Here we go again. Would it be easy? Is anything fun ever easy? No. Caroline flew into Orlando from Texas and spent 2 days here with me prior to our departure. Luckily, because as we sat at my kitchen table reminiscing & making sure all our ducks were in a row (for our Italy trip in 2 days)…I happen to go on my “Air Canada” app., ONLY to find out our trip was CANCELLED. Yes canceled. What the actual flip. Mike and I have dealt with this before with Delta canceling. Other airlines have also canceled last minute. However, we have always received at least an email. Insert panic mode, hours on hold with both Air Canda, Delta, and Peter (Caroline’s husband back in Texas (who works for the airlines). Absolutely no notice. No email. No call. Nothing. Just 2 canceled tickets from Orlando to Rome. We had purchased and booked together under one reservation. Thankfully, by the grace of God, we were able to finagle this and that and got rebooked on another airline that had availability for us to land approximately at the same time the same day. Still allowing us to meet my friend Emilia. She was arriving in Rome from NY on the same day as us. We were meeting her at baggage claim.
Caroline and I set out to get our covid testing done at the Disney facility just up the street. I’ve used this site numerous times without any issues. Each and every time the results have always, always come back in 1 hour. Always. Nope, not this trip. Not for Kerri and Caroline. I have stood there in a 3-hour line during the height of the pandemic and still received my results within an hour. It’s almost comical. So we had to set up yet another appointment at CVS. But, unfortunately, they didn’t have 2 appointments at the same store that could accommodate us. We scrambled trying to schedule one for me and one for Caroline 45 minutes away …..nothing is ever easy. Nothing. Damn these tests. This was back in March when you could not board without a negative test. So, unfortunately, we were stuck. We had to run around like 2 lunatics finding testing sites that could provide a rapid for our trip. Ok, got it! We are finally good on that end! We finally have 2 negatives in hand!! We have rescheduled our flights (within 48 hours of departure) and are now ready to go. We are “clear to fly”. For the love of God! Italy or bust!
We have Mike drop us off at Orlando and we are a little giddy at this point. We barely slept. We are anxious because we are still at a point (March 2022) when Delta is still conducting pre-flight checklists. Passenger locator forms, self-quarantine forms. The list is long. It is all redundant and in my opinion ridiculous. We sit at the gate, we are early and we are ready. We think we are ready! Ya, we are not ready at all Literally 5 minutes before we start boarding there is an announcement “You will not be allowed to board this flight without a n-95 mask, I repeat, you will not be allowed to board this flight without a N-95 mask”. We’ve been sitting at our gate for 3 hours and they literally wait 5 minutes before to tell us this. Caroline goes into full sprint mode in search of these N-95 masks at our gate. Luckily for her, she and the other passengers are on the scavenger hunt and find them not far away! She makes her way back to the boarding area as we swap out our masks for these damn N-95 ones. Sure as sh*t as we start to walk onto the plane the first flight attendant I see is wearing a regular cloth mask. You can’t make this stuff up!! It was so infuriating. Complete nonsense. Do as I say, not as I do!
The rest of the flight is a blur, all I know is we arrived safe and sound in Rome!! We are here! We made it! We can do hard things!! Next stop baggage claim…….my huge suitcase I borrowed from Kailee had a wheel that got all jacked up. Somewhere over the Atlantic the wheel got busted and now the suitcase is not wheeling at all. Down to 3 wheels on a 55# suitcase. God help me. The streets in Poggio Nativo are not going to be easy on me.
Now for a really good laugh. Caroline is finding a money exchange to convert USD to euros while I try to find my friend, Emilia….from New York…I’ve face timed her a hundred times, we’ve spoken on the phone, I know if I close my eyes and listen for her voice I could pick her out. Maybe, I’ll get lucky because I’m standing in Rome and not many people speak English lol. Omg, there she is! Wait, is it her? I only see eyeballs lol. These damn masks. There’s the 3rd crazy lady joining us on this girl’s trip!! We’ve never met in person. We’ve never traveled together. We’ve never driven in Italy together. We’ve never never ever before!! So, what better time than now! Let the games begin!! I think the games have actually already begun haha! Oh, I forgot to mention as Mike was driving me to the airport I started to feel a slight twinge in my right eye…..hmmm. What could possibly be going wrong.
We are now trying to gather all of our bags. We all said we would “pack light” ya, that never happens! How can you pack light when the weather is from the ’30s-’60s. I find it impossible. It’s best to bring everything, lug it all and complain the entire way, but never regret too much clothing!! Next stop the rental car! What could possibly go wrong here?
We all previously went to AAA to receive our International Driver’s Permit which is only $20.00 and allows you to drive in Italy, yup! They let the crazy ladies drive haha!! They entrust you with a vehicle! We figured we would all sort of take turns and share the insanity. At the counter Emilia goes to pull out her license and realizes she does not actually have her American license with her, just her passport. She left her license in New York lol. What the flip! Then there were 2 drivers lol. Now hi ho hi ho…..it’s off to find the car we go!! I’m trying to wheel my 3 wheels along with my huge backpack, carry on… Caroline has her huge suitcase & carry on, Emilia has her huge suitcase…are we even going to fit lol. If you know me, you know my upper body is not my strength, I’ve had 4 major vascular surgeries, so I am as useless as the “G” in Lasagna! So Thank God for Caroline! She’s the incredible Hulk and gives new meaning to “though she be little, she is fierce” lol. She can grab, lift, huck and pull any suitcase!!
We found the car, will we fit? We had a good laugh. How the hell do we get out of the parking garage. If we can figure this one out, I think we can take on anything this trip can throw at us. Here goes everything! Off we go….next stop…Poggio Nativo.
Now, let me tell you this was going to be the trip of “obviously”.
~Obviously it happened to be unseasonable freezing in the village with temperatures in the low 30s. Like wicked freezing cold.
~Obviously the house had been vacant for 4 months (the stone/concrete/brick) according to Mike; it was like walking into a refrigerator from the 1400’s lol.
~Obviously Mike was not with us, so handy dandy Kerri I am not! I can decorate, but maintenance nope. In Italy, double nope.
~Obviously I had never used the brand new “Italian” pellet stove, EVER. With a manual in of course…Italian.
~Obviously Myself, Caroline, and Emilia had never traveled together, ever 🙂 1 is FREEZING (Emilia) 1 is sweating (Kerri) and 1 is kinda freezing but can put on overalls, a winter jacket, hat, gloves, scarf, ski pants lol and make it work (Caroline).
~Obviously I would wake up on day 1 with a massive eye infection and my right eye completely swollen almost shut! Would we be down to 1 driver ….or 2 drivers with 3 eyes lol.
~Obviously never having even met in person (Emilia and us) never mind traveled together, I think we deserve some extra grace this trip! It’s not easy putting 3 personalities, mindsets, dispositions & attitudes together.
So, LET THE GAMES BEGIN! Open the damn bottle of wine lol! It is only night 1….Get another bottle ready lol.
I had planned to make this a wonderful time for all and arranged for a night in Montepucianno and a night in Assisi. I’ll get to that later. Yes, only Kerri books a room up in Tuscany 3 hours away, only to get to the Airbnb & be told we don’t have a room. Apparently, we were a day early. Thankfully the host was kind enough and accommodated us. Mind you we are still in the height of the flipping covid restrictions that make absolutely no sense. I mean really… there is no rhythm or reason. It’s made up along the way and whatever & whoever makes it up. Complete and utter insanity at this point. But, whatever….we are in Italy, and who the flip cares anymore! I’m beyond over it.
We really did cover a good amount of area. We traveled daily. We drove to Tuscany and explored both Montepulciano and Assisi. Unfortunately for us, it was absolutely freezing. I mean like Boston in February freezing! Like scarf over your face, gloves on, hat on….and your spine gets that chill and your entire body can’t warm up from freezing. Yes, it was freezing. But, it didn’t stop us. The Airbnb in Montepulciano was lovely. Many required a green pass (vax card) however, this particular one did not and that was fantastic because I am not ashamed to say that I do not have one. At this Airbnb/B&B you are given a voucher for breakfast at the cafe next door. So after a nice night we head out for breakfast. We walk in and are not asked for anything at the door. Mind you many shops and cafe’s had it posted “green pass required”. The hostess would check your pass before entry was allowed. This did not happen. So off we go to our seats. We order and we are eating. All is well enjoying our breakfast. We are chatting away and my attention is drawn to the cafe part of the restaurant. We are sitting in the back part and up toward the front at the cafe I see not 1 but 2 “Polizia” walk in. Great. Here we go. They are now walking up to each and every patron literally checking their green pass. If you have a pass, great for you. To each their own. For those that do not, let me tell you the instant feeling I had. First a moment of panic. Like, what the heck is going to happen. I’m in a foreign country, but, I was allowed in. I didn’t want to get the cafe nor the B&B in any trouble for noncompliance… so what do I say? But, then I get a feeling of discontent. How dare anyone have the ability to control where someone eats, stays, shops, worships, etc., because of a decision to inject something into his or her own body. That will never make sense to me. I am someone with many complex medical issues and my individual medical care is not for anyone else’s business or discussion. It’s just an unfortunate situation. Mind you, within a few weeks after our trip this ridiculous “law/rule” was dropped. So, anyhow, they make their way to us and in my panic mode, I say to Emilia “here take my phone” … I actually throw her my phone like Tom Brady in the end zone lol. So she sits on my phone hoping it’s not noticeable and now we’re all accomplices lol. They were checking people’s phones, so I figured I could say I left my phone in the B&B and they could not check my pass, I would be ok. As they approached us, 1 of the Polizia got a call distracting him (he seemed to be the more attentive one) thankfully. The other asked both Caroline and Emilia for their green pass, they complied and showed and he asked me and I said I did not have it, but I had my negative covid test. I believe Caroline chimed in too. He just sort of acknowledged me and walked away as the other Polizia finished his call and they walked off to the next table……crisis averted! Let me finish my cappuccino please!!
This happened again in Orvieto at the Duomo. You had to provide a green pass to enter the Duomo. Again, in my opinion, to enter a place of worship and have my personal medical decision factored in, to enter is unbelievable. Yet, I was allowed to enter any other church even in Assisi. At The Cathedral of St. Francis I was allowed to enter. Side note, in Orvieto, you had to pay to enter. So follow the money! In Orvieto, both Caroline and Emila went into the Duomo (I have already been) but, it wasn’t the greatest feeling having to sit outside of a catholic church, especially being catholic myself. Talk about feeling segregated. The Duomo is beautiful and absolutely worth visiting. We also had Chinese food while there, again due to me not having my green pass, we were not allowed to eat outside….OUTSIDE …so we took it to go! Thankfully my girlfriends were understanding and team players! They didn’t enjoy leaving me alone and I wouldn’t have left them either. It is truly a crappy feeling & situation. I think we all want normalcy back. We made the very best out of ever situation we found ourselves in. What else can you do.
The day we headed to Civita Di Bagnoregio, it was wicked windy! This is a hilltop village only accessed via a pedestrian bridge (that was built in 1995). The village is only inhabited by 16 residents. The Porta Santa Maria gateway was built by the Etruscans & founded in the 7th century. In the main square sits the San Donato Church. You have to be somewhat physically active to make this trek. There are golf carts for those with w/handicap issues, but for those who can walk, it is a hike!! It will take your breath away walking, and just when you think you’re about to die…. you still have more to go. But, keep going! It is a magnificent view! It’s a very charming village to walk through. A perfect afternoon!
Soon it was time for Emilia to head back to NY and so Caroline and I drove her to the airport. The week seemed to fly by. After, we spend the afternoon with my sweet Italian nephew, Matteo. He had his 1st birthday party and it was such a joy to be there for that! I happened to be there when he was born in March 2021, so being there for his 1st birthday was extra special. We got to meet some of his mom Lida’s friends and their children. Some are from America and have married Italian men and now have beautiful families. It was a great afternoon spent with friends.
Our very last day trip Caroline & I made was to the Castle Santa Severa. It is located along the Tyrrhenian coast in the north of Rome. The first written documentation of the castle dates back to 1068. It was a warmer day, probably in the 60’s, we sat and enjoyed the sunshine and some quietness by the sea. Definitely worth visiting if you’re looking for a place close to Rome. The ride from our house wasn’t bad at all . The beach was not overly crowded, they did not church green passes to sit outside.
Caroline & I were invited to my neighbor Robert’s for dinner on our last Saturday evening. His cousin (who I had never met) was joining us. Guido is lovely. He’s an Italian singer and we enjoyed homemade pasta, bruschetta, wine, desserts and of course Guido sang for us!! You can’t describe the simplicity of sitting at the dinner table in an authentic Italian home enjoying delicious food, drink & conversation. Priceless.
After that Caroline and I decided it would be best to pack up the house and head to the airport the night before. The re-entry back into the USA required testing still and returning the rental car, checking in, testing, etc., etc……it was just going to make our lives easier. So that’s what we did. We packed up and got the house ready to close up until my next trip in the summer. We booked a hotel at Fuimincino airport and that make the next morning somewhat easier. I say somewhat lol.
We really ended up enjoying each other’s company. All in all, despite my migraines, my swollen eye, stye & infection, being absolutely freezing, we managed to share lots of laughs and polish off a few bottles of wine! We found ourselves enjoying our daily cappuccinos along with a morning pastry or two. We witnessed amazing sunsets and enjoyed nightly camomile tea over conversations before going to bed…hoping Emila wouldn’t freeze to death lol. I hope now with the 90-100 degree weather that both Texas & New York are currently having ~ the heatwave has warmed up my girlfriends! I know they froze their petunias off and I felt awful. We were blowing fuses, the brand spanking new Italian pellet stove broke (of course) and required a maintenance call and it was all put of my control. But at the end of the day & night we made memories together. We may have temporarily gotten on each other’s last American nerves lol… but the trip was amazing! I love you both and you can come sweat, freeze, laugh, cry, eat, drink and live…. “La Dolce Vita” with me anytime.
True friendship is one of God’s greatest gifts ~ Blessed is she.