My arrival in Italy followed a flight enjoyed in first class, complete with a wonderful 3 course dinner and continental breakfast, a seat that folds completely down into a bed, and even a pillow and blanket. It is certainly a better way to fly than cramped in economy. I arrived relaxed and ready to face the day.
Fiumicino airport in Rome is an experience onto itself. There are 15 or more places to retrieve your luggage and the airport terminal is very large so it can take some time to find the right place and retrieve your luggage. You also have to pay for use of a luggage cart, in euros of course. Once I had my belongings it was time to call the car rental place to come pick me up. My cell phone did not seem to be working, neither were the pay phones, but I found an information booth and waited for my turn to talk to the woman at the desk. While I was waiting an American woman asked to use the phone and called her mother, who was supposed to pick her up at the airport. Apparently her mother had forgotten and had left Rome and was in Montipuliciano, hours away. The woman was obviously distressed and did not know how to get to Montipuliciano on her own. She talked about taking the train there, but I told her the train does not go to Montipuliciano...the closest station being in Chiuisi. She was in tears and her mother was not any help in suggesting solutions. I volunteered to take her to Montipuliciano in my rental car, if I ever got it. She was quite surprised that a total stranger would offer to help her and accepted my offer gratefully. I was glad for the company and someone to help with the navigation to Tuscany. Her name is Liane. She is in Italy to attend the wedding of her cousin on September 10th.
I called the rental place and had a hard time understanding the man on the phone even though he was speaking English. He said a blue shuttle would pick us up in front of a building with an Armani sign on it. We walked outside in the direction he told us and passed a taxi stand, a shuttle service stand and many large busses. We walked to the end of the terminal and back again and although we saw a building it did not seem to have a sign on it. I had no choice but to call the man again. He told us the shuttle was there waiting for us in the designated spot but again we could not find it. We spentalmost 2 hours searching for the shuttle and it was very hot, well over 30 degrees Celsius. Finally after many more phone calls, we found the right bus and were on our way to the car rental place; down a dusty dirt road only wide enough for one car. We looked at each other and began to worry we were on some wild goose chase, or worse. Then suddenly we were there. I changed into cooler clothes and completed the paperwork while the driver loaded our luggage into the car and entered our destinations into the GPS. I gave him the google directions I had printed out in Canada so he could enter the address accordingly.
Finally, around 12:30 we set off for Tuscany. Driving in Italy is an experience, most times cars don’t stop for stop signs, double park in the middle of roads, and zoom around traffic circles at break neck speeds. I made several wrong turns but we finally got onto the ring road and got off onto the correct road. I had asked that the GPS be programmed to avoid the Autostad and take the scenic route. Once we got away from Rome the traffic thinned and the landscapes changed. It is really a beautiful drive and the scenery is spectacular! I was quite proud of myself, driving in a foreign country, enjoying it and not feeling stressed about it. Liane and I chatted the entire way and told each other about our lives and our trip to Italy. She reminded me of myself when I was younger although she was 40. We did not stop along the way and by about 4:00 we were both feeling very tired. We arrived in Montipuliciano around 5:00 and had to find where Liane’s family was staying. She knew where the wedding was being held and we finally found that place after a long search but none of her family were staying there. Liane kept trying to call her mother on my phone but it was not going through. The man at the reception in the hotel where the wedding would be thought that someone had mentioned a specific agritourismo so we began to search for it. We stopped some women on the street and one of them directed us to the road for the place. Italians seem always ready to help tourists and are very gracious. As we pulled up to the place Liane saw her uncle and ran to embrace him in tears. It was already 7:30 and the sun was setting and it was getting dark. I changed the destination in the GPS to the second entry put in by the car place. And off I went. The GPS led me down a dirt road and told me to turn onto another dirk track that was chained off. It obviously does not work well on the dirt roads. I backtracked until I was back on a paved road and set off for Castelmuzio. I realized that I had not eaten since 7:30 that morning and was feeling a bit shaky from exhaustion. I drove on and was enjoying the challenge as the roads in Tuscany are very hilly and full of tight turns and blind corners. I entered into Trequanda which is the commune for Casdtelmuzio. In the town of Trequanda the GPS said I was nearing my destination and told me to turn left onto the street where the house is. The way seemed narrow to me, and the street beyond just as narrow. I was tired and anxious to get to my destination, so I turned into the archway as directed. I heard the scraping sound and applied the brakes. I tried to back up but the car seemed stuck and it looked as if the mirrors would break off if I backed up. I could not get out, I had no choice but to go forward. I went forward slowly and both sides scaped against the rock walls of the archway. Once through the archway there was a wider street on the left which I turned into and parked the car. I was shaking badly and holding back tears. I searched for the address but I could not find it. I decided to look for help and found two people in an office with the door open. They explained that I was in the wrong town!! I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes and they tried to calm me. I explained I was renting a house in Castelmuzio and that the owner was there waiting for me. They knew the house and called for me to explain what had happened. They did not speak alot of English but it was ok. The woman volunteered to lead me to the house as she lives in Castelmuzio. First we had to find my car, I had no idea where it was. It was around 8:00 and I was exhausted. We finally found the car and she led me to the house. I was so grateful. Lucy showed me the house and left. I tried to use my phone to let my family know I was okay but could not get it to work. I could not use my laptop because the charger has a 3 prong plug and all of my many adapters all require a 2 prong plug. I felt so isolated but I was too tired even to eat, so I went to bed. Tuesday was not much better, I was still shaking from my experience the previous day, but my appitite returned and I was hungry. I found the little co-op grocery and bought some ham and cheese and bread and some tomatoes. It was so delicious! I have never tasted ham so good and the pecorino cheese, made with sheeps’ milk, was soft and creamy. I enjoyed them both and then decided on an afternoon nap. That evening I explored the town and found the little hotel who let me use their phone to call Canada and tell them what had happened to me. My cell phone was still not working and my laptop battery was dead. I realized I also had to call the insurance company about the car but every time I thought about it I began to shake again. I realized that I was afraid to drive again and thought the insurance company would expect me to drive the car back to Rome which I could not face doing. I decided to wait another day before calling, but then I did sit down and write out what had happened. It was a humbling experience, I felt so stupid. Obviously I was more tired than I thought when the accident happened, and probably should not have been driving.
Wednesday I tried to sketch and I could not calm myself enough to focus. I was still adjusting to the time change, so I decided to explore the village and met some other english speaking visitors. They told me there was a public phone just down at the end of my road, so off I set to find it. After walking a few kilometres I turned back and realized I must have passed it somewhere. The way back is all uphill of course, so I took my time and focused on the beautiful views from the road. Castelmuzio is in a wonderful location with amazing views in all directions. Later that evening I realized that the phone was in the square directly across the road from my house. However, it is also the busiest intersection in town so is seldom quiet. Since I arrived there has been construction going on in that square and they have blocked off access to the phone anyway. The noise starts at 8:00AM and does not end till after 6:00 PM, not exactly relaxing! They will be finished soon though.
I reported the accident to the insurance by phone on Thursday and will fax the report on Friday from the Hotel. I don’t know what they will want me to do, drive it the way it is, get a rental and have the repairs done, or return the car. It is Friday and yesterday I tackled driving again, and went in search of a gas station. Today I went to Pienza to buy time for my cell phone. I am becoming comfortable with driving again. Perhaps I was just too exhausted to face it earlier. The car is a mess with deep gouges in the drivers side and worse damage on the passenger’s side with many gouges, scrapes and dents. It seems to be mechanically sound except the passenger’s window scrapes the inside of the door when opened. I hope they will give me another car, this one is so ugly and it is embarrassing to drive; although I must admit that people do seem to get out of my way!! LOL
C’est la Vie!! I am in Italy, in beautiful Tuscany, and all is good again. What a beautiful place and the village has not changed much in hundreds of years, aside from paved roads and many cars. The weather is hot and the skys are clear. The people are warm and friendly and eager to help. Life is good....la dolce vita!!!
I will post some pictures of the views around the town. The sunset last night was spectacular, the sky seemed on fire but I did not have my camera with me. I am sure there will be many such sunsets during my time here.
Ciao for now!
D
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