Pit Stops, Pitfalls and Olive Pits

Have you always wondered what it would be like to brave Italy's autostrada, steer the Amalfi Coast's twists and turns, or carefully maneuver a medieval village's streets, narrow as a strand of fettuccine? Have you already done it and want to commiserate? Or would you simply love some tips and advice for an upcoming trip on which you will be driving in Italy?

No matter your Italian driving experience level, Pit Stops, Pitfalls, and Olive Pits puts you in the passenger seat next to John Tabellione, a writer who has logged thousands of kilometers in Italy from Bologna to Palermo.

With insight, candor, and a good dose of humor, Tabellione shares his experiences from navigating the car rental process and facing tour buses head-on to conquering Italian toll booths and filling up the tank on Sundays. You'll enjoy stops in major tourist destinations like Rome and Florence and also get a flavor of lesser known areas, including Abruzzo and Calabria. Tabellione's long-lost Italian relatives even make a cameo via a storybook family reunion.

Simply put, Pit Stops is your literary license to enjoy driving escapades throughout scenic Italy, so let's get this thing in gear and get moving!

FROM THE AUTHOR:

As an avid freelance writer who’s traveled internationally extensively, I’ve had the opportunity to visit the homeland of my grandparents—Italy—on several occasions, accumulating thousands of kilometers of driving experience along the peninsula.

Among my many pit stops in the land of Dante and Petrarch: Roma, Firenze, Perugia, Pisa, Le Cinque Terre, Assisi, Cortona, Orvieto, Pescara, Reggio di Calabria, Ravello, Taormina, Siracusa, Palermo, and Agrigento, as well as several different fascinating places in between, such as Musellaro, Solarino, Torgiano, Martone among others. In my opinion, sometimes, it’s these quaint, smaller towns and villages that offer the most surprising secrets, artistic finds or the most delicious foods.

My purpose in writing this roadside and bedside travel handbook about serendipitous driving adventures along the “boot,” is to encourage you to try driving in Italy yourself, to enjoy the history and scenery as you can only do by automobile. If you’re on a cruise, you have to be back in time before the ship’s departure. The same goes for bus tours and train schedules.

Should you choose to drive, however, you own la via. You can stop at any tiny hill town that captures your imagination and then linger at your leisure. Or, like I’ve done, you may look up those long-lost relatives and savor al fresco dining late into the evening the way Italians know best.

Fortunately, when you go to Italy, you’ll find that many Italians speak English. Nonetheless, you may have to read road signs or printed materials in Italian. Because I’ve struggled with the Italian language, mixing some rudimentary lessons with my high school Latin courses, I went back to college a couple of years ago and formally completed three semesters of an Italian language and culture program at Kennesaw State University outside of Atlanta.

When I resided in Germany, I also accrued extensive European auto travel there and in France, Austria and Luxembourg. I’ve been fortunate to have other visited other international destinations, including Turkey, Greece, England, Croatia, Hong Kong, China, Mexico and Canada. For me, however, my Abruzzo roots always draw me back, more often than anywhere, to Italia.

When people ask about my writing background, I tell them that for nearly ten years I’ve been a member of the Atlanta Writers Club, one of the oldest such groups in the U.S., and the North Point Writers’ Critique Group. Both organizations have been great resources of support in my writing. I’ve been able to earn a few awards in both non-fiction and fiction writing: Atlanta Writers Club (First Place Award); Georgia Writers Association (Third Place Certificate); Central Atlanta Progress, Inc. Writing Contest (Runner-up Prize).

In addition to blogging and Tweeting about Pit Stops, Pitfalls and Olive Pits, I write a blog called “Tabs on Writing,” a light-hearted approach to grammar, punctuation, spelling, homophones, and word derivations, weaving grammatical advice through anecdotal news stories from the past and present.

My wife, Jackie, and I are parents of two adult sons: Jay, who traveled with us on one of the journeys to Italy referenced in Pit Stops, Pitfalls and Olive Pits; our other son, Justin, married to Courtney, together have also traveled to Italy on a couple of occasions; and, I’ve promised my granddaughters, Allison Sophia and Taylor Lucia, a trip to the land of their roots when they become teenagers in a few years.

It seems I just can’t get enough of Italy. I’m at the point that, when someone asks me which is my favorite Italian city, I simply tell them: the place where I’m at in the moment while I’m traveling there.