A Volcano No One Can Even Pronounce! (Mid-April 2010)
Suddenly there was a ‘global’ concern and a potential road block for the big Italian trip. One morning in April we tuned into the Today Show and Matt Lauer was talking about a volcano who’s name he couldn’t even get his mouth around that was disrupting air travel in Europe. In fact it was wreaking havoc with sports teams and travel plans all across the continent. Teams were taking trains and other transport because airports were closing down. The ash from Eyjafjallajökull was to blame.
Wikipedia: The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were a series of major volcanic events that occurred at Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Seismic activity started at the end of 2009, and led to a volcanic eruption on 20 March 2010. A later eruption from 14 April 2010 led to widespread disruption of air travel in Europe from 15 April, affecting the travel plans of millions of passengers.
Now an act of God could keep us from flying to Italy…!? Waiting For Pisa
One of the last things that had to be done before plans and preparations for Tuscany was complete was to reserve a place in line for the infamous leaning Tower of Pisa. This is thee one and only icon of Italy known throughout the world. This is Italy! The trick is to get a booking. You can only reserve 45 days in advance and I personally wasn’t going to miss getting my place in line and at the time I wanted. It would be the last thing that I would seriously have to make the effort to do, except catching the train back to Rome and Fiumicino.
May 18th, that’s Mount St. Helen’s Day for us folks out west, was the date, 45 days before the ascent on July 1st. Although, with the time being 8 or 9 hours ahead, I was having a confounded time trying to figure out if it would really be the 17th or the 18th. Then would it be the stroke of midnight Italy time or 9 AM the beginning of the work day or 9 hours earlier than their midnight or start of the business day. Confusing, right?
I was so confused. I visited the link to the ticket office, http://www.opapisa.it/en/plan-your-visit/practical-information/tickets.html or biglietteria on-line della Torre pendente di Pisa. I tracked it almost daily to make sure I would not miss my opportunity to reserve a 9 AM tour. I know that sounds a little anal, but hey, it’s the leaning tower of Pisa. I wasn’t going to blow this once in a life-time thing.
Then it happened. On the 5th of May, the Pisa website crashed. I logged on for a week and the page would not load. I was starting to get concerned because I knew I had to book on the 17th or 18th of May to get a reserved torre tour and that was a week away. Through the National tourist board of Italy, I found a link to the Official Tourism Website for Pisa Proveince: www.pisaunicaterra.it info@pisaunicaterra.it
Meanwhile, I was hard at work trying to get tours arranged in Firenze and seeing if Candace and Ferenc Mate (Mate Winery--Montalcino) would let us visit their estate. I felt that Candace really knew the day to day operation of the business and Ferenc basically wrote books and flew here and there for interviews.
David, If I'm there (in NYC now with editor of new novel) or if Candace is there, you are more than welcome to stop by for a glass of wine and gossip. Write us a few days in advance to remind us and set a time. all best Ferenc On 9 May 2010, at 21:05 Dear Candace, Ferenc & Peter: Plans for our Italia-Tuscano tour are complete and we will be leaving in one month. From Ferenc's e-mails it sound like you are all very busy. We are hoping that there might be some time to visit you. We completely understand how much work is involved with the winery and writing, etc. We will be staying in Montalcino June 28 and 29 and leaving on the 30th. We are hoping the ash from Iceland dissipates and no new volcanoes start. Do you have any idea how much wine we can transport back to the USA? We are bringing our wine opener just in case we have to drink it before we fly back home... Thanks so much, David and Marianne Jones Dear David and Marianne - Thanks for your e-mail. Yes, we're all busy, but we set aside a couple of hours at the end of each day for tastings and sales. So, just let us know which day you'd like to come by and we'll be expecting you. Sorry, but I don't know how much wine you're allowed to take back. We've got styrofoam containers for 3 bottles, if you need them. Or, I can ship wine to the states. The shipping costs are a lot, but at least the wine costs less (I don't have to add our 20% VAT tax to wine that is shipped). Shipping for 6 bottles: €99 for 12: €155 Thanks again, Candace
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