Monday, August 20, 2012

Three Towers, Wine And A Very Scary Day

Mr. "Ants In His Pants” was ready to go.

How’s it possible? 

Up too late, sipping limoncello, consuming enough food and beverage for six people, past 2:00 a.m. on Florence’s Piazza Signoria. We conjured up stories about everyone; secret rendezvous’ and nighttime escapades. Talking, laughing, listening to strolling violinists, and gazing at each other, the Italians, the star filled night.

Morning’s light crept in through the dark curtains at what seemed like the precise moment I closed my eyes. I had no clue what time it but I knew it was Tuesday.

Feeling a gentle nudge followed closely by a firm one which I failed to acknowledge, I received a more significant shake and a rather loud, to my currently delicate ears (and gray matter), “Come on! Get up! Let’s go!”

Huh?

Opening one eye first and immediately groaning, Scott handed me three Advil and said, “You’ll need these.” My second eye flew open in disbelief. In the wee hours of my unconsciousness, he’d packed up the entire room leaving me to quickly shower, throw on some clothes and find my toothbrush. Stellar!

The streets of Florence are meant for Vespas not cars (look both ways before you step off a curb, I’ll warn). It’s dangerous and my husband, not having enough practice on American roads to safely maneuver those Italian (too many years traveling on Chicago’s public transportation system), was at the wheel for our exodus from the city. I simply closed my eyes and waited for my cue to navigate.

We weren’t headed far, about an hour south, to the charming medieval walled village of Monteriggioni; excited for picnics, wine tastings, traversing small villages and taking in the quietness of the Tuscan countryside. And Siena…

Too early for hotel check in (why did we hustle?), we dropped our bags with Gigi, the proprietor, and headed out exploring.

Taking only back roads through Southern Tuscany, we basked in monks’ chanting at Sant’ Antimo abbey during morning mass and sipped grappa at a local taverna before noon, bought magnum upon magnum, and bottle after bottle of Brunello de Montalcino at vineyards along the road. And with a few hours of afternoon daylight left, cruised up the Autostrada to San Gimignano, the city of towers. Climbing to the top of the tallest, the church bell tower, the entire glory of a gorgeous Italian countryside spread out before us. Pure Tuscan style.

Having nothing to do with any extended effects from the night before, the day thoroughly exhausted us.

Driving through the village arches to the back of the hotel at 7:00p.m., all that was left to this Tuesday was figuring out a way to look presentable within the hour and dining in the village’s 4-star restaurant right next door. We got this!

Strangely, Gigi was waiting for us at the door. “Have you seen this?” he said without a smile. As he led us into the small lobby that housed the only television in this quainter than quaint hotel, a couple from Houston hardly looked away from the screen. She had tears streaking down her cheeks.

Scott said, “Is that Beirut or a Die Hard movie?”

The man from Houston said, “No. That’s New York City.”

We sat.

No. We hadn’t seen it. We’d been too busy. No one with whom we came in contact the entire day mentioned a word. How could no one have known?

It quickly became the longest and scariest day of our lives as we panicked trying to call home to speak with our parents who were caring for our young children. International phone lines were busy for 24 hours straight.

But we were hungry, so we kept our time at the restaurant next door because we didn’t know what else to do. Strangers, once hearing our voices, offered condolences for the tragedy that was currently unfolding. We shared a shocked and emotional glass of wine with the only other Americans around, the couple from Houston.

My husband insisted we stay up until we heard our President speak at 9:30p.m. EST. The once math major in me quickly calculated that we’d be glued to coverage until 3:30 a.m. local Italian time. So we watched the planes hit again and again and again. And watched the first tower go down just like everyone else who wasn’t on vacation.

My husband did business with many folks working in Tower One (and was in One Financial Place the day before it's truck bomb attack).

We prayed.

Over the next few days so many kind people gave us advice. 

Don’t even think about returning your rental car (you may not get out). Get as far from the major cities and tourist spots as possible (there won’t be any “room at the inn”). Drink all your wine (rumors of no liquids carried on).

What???? No liquids!!!

There was just no physical way just two people, who both intensely love wine, could drink what we purchased.

However, we gave it the good ole American try!

And we giggled and stressed and laughed and cried straight through the rest of our wine induced haze of an Italian vacation. There was extreme guilt having fun considering the awful circumstances of our country.

Last September, we drank the last magnum of Brunello de Montalcino we stashed in the dirty clothes of our luggage. It was an opportunity to reflect on how the world changed that day.

[Especially heartbreaking was a report from home later that our very sensitive, anxiety-ridden, young son who, because my mother-in-law with Alzheimer's couldn’t stop watching the news, kept thinking more planes were hitting more and more buildings in New York.]

26 comments:

  1. Great narrative. What appears as a story of a wonderful vacation becomes one of fear and chaos. Even the title works both ways with towers of Gimignao and NY. This was clever and very interesting. How difficult was it to get home?

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    1. Well, the stress of having no options and wondering if and when we'd get home was helped by the wine consumption. We were told a number of things but to plan on being "stuck" for ten days. Finally Friday evening before our "should be" Saturday departure, American told me, if our plane left Chicago to arrive in Milan, most likely we would be going home. But we had to go the airport no matter what and arrive six hours before our flight. It took 5 hours from airport front doors to gate. Then we saw a flight to Heathrow embark to only disembark a few minutes later. We flew on the first flight out of all of Italy because O'Hare was ready for us. Everyone clapped and cried at wheels down when the captain announced, "I'd personally like to be the first to welcome you to U.S. soil" His voice cracked.

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    2. Btw, I should have mentioned, I love how you tied several events together so seamlessly.

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    3. Thank you very kindly! I really appreciate that. It's the way it went down.

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  2. OH MY GOD!!!! I can't imagine being in Italy during 9/11. My husband and I did almost the same trip as you 2 years ago and it was the trip of a lifetime for us. Venice was my favorite, followed by San Gimignano. Sometime I will have to tell you how our rental car slipped off the Tuscan mountainside and rolled down the mountain on our way to Siena. THANK GOD for that tree!!!!!

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    1. It was nuts!

      Hysterical! About the car but so glad for the tree. Could have been a disaster!. We almost drove right off the ledge of a downward one way street smack into the middle of an outdoor restaurant on the main piazza of Montalcino. Have to be good with stick shifts and NOT panic! Did the same thing with my mom on a small street in some town by Sant'Antimo abbey. She screamed when I had to go in reverse so as not to hit the wall (you know how it rolls forward first). I got a little sweaty from nerves there.

      I want to hear that story DEFINITELY.

      My favorite country but my favorite city in the world is Rome! Going back next May while my daughter backpacks through Europe for 6 weeks.

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  3. You are SO lucky to go back!!!!! I have never been to Rome. Actually that was our first ever trip to Europe. My son was fortunate enough to go to Rome and Greece this summer on a high school trip while the rest of the family ate Raman noodles. Kids these days!!!

    Yes well we got lost on our way to Siena and tried to turn around on one of those windy mountain Tuscan roads. My husband tried to do a 3 point turn which ended up with the car sliding down a mountain in reverse WITH US IN IT and hitting a tree. Had the tree not been there, it was certain death 'cause we were careening out of control. We climbed to the top of the mountain and flagged down some locals who only spoke Italian. After much sign language they called a tow truck. One guy even tried to pull the car out with rope but it was hopeless. Lemme tell ya, when we finally got to Siena, I drank my weight in wine that day!!!!

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    1. I am lucky! I've been to Italy four times and am headed back again in May and October of next year. Italy is such a great, warm and welcoming place to start your European adventures. I'm just dying to go to Greece (and the islands) so I'm very jealous of your son. I never went anywhere but Wisconsin an Florida when I was his age!

      Holy SH$T!!! You could have....

      You are so very lucky to have made it anywhere, my friend!!! Trees don't give much either! I can visualize you sitting, slightly shaking, in the Piazza del Campo chilling out. Wow!!!

      After Rome, I'd live in Siena in a heartbeat! I love it.

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  4. That must have been really scary but it makes for an excellent story now.

    I had clients in the towers and was supposed to be in the city the week before. Got a million stories tied up in that day but in some ways what I remember most was watching the news with my son.

    He was really little but he kept building towers and knocking them down and in the background the television showed the "real thing."

    Scary times.

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    1. Yes! Very scary times. And he was reenacting what he saw...your guy. So many stories and very, very sad ones!

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  5. OH my god your poor son. I'm not American (Canadian) but my grandpa woke me up one morning and called me to watch the TV. I too asked if it was a movie (And why the hell old man would you wake me up for a movie). "It's real" he said, and I can only imagine he thought how this might spark WW3 and that his grandchildren might not escape war as he had hoped. And the college I attended had a television in every class, every corner, and we mourned for you. We sat stunned and devastated and prayed.

    Brutal. Horrifying. So sad.

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    1. We felt awful for him and thank goodness the next day was parental shift change for baby sitting with my parents on strict order...NO TV! The movie comment was funny for a very un-funny event. We thought the same...that it would spark a war and we didn't want to be in another country if that happened. But if you could choose a country in which to be stuck, it would be Italy for me. Hands down!

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  6. How bizarre to be overseas when 9/11 happened! I was then living in CA and happened to be in a 530 telecon with people in NJ who could see it in the distance! Your poor son. I called my husband and told him NOT to turn the TV on since our then 5yo was really scared about bad guys back then. Such a horrible day that was. Since then, we've moved to NJ and taken the kids to ground zero.

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    1. My daughter could process the info, and while still be disturbed, would understand it only happened once. My son is the worrier/nervous/high anxiety type, so this didn't go well...at all.

      My trip last December didn't include ground zero as I'd seen it in it's infancy stages. However, it is a must do for me in October.

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  7. I'm Canadian and I remember this day clearly. Beautiful reflection.

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  8. Wow... I cannot imagine. The rhythm of this piece really brought me with you on the roller coaster of that day.

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    1. Roller coaster is a great way to put that day and those that followed.

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  9. Love the twist in this post ;)

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    1. The wine twist? That was a guilty pleasure considering the state of affairs. Someone had to drink it. Might as well have been us. Too bad we didn't have any friends with us to help make a dent.

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  10. Wow! This is one heck of a "where were you when?" story. Beautifully told for a day that still leaves me without words.

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    1. Thanks. Not enough words to explain all the emotions, for sure.

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  11. Powerful and emotional. This really packed a punch. I hope that you put this on the challenge grid!

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    1. Nope. Needed some major reworking for the Challenge Grid and I didn't have the energy this week. Thanks, always, for your support!

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  12. I didn't even think of that response to the prompt until I got to the Die Hard movie comment. So you effectively grabbed me in a way that seemed appropriate, given how it was for you. Thank goodness for wine when dealing with situations where we're helpless! And your poor son. Man, I hate the news cycles when these things happen. During Columbine (we grew up in Colorado), my sister was home alone (the rest of us were in DC visiting family) and she just watched the footage over and over and over. Ugh.

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    1. Exactly what your sister watched is want my nervous nelly 7 year old saw as well...over and over and over. The whole thing was God awfully sad.

      The wine definitely helped with our anxiety and the passage of time while we figured things out.

      Thanks for visiting!

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