.post-70952579566764122612016-11-04T17:58:14.131-07:002016-11-04T17:58:14.131-07:00David, I know what you mean. In Ireland there are ...David, I know what you mean. In Ireland there are often narrow lanes with rock walls at the verge...sometimes partly obscured by shrubs. Scary. I think the roundabouts throw me each time because we have so few of them here. I think Sweetie was thrown by the turns, just as you were. Try it with an older brain and you will have lots of sympathy for us.Ellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04733838869805925920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36460660.post-72656467936114700342016-11-04T07:22:13.751-07:002016-11-04T07:22:13.751-07:00For me, the roundabouts weren't a problem, rea...For me, the roundabouts weren't a problem, really. It was the turns which were problematic.<br /><br />When you think about it, you know that in our system you make tight right turns and wide left turns. Getting that out of your head is more difficult than the roundabouts, I thought, but maybe that was because I'd been riding about in them for years, whereas I'd never had to make the turns. The other thing, at least in Scotland, was the lane width. In the US, we sometimes even have 12-foot-wide lanes, frequently have 10-foot-wide lanes, but in Scotland we routinely encountered 8-foot-wide lanes ( see <a href="http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Road_Widths" rel="nofollow">http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Road_Widths</a> for discussion).<br /><br />And it didn't help that they'd "upgraded" us to a much wider car than we had been driving here in California, either. Oy.David T. Macknethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03074123750929335716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36460660.post-82793096858023125052016-11-03T21:44:00.595-07:002016-11-03T21:44:00.595-07:00Marian, It's not just to go left into the roun...Marian, It's not just to go left into the roundabout. I remember the first time we had to leave the roundabout that remembering to go into the left lane of the exit road was a head-spinner, too. After a while we just laughed, but at first it's a real challenge. I used a finger pointing left a lot this trip. Katherine was much better at directing Sweetie as we went along than I was.Ellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04733838869805925920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36460660.post-50954250111551504862016-11-03T21:29:06.824-07:002016-11-03T21:29:06.824-07:00When Virginia and Mom and I went to Ireland, one o...When Virginia and Mom and I went to Ireland, one of my strongest memories is of driving toward roundabouts with Virginia saying "Left, left, left!" We made it for those weeks without an accident, but it definitely took two of us to drive.<br /><br />Mariannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36460660.post-83188943423337686042016-11-03T18:04:06.752-07:002016-11-03T18:04:06.752-07:00David, I don't think I would ever try it, but ...David, I don't think I would ever try it, but Charlie did just fine...and then had to switch mental gear and drive on the right side of the road in France just about when he had gotten used to the left side of the road. <br />We did have a blast!Ellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04733838869805925920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36460660.post-18521531630860360122016-11-03T17:49:01.583-07:002016-11-03T17:49:01.583-07:00Ahh, the bravery of driving on the wrong side. Th...Ahh, the bravery of driving on the wrong side. The whole time we lived in Scotland we didn't drive - 5 full years of not driving (except when we went to Italy, or back to the US). We had a car for about 5 days, last time we visited ... and that was enough, never going to catch me driving on the wrong side again, it was so nerve-wrecking!<br /><br />Looks like you had a blast!David T. Macknethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03074123750929335716noreply@blogger.com