Wild adventures in Tuscany

I have finally arrived safely home after two weeks in the Siena region of Tuscany. The purpose of my visit was to review properties for my website Vacations-Abroad.com. I visited the cities of Montalcino, Montepulciano, Radda in Chianti and Gaiole in Chianti..

After two weeks of visiting 2-3 properties per day I was more than ready to go home. When it came time to check out, one of my credit cards had been maxed out and the remaining credit card just had enough money to pay for my previous weeks accommodations and it was a Saturday. Banks closed.

Rome was a 3-4 hour drive from Radda in Chianti on the superstrada with a toll of 50 euros. My tank of gas was a little over 3/4 full and I panicked. What would they do if I get on the toll road and could not pay at the end; so I decided to go along the windy backroads through Tuscany to get to Rome. There were very few cars on these roads so I called home with the message; "I am driving along the road SS2 to Rome and I am now 157 km from Rome".  I was worried about having a wreck on the road and disappearing into a ravine or gully and no one would be able to find me. At least the knew now which road to send the helicopters to search if I never made it to Rome. I was continually watching to gas tank to estimate how many kilometers remained in the gas tank. And I had a world map on my Blackberry but no GPS.

All the towns along my drive had historical centers surrounded by ancient walls that are typical of many Italian cities. At one point I caught glimpses of a huge lake surrounded in fog down in a valley to my right. It was Lake Bracciano. Islands popped up in the middle of the lake and the horizon had a greyish blue effect from the rain that had continued all day. The road was narrow and winding in and out of the mountains that surround the lake. It was beautiful but I was too worried to stop and enjoy the scenery.

Somehow I finally made it to some major Rome highway and a gas station attendant pointed me in the direction of the airport.

Navigating the signs to the airport are very confusing. And at one point I was wondering if I was at the right airport. Nothing looked familiar until I found the Avis check in. And I recognized the attendant from when I had picked up my car.  I was so relieved.

I got my luggage and went directly to the Hilton Hotel. I walked up to the conceirge and said..."I have an unusual request."