That Was Waaaaay Too Easy

In my effort to secure a permit to drive in Italy, I spent plenty of time on the internet getting all the answers.

An International Driver's Permit is all we need. Let's go get one.

The U. S. Embassy website says our local city hall can issue one. Okay, I'm very familiar with our local City Hall so I go right down there during their 4 open hours a day.

I tell the nice guy I need an IDP to drive in Italy, he takes my Texas driver's license, makes a copy, completes a form, takes one of my collection of passport photos, glues it on, asks me to sign and I'm on my way. It has my picture, it has a seal and a stamp. Official - kinda like a passport.

Really? No red tape? Only one visit when it usually takes 3 to 4 or more?

That was waaaay too easy.

I text Jim "Got my IDP. No problem".

So naturally, he takes my new IDP as an "example" of what he needs and goes down to City Hall to repeat this no-red-tape one-visit process.

He returns without an IDP, without my IDP and without his Texas driver's license.

The local City Hall has confiscated all of these items and inform him that the nice guy who helped me made a mistake. Now the Texas driver's license is off to Brussels where all decisions are made.

In 3 or 4 weeks he may or may not have a Belgian license let alone an International one and he definitely won't have a Texas one.

Two and a half years ago when we started this process of moving, we got a handy 3-page list of "things to do" to get residency in Belgium from some nice lawyers in Brussels (where all decisions are made). For some reason this license thing did not come up. Nor did it ever come up despite having a car registered in Belgium and having rented a couple of vans in Belgium. Nor did we ever question it as we surely should have.

We have no one to blame but ourselves.

Oh, and did I mention the City Hall of Hasselt also told Jim to send me down so I could also turn in my Texas driver's license? Apparently we are true Belgian residents and our Texas licenses must be "exchanged" for a Belgian one - in 3 to 4 weeks, of course.

Regardless of the ZTL zones in Italy, we will not be driving in Italy and apparently shouldn't be driving in Belgium either.

Next up . . . Is there a road that will lead us to Rome?