And So Then.........

I know, this is really old news, I am continuing the saga of the Cortona workshops, 2 months after the fact but hey, I need to get updated and then I can be more current. (At this rate, I should be there by maybe, oh, summer 2009?)
So as we moved from Sally's workshop into Michael's and Jane's, Italy decided to pull one of their all too familiar "sciopero" or train strike, the day all of Sally's students were departing and the day all of Michael's and Jane's were arriving. Luckily, we found out 24 hours in advance and were able to hussle some alternate transportation in and out of Cortona for everyone. This included Sally's dear husband Brad, who volunteered to pick up to stranded students of Michaels, Marilyn and Connie, at the Florence airport. Now, Brad had never met them, so we devised a system for them that Brad would present at the arrival gate, see above.
They all found each other just fine, Marilyn and Connie made it to Cortona, and so did the rest of the gang. We got a hold of the Pre-pods, (returning Michael de Meng students, more on that later) Karen, Gerri, Paula, Kathryn and Joy the evening before the strike as they were sipping aperatifs on the Grand Canal in Venice, told them they would have to find another way to Cortona, so they jumped in a rental car and headed down.
Class began as scheduled!