Donatella, Andiamo Mamma! (Fall 2009)
Bigfork that year was the first time I had ever taken the laptop on vacation with us. Sometimes it is a welcome companion, other times it is not. Since the weather the second week of August in Montana was unseasonably wet, the internet as a great alternative to watching cable television—mostly summer reruns.
It amazes me the amount of responses you get when you type in the words “Chianti Wine Tours”. There’s a ‘bajillion’. I could have gone through them one by one and spent all three nights looking for the perfect one, but when I saw “from Siena” and “Fonterultoli” I clicked on it immediately. This is when I ‘met’ Donatella—thirty-something wife and mother and a licensed tour guide who lives in Siena. Her company is Wine Tours in Tuscany.
Now I am a sucker for a pretty face and tons of pictures with really happy tourists drinking wine. I fell more in love with each new link I clicked. Donatella looked personable, knowledgeable, and fun-loving. She was ready to make all my Chianti dreams come true. And I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. After reading everything twice, I decided to fill out her contact form and send it immediately. She actually didn’t take long to respond:
Informativa Privacy (ex D.lgs 196/03) Le informazioni contenute nel presente documento e relativi allegati possono essere riservate e sono destinate esclusivamente alla persona o alla societÃÂ
indicata come destinatario. La diffusione e la distribuzione del presente documento a soggetti da quelli diversi indicati, od in generale qualsivoglia utilizzo illecito dei dati ivi contenuti, è proibita sia ai sensi dell'art.616 del Codice Penale che
dal D.Lgs 196/03 in materia di protezione dei dati personali (Privacy). Se avete ricevuto per errore questo documento siete pregati di distruggerlo e di comunicarcelo prontamente tramite e-mail o fax. My Italian didn’t even come close to translating her response, if it was her and not a computer-generated one. After we returned from Montana, we did get a response from Donatella in English: Dear David, dear Marianne, thank you for you kind e-mail and for contacting me. I confirm my availability for the week June 20th to 26th, 2010. I send you what I have planned for your wonderful days in Tuscany. The tour is all inclusive, all tastings and lunch. Let me know if that suits you ok. You'll receive 5% discount if you'll book 2 or more. Please feel free asking me any questions or if you would like to receive another program. All my best, Donatella Ciao Donatella: We received your e-mail yesterday morning and were so happy to read about the two excursions. Incredible! They are wonderful, and doing both of them would be like a dream come true. Would one of the stops in Chianti be Fonterutoli? I noticed on your web site a picture captioned "Fonterutoli" (the winery I would most like to visit next to anything in Montalcino--which we have plans to see) and my heart jumped for joy. "Andiamo, mamma!" We also saw the cooking classes and cried, "Bella!" However, Marianne and I are mere mortals and our means are even more so. I am so afraid to disappoint you, but we don't think we can afford both trips. We might be able to do a modified version of the San Gimignano--Volterra excursion. I am truly sorry. We are so impressed with your web site, your expertise, and even your family. I do not want to cause any hard feelings, Donatella. Honestly, we wouldn't dream of taking you away from a profitable tour, during peek tourist season, to drive to Firenze and take two middle-aged Americans around on a reduced-rate excursion. Please, let us know what you would like to do. We respect whatever you have to say. Thank you for your time and information. I hope your summer is still going strong. Molto grazie, David and Marianne Jones Dear friends, I really want that your dreams will become truth!!! Your words about my family, my programs and also about my website have really touched me. Thank you. Now...., if you'll book the 2 tours ( exactly how I have presented to you and also included Fonterutoli winery!!!) I make for you my best price in € 660,00 total. I'll appreciate if the payment it
will be by cash. You are so nice that I wish to meet you. Take care, Donatella Ciao Donatella: I apologize for not being prompter about responding. Thank you for you great offer. We love the two tours. I want to say 'yes' to your kind offer, and we also really do want to meet you, but I am just so concerned about the money (and I hate being like this). I have friends who say "it's only money," and they are right, but these two weeks in Tuscany-Umbria are like 4 months of income for me. We don't want to leave you hanging, and we do want to be responsible and realistic. When do you need a firm commitment from us? Molto grazie, David and Marianne Jones Dear Marianne, dear David, I really feel you like good friends so that I want to do my best to satisfy you. If for you is ok, I'll contact you at the end of September. What I offer you it will be a great unforgettable experience spend in one of the most beautiful area in the world but I understand the money problem is not a small one. For the moment enjoy these last summer days. My best, Donatella We put the wine tour plans on hold for a while, knowing that these Tuscans can play hardball when it comes to charging for tours. Meanwhile, I kept looking for tours and places to stay for our third week in Tuscany. One Sunday Marianne found an ad in the Sunday magazine that comes in the local paper—You Enchanted Italy. I found the sight and explored it thoroughly. Brent Cook runs an operation that can do anything for the traveler. I was still looking for the perfect tour to San Gimignano or Volterra and had done a lot of research. After I emailed and explained our ‘semi-plans’ he wrote back: Brent Crook:
Hi David and Marianne,
Thanks for contacting me at Your Enchanted Italy. WOW, you've already
done a lot of work on your trip, good job! I should mention that I don't handle
airline tickets –
done a lot of work on your trip, good job! I should mention that I don't handle
airline tickets –
but highly recommend this travel agency in Seattle: http://www.elizabethholmes.com/
tell them I sent you - they're great!
Regarding the rest of your trip - I can gladly act as a consultant for all of your other
needs - villa, apartments, tours, etc. My consulting fee is $100 but I'll also make
contacts for you etc. Montestigliano normally rents for a week during high season
but she would do 5 day rentals in high season- probably nothing shorter than that
but I have other options we can consider for a shorter stay. Glad to help out - let
me know if that's okay,
tell them I sent you - they're great!
Regarding the rest of your trip - I can gladly act as a consultant for all of your other
needs - villa, apartments, tours, etc. My consulting fee is $100 but I'll also make
contacts for you etc. Montestigliano normally rents for a week during high season
but she would do 5 day rentals in high season- probably nothing shorter than that
but I have other options we can consider for a shorter stay. Glad to help out - let
me know if that's okay,
Ciao,
Brent
Brent Crook
www.yourenchanteditaly.com
Enchantingly enough his prices were more outlandish than Donatella’s.
I never wrote back after that first contact. I did contact Donatella later
on and tried to keep the connection going. It did feel that maybe we
may not be the cliental that she was really after. I was hoping for a
plan B if she was just a sweet talker waiting to dump me for the next
Joe to come along with deeper pockets. Even though my pockets
were about as shallow as they get.
I never wrote back after that first contact. I did contact Donatella later
on and tried to keep the connection going. It did feel that maybe we
may not be the cliental that she was really after. I was hoping for a
plan B if she was just a sweet talker waiting to dump me for the next
Joe to come along with deeper pockets. Even though my pockets
were about as shallow as they get.
No comments:
Post a Comment