  The view awaiting us in our first agriturismo rental... the peaceful carrot at the end of my stick. All I want to do this week is finish up all this planning. I want to do brainless work like putting away the pool pump, securing yard tools in my shed and starting to organize clothes and gizmos for packing. Yesterday, I pretty much finished all my map work (the Google Earth pin maps) and my GPS programming. Suddenly today--with exactly a week before landing in Rome--I've got another fire to put out...
First I got an email from Booking.com (where I booked most of our lodgings) saying that the credit card I am using for our reservations needs updating. Huh? It's a brand-new, unused card, except for charges for this trip. OK, so I update the info with via the special link they emailed. Then an agriturismo we are renting for 4 days emailed saying they can't do a prepayment on the card. OK, so I update the Booking.com info again, then email the agriturismo to try again. It still didn't work. So, I got on the phone with the credit card company to see if there is any type of security hold on any charges. There isn't. They already know about our trip to Italy, so it's nothing to do with that. I get another email confirmation from Booking.com so I email that to the agriturismo. They say it still won't work, but they see we have every intent on showing up. I beg them not to give away our rooms. Thinking this might be a glitch with Booking.com that might effect all our other reservations, I emailed them to explain and ask for help. They emailed back (very quickly, too) saying they checked and there are no reservations being affected. Whew! (Well, so far, anyway). They are also going to email the agriturismo having problems to tell them that we are in fact "confirmed". Next, I get an email from the credit card company confirming everything I discussed with them... "large purchases" are OK... duration of trip... Check! Can I relax yet? Maybe not... until AFTER I land in Rome, AFTER catching the car service to the train station, AFTER we take the train to our car pick-up town, AFTER the drive to our first agriturismo, and maybe... maybe... AFTER having slept the first Italian night, on an Italian bed with Italian tiles on the floor, and AFTER having a long, relaxing contemplazione of the hills of Tuscany for the first time with my wife and kid at my side... ahh... yes... Mmmm... ahhh... Nice daydream! Wake up! There's still lots do do! Get those maps and files on the Kindles and phones! Pack up all the cords and batteries and charging cables for your devices! Make sure you have all the train and car reservation info on your devices--backed up by paper copies in your travel folder! Make sure to show your friend how the alarm system works for when he checks up on our house while we are away! Oh, and call the alarm company to give them a new contact phone number! Make sure Lucas does all his homework--no loose ends! Hot air balloon reservation confirmed? Notify the credit card company to expect unusual and large charges! What are we bringing on board the plane to keep Lucas occupied, snacked and happy? Here I go again... Gentleman, start your engines! --Jerry Finzi Comments are closed.
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