7 Italian men & our rental car

  Dicomano, Italy
Friday, November 23, 2007

I had arranged the rental house thru a couple in California, they had sent a letter with our
receipt and instructions explaining how to get to the small town and who to
see when we arrived. We (I say we loosely, when I really can blame it all
on my husband, now ex-husband) left those instructions and letter at home.
So, we arrived in a tiny town and I had remembered the name of the family
we were suppose to meet with who would direct us to the house. We wandered
the little streets and asked people at restaurants and stores until we
finally found the man we needed to meet with. He, of course, only spoke
Italian. We did not. He asked where our rental car was, oops, were we
suppose to have one of those? Probably in those instructions. He gathered
his sons and their friends and I think there were 5 or 6 of us squished in
his little car.

Into the beautiful countryside we went, past groves of
olive trees and beautiful old villas. Up and up the hill we went,
thru a little forest until we came around the corner and I thought I had
blinked and was on the set of an Indiana Jones movie. The road was now
about 8 feet wide with a few boards over a large section of road that was
missing. It was like a railroad bridge but not at all like one. Just a
few boards and ...... space below us. I held my breath as they sped up and
flew over the galaxy below. When we came around the other side, or maybe
it was when I finally opened my eyes we had rounded the corner and saw the
beautiful old Italian village, consisting of 3 or 4 gorgeous old stone
houses. I felt like I just woke up in an Olive Garden commercial. It was amazing!!

We stayed in this fabulous villa (amazing old house) for a week. And then we were off to other parts of Italy. The owners of the home (the sweet California couple) had arranged for us to have an authentic, traditional Italian dinner at their favorite out-of-the-way restaurant in a nearby town. But, once again, the instruction and the card we were suppose to take to that restaurant and give the owners, so they would know who we were and what to make us, along with a note that the California couple was paying for it, was........ at home in the States. DARN! So, they gave us directions (on the phone) and told us that they would know who we were, they called the restaurant themselves. We finally found it and weren't sure we were in the right place. The name was similar to what they said it would be called, but not quite the same. The restaurant workers/owners were so friendly it was hard to know if they were friendly because they knew it was us, or were just friendly to everyone. They motioned for us to sit somewhere in the restaurant. We did and waited for menus. We never got menus, instead a gruff looking older woman brought us an appetizer, I think it was prosciutto ham (which looked like bleeding raw ham). Then came Ravioli Nudi (naked ravioli). Oh- did I mention I am the pickiest eater alive? Think 5 year old, that's me. We're talking plain peanut butter and jelly, plain cheeseburger, pepperoni pizza. Yes, all of this gourmet, authentic food was definitely wasted on me!! But, anyway, so, finally, I was so panicked after the first meal of raw ham, that I was sure I would be dying from soon because it was RAW!! Next they came out with a tray with raw chicken and raw steak. OH NO!!! Did they really think we would eat raw chicken?!?! HELP!!! I closed my eyes and pointed at the tray, when asked which one we wanted. THANK GOD!! She walked away. Fortunately she came back 15 minutes later with it dead, cooked!!! It tasted fabulous!! There was alot of charades going on, trying to communicate, after the meal. Finally we took pictures together and realized we were at the right place and wouldn't have to pay for this amazing experience.

There were so many wonderful and crazy experiences in Italy that I will write more about later. Like when I got our teeny, tiny rental car stuck in a ditch and 7 Italian men lifted it out, while one of the wives shouted "Anatomia!" which I think meant heart. And one of the old men lifting the car was going to have a heart attack. Oops!

Or hitchhiking in Italy (in the middle of the night) and not understanding a word the driver was saying, but planning our attack if he went berserk.

Italy.... fabuloso!!! I will definitely be going back!!