International Relations

So Mariella left on her 3-week tour of Italy on Wednesday. This is basically the longest I've gone without talking to her since we met. Which sucks. She tried calling me but when I answered all I got was static. Her mom gave me the number to call over there but I don't have international access from my cell so I checked with work and they said I could call from there. The number wouldn't work. Her brother suggested I drop the first zero. That didn't work. So I did some internet research and here's how you call Italy:
1. dial 011 (for international access)
2. dial 39 (Italy's country code)
3. dial the number
I thought it was weird b/c I have two numbers for where she's staying - a home and a cell. And the home is only 9 digits whereas the cell is 10. But apparently that's how they roll.

So I called the home number - which supposedly is the home of the mother of the cousin Mariella's staying with which I guess makes it her aunt. And a woman answered and said "tonta" or "danke" or something. (I know danke is German but she sounded Italian.) I said "Mariella" and she said whatever she said again. I said "Mariella" again and she said whatever she said again. I even through in "American" to no avail. The woman kept saying the same thing over and over. I had to hang up. I couldn't do this on the company dime at International rates.

I tried the cell phone and got some service message in Italian followed by the translation in English that explained that the customer was unavailable.

Her mother tells me she's having a grand time. They visited the Vatican.