Lost

The Italy trip saga continues…

Being hopeless romantics, N. and I had reserved our Tuscany stay at a local farm in Montepulciano, a 1.5-hour-drive from Florence. I had downloaded a GPS program on my phone for direction, prepaid for our rental car, and figured we were all set for a scenic drive between vineyards.  Ha ha ha. Right.

First of all, we drive automatics here in the States. Apparently, people drive manuals there in Italy. The only manual-car-driving experience N. had had was in a parking lot with our friend Will for a few hours ONCE. I had never driven manuals at all. We dutifully took instructions from a kind Italian man in the Florence parking lot.  The only Italian word we recognized from my piano-playing experience was, well, “Piano.” I expertly said to N. “I think that means “Soft.”” (It doesn’t. It means “slow” and “level.”). But whatever, he pressed ever so slightly on the gas,  as I whispered “Piano, piano, piano,” and onward we went.  N. could drive forward, backward, and stop with no problem. But occasionally when he stopped, he wouldn’t be able to start again very quickly. And we would “stall” at every red light, while impatient Italian drivers honked at us.

I should probably also mention that for various reasons, we did not manage to leave Florence until 10 PM. By then, my phone, along with its handy dandy GPS system, had ran out of battery and died. Ok, no problem, I bought maps. But do you have any idea how bad I am at reading maps? Terrible. And do you know which language these maps were in? Italian. And do you know what else happened at 10 PM? Darkness. It wasn’t so bad inside Florence or on the autostrada, but once we were  in the countryside, it was complete and utter darkness.

So there you have it – him on his first stick-shift car, me with my Italian maps, in a country we had never visited. And whoever told you that “It is always darkest before dawn” failed to mention that actually, it is always darkest just before it goes… pitch black.

The drive was supposed to be 1.5 hours in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. I am sure it was gorgeous, but I wouldn’t be able to tell. And roughly 4.5 hours later (yes, it’s now 2:30 AM), we were still driving. My maps were getting rather useless, because there were no road signs for small streets between vineyards, at least not visible ones. Instead, there were fields and fields and fields for as far as I could see. And there was no one around to ask for help.

And then our car stopped. On a hill. And we couldn’t figure out how to start it again. And then it began to roll backwards. Did I mention the hill? Forget about “Piano.” We slammed on every pedal. The good news was that we were completely alone, so it was not as though we could run someone over. The bad news was that we were very slowly rolling backwards. It was only at the bottom of the hill that we got the momentum to start it again.

By around 3 AM, we were driving slowly along random roads, looking for every invisible sign, and stalling every time we stopped. And the local police pulled us over.

“Are you OK?” They asked. “You look like you are in trouble!”

I was so happy two human beings found us that I almost collapsed into the police’s arms. For all I cared, they could have put us in jail and it would still be better than this. At least in jail, there would be toilets.

But these were two of the nicest policemen. They did not know where our farm was located either, but they proceeded to radio their entire station, and they both got on their cell phones making various calls for directions. They then attempted to give me directions in a mixture of Italian and English. But they suddenly stopped and stared. I could see the unspoken thoughts running through their eyes – the realization that “these two dumbasses would never make it on their own.”

And so out of the kindness of their hearts, they declared the best 4 words I have ever heard, “We will take you!” to which we eagerly responded, “Amen.”

This is the part where N. proceeded to stall the car a few more times in front of the police (they kindly laughed), as they escorted us with blazing light and siren through the peaceful Tuscan country side at 3 AM. Yes, we are special :-). Thank you, thank you, thank you, Montepulciano police.

There is a happy ending. We arrived at the most gorgeous  place I have ever stayed in, with a beautiful  rustic bedroom, a Tuscan kitchen with olive oil, a living room with fresh flowers, and windows that opened onto hills and vineyards.

As our heads finally hit the pillows, N. said to me, “I cannot believe we just did that.” I smiled as I fell asleep in his arms, knowing that I would have gone with him anywhere – in travel or in life.

A.W.

For previous Italy Trip Reports, click here:
Four Coins in the Fountain
Under the Tuscan Sun

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Hahahahaha darling I LOVE this! I laughed so hard it hurted!!!! lol
You two are just TOO cute! ;)
Have I told you you write way way wayyyyy better than the author of 'Eat Pray Love' - which is supposed to be a good travel book? (and to which I highly disagree). You should be a writer!!! x

April said...

Aww.. thanks! You are too sweet to me. I would love to be a writer - I seem to accumulate enough raw materials for both comedy and tragedy from my own life(though often not by choice!I doubt I could survive by writing only though :-)

I have never actually read "Eat pray love" - but I am inclined to always agree with your assessment.

I am going to email you soon about the other thing too :-)

Unknown said...

You don't know me but I know of this blog through Hien. I can't help but comment! I literally Awww-ed at the end! I agree, you write beautifully, I could imagine it all so clearly and it made me chuckle :)

You guys have a lovely blog!

Thu said...

<3 this. I envy you your writing outlet! I wish I had one, sadly, all my stories are now anecdotes of patient interactions.

Unknown said...

@Bella: I'm sure I mentioned you to April before ;) in a fit of jealousy of your super talent. For those who don't know, Miss Bella here takes the most amazing photographs - check out her blog <3

@April: I'm SO gonna make an April W. fan club!!!! x

April said...

@Bella: I have heard a great deal about you!! You take the most beautiful dreamy photographs. Hien and I spent a morning looking at your work a few weeks ago - her in Cambridge, me in NY, us on G-chat. Your photos are AMAZING.
@Thu: You should write a blog about some of that!! Have you ever read OldMDGirl "The Long Road to Medical School"? That's what she wrote about in 3rd year (changing enough details to protect patients' privacy and it was really cool!!
@Hien: darling, that's just you being biased lol

Thu said...

@April: My blog wouldn't have a point though. It'd be all hodge-podge of fashion, cooking and silly things. Either way, if you want a guest blogger, I'd be glad to do something.

Unknown said...

Ooh thanks you guys! What a funny little world it is! Hien, what super talent?!! You can talk! Haha you're the one who's A-mazing. And April you write beautifully, I'll keep tuning in to read both your lovely little stories! :)

Unknown said...

@all: oooh we could have a guest blogger once every week or two? I'D LIKE THAT!!!!

Aquarius said...

@April : I always knew that your story with the police would be fantastic. But I didn't know that the story was THIS funny !!! What an interesting adventure :D !
And I totally I agree with Hien. You should be a writer, and you may become extremely famous with your writing !
@ all : What about a April + Hien fan club :D ?

April said...

@Thu: yeah that would be cool!!
@Bella: Aww Thanks :-). You should guest blog for us too!
@Aquarius: Thank you - you are so sweet!! N. and I manage to get ourselves into weird situations sometimes. I don't think I will ever be famous, but I am really happy to have you guys :-). I think that's a big enough fan club for me <3.

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