Sunday, September 27, 2015

Roundabouts - 1

When I was teaching in S. João da Madeira almost 20 years ago, it was known as the "roundabout capital" of Portugal. Roundabouts were beginning to replace the traditional intersections with traffic lights. There seemed to be a "roundabout madness" and buses and other longer vehicles had difficulty negotiating some of the ones built where there just wasn't enough space.

Now every town has many and besides being useful, they lend themselves to artistic efforts. The middle of roundabouts vary from the simple circle to the weird and wonderful. The one in this picture must be a nightmare for the gardener. How does he manage to keep the grass trimmed?

green, hilly roundabout

Don't you think the sculpture looks a little lost there?


"We dance round in a ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows" - Robert Frost


7 comments:

  1. There still aren't many roundabouts in this part of Italy so the Italians have great problems understanding what they are supposed to do! Decorations would only add to their confusion.

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  2. They are becoming more popular in our area but I'm not a fan. No one seems to know who has the right of way with cars ducking in and out. It does make for nice planting areas though.

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    1. They changed the rules at the beginning of the year here but not many drivers stick to the rules, which doesn't surprise me because the new rules are too complicated for the smaller roundabouts...

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  3. Portugal has a love of roundabouts - I remember Viseu being known as the roundabout city!
    I agree that the statue is much too small for that area in the middle of all those hills...

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    1. I have to negotiate 6 different roundabouts to get to work. 2 of them are about 50 metres apart!

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  4. I have been roped in to weed the flowerbeds on a local roundabout.... I am so busy just lately so why oh why do I volunteer. I need a zip for my mouth

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