It was meant to be the holiday of a lifetime—my first trip abroad alone, without my parents. I had organised everything myself and I would show them how independent I could be.
I had arranged to stay in a farmhouse outside a village in southern Italy. My schedule said that the plane would arrived in Italy at five o'clock in the afternoon and it was a thirty-minute drive from the airport to the village. I wanted to get to my destination before it got dark, so I could have a drink, watch the sunset and enjoy an evening meal.
The problems began at the airport. My plane was three hours late taking off. I walked around the airport, looked in the shops, and drank coffee in the cafes. I didn't eat anything. That was a mistake! When the plane finally took off, they gave me a cold, tasteless meal which I could not eat.
We arrived in Italy in the early evening and I was feeling lightheaded from the lack of food. The sun was setting as I was collecting my bags! I missed it completely! I went to the desk to find my hire car and that was when I discovered the next problem. The receptionist couldn't find my name in the computer and there were no more cars. There were no buses or trains to the village, and the taxis were in strike.
The receptionist felt sorry for me. She phoned her brother, Alessandro, who agreed to take me to the village. I waited for Alessandro at the front gate and he arrived driving a very old car with smoke pouring out of the engine. We set off. Fifteen minutes later we broke down. I was tired and depressed, and very, very hungry. I began to think my parents were right. Maybe I was too young to travel on my own. Luckily, Alessandro was a mechanic. After an hour, he fixed the car and we started driving again.
It was nearly midnight when we arrived at the farmhouse. A man opened the door and smiled. "Come in," he said. "We have been waiting for you." I sat with a group of the friendliest people I've ever met and had a meal that was absolutely wonderful. And I'm glad to say that the rest of my trip turned out to be exactly the same.
