Business Center

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           This lower part of the city is called the "business center." Stores, offices, and cinemas are all situated here. The sidewalks are deserted. However, the pavement is full of parked automobiles. They take up all the free space next to the curb. The only place they can't park is next to fire hydrants or driveways, a fact attested to by the sign "No parking!"
           Sometimes this turns into a torturous exercise, this finding a place where you can park the car, or, as Russians in America say, priparkovat'sia. One evening we were in San Diego, a city on the Pacific coast. We needed to park the car somewhere so we could eat lunch. And we drove around the city for an entire hour, burning with the desire to priparkovat'sia. The city was so full of cars that we couldn't find room for one more car, just one more car.

Chapter Eleven: The Small Town.