Cara Mia, Oh My!!!: Safe and sound, on the ground

Whew!!! I always worry about flying. Call it my, hmm...dark side. But we made it safely.
Everyone met at the airport, except for Julia, and three of us went to retrieve our rental cars.
First problem....my cc was rejeted at the airport. Eveidentally Capital One thought the car rental charge was fraudulent. Luckily, Emily was there to save the day and rent the car.
Next came the task of navigating our way back to the airport in a foreign country. And yes, Emily did say keep left, even yelled it as I was going right, but that little detour let us see a lot of Florence that we normally would not have seen: industrial centers, railyards, apartment dwellings.
We eventually ran out the batteries on her cell phone and used Google maps to get back to the airport. Of course by then everyone thought we had abandoned them or been captured by gypsies.
I had printed directions to Panzanno. Printed directions are nice if there are road signs. If there are no road signs, it's a crap shoot.
I called the owner to set up a meet so she could lead us out to the villa. There is an annual wine fest going on in Panzano. Wine fests draw crowds. She said the easiest place to meet was at the church parking lot.
Usually a church has a symbol, or some indication that it is a church.
I called her again. I tried to describe where we were and she had no clue. We drove out of town on one end, through town, out of town the other end. The roads are pretty narrow and curvy. I found a place to turn around and we repeated the process. Drive back up the curvy roads, call the owner, repeat the conversation about church.
I need to learn the Italian word for church.
Mind you, Carl, Ruth, John and Kathy were in the second car, following our every move.....until I pulled into a non parking space and called a third time. Carl turned up a narrow city street. After a brief conversation, I too turned up the narrow city street to find Carl. We crept up hill and at an intersection, there they were trying to get back to us.
I continued up the street and killed the engine. Most cars in Europe are standard transmission. I have not driven a stick in a couple of years and never have on a huge hill. I go out of my way to avoid hills.
There I am sitting in the middle of the road with a stalled car when another car pulls up next to me and honks....I roll the window down, expectring a dose of Italian road rage, and a lady asks "Terry?"
Our villa owner found me.
I got the car started and the two of us followed her way the hell out into the country, where we turned down a rutted narrow lane and eventually, after what seemed to be leading to a lesson in wildereness survival, we arrived at the villa.
Still no Julia. Maria was glad to have found us, and we were glad she did.
After unloading all the luggage, and there was quite a large amount, we decided to eat at a restaurant she had recommended...back in the village, up the street where I killed the engine. This time I did it withou a stall.
Julia called, we learned she was driving around the town looking for a landmark, so I walked back down the hill to the main drag and stoood out in the street until I saw a Boxster. Good news: Julia was here, safe and sound. Bad news: She had food in the front seat and I had to walk back up the hill.
Great dinner at a restaurant tha only accepts reservations....but they seemed to like us and squeezed us in. Kathy had led an excursion to a local wine store by the restuarant and bought some vino...and the owner loaned her a corkscrew because we were not sure there was one at the villa.
Long story...gets longer. Went back to town Sunday, bought meat at the butcher shop, took a picture of Dario Cecchini, the world famous buther of Panzano (serious! Google it!! )had some gelatto, and went back to the villa, where Kathy cooked a great dinner of beef and noodles and vegetables and appetizers and wine...and wine...and wine.
That's our first day.......way more to come.