Laura and Alex go to Italy

Laura says, “We had some tasty pizza for lunch. Alex was looking for a kebab place he spotted when we arrived last night, and I was like, kebabs for my first meal in Italy, seriously??”

Then she sent some very cool pictures:

It’s looking rainy! Sure enough:

She says, “A thunderstorm passed overhead, pretty briefly, while we were at the colosseum. When we walked back to the hotel, a tree had fallen across the sidewalk where we had walked earlier”

Uh wow, good thing they didn’t get hit by a tree on their first day in Italy!

Next we got some sunnier pictures:

She says, “Today we went to a chocolate museum & factory in Perugia. It did not live up to my Willy Wonka dreams, but it was still interesting and we got a bunch of chocolate. We also continue to learn new things about public transportation in Italy 😅”

She says, “Here’s all about how they make chocolate. In Italian. I thought John might find it interesting 😜” For those of you who don’t know, John is quite fond of chocolate. To put it mildly!

The next morning more pictures come in.

She says, “We are now in Peschiera del Garda (Peschiera of Lake Garda). In the first hour, I probably exclaimed “Freaking adorable!” at least 5 times”

A day or two later she says, “There is something here at the lake that stings/bites me, only on non-exposed skin (the heck?), feeling like a needle prick that then fades in ~5 min leaving me to wonder if I imagined it, only to return as an itchy bump two days later. There are also regular mosquitoes.”

Also on Tuesday she said, “Today we took a ferry on the lake and went to a spa with thermal hot springs water and saw this ridiculous gold car.”

Then yesterday she said, “We’re in Parma after a long day of traveling because trains were a mess. And I’m sick 😷 ugh. In good news, this Airbnb is a whole apartment and I can have my own room, so I don’t have to sleep with a mask on.”

I gather she is sick and Alex is not, and she’s trying to keep him from getting sick.

She said, “They don’t hardly mask anywhere, just like 10% of people are masking on trains and stuff. Alex and I have been pretty careful this whole time, but I managed to catch something anyway. Started with slight irritation in my lungs, which I thought was because of all the damn smokers here. But it was a persistent tickle yesterday. Woke up this morning with a larger area in my lungs irritated and a bit phlegmy which makes me cough occasionally, headache, and achy legs & back.”

She says, “Our apartment is the top floor, so there’s basically no space for windows.”

“But skylights in every room! This pigeon startled me when I was relaxing earlier 😅”

Then in the middle of last night (morning for her) she texted with worse news. She says, “I feel so much worse today. Fever, completely congested, and worst headache ever”, and then, “Confirmed, it is covid.”

We are so sorry to hear that Laura is confined to a room in Italy with covid, with pigeon butts for a view!

Off topic aside – I can’t help but notice that her attic apartment in Italy has the same type of ceiling as we have in Tucson, and the skylight is nicely and simply framed, unlike a set of old skylights in the Arizona room at my Tucson house. I will need to show this to my contractor.

Then this morning (mid-day for her), “I really like Parma and am disappointed that I’m missing it while I stay in my room all day. We tried to extend our stay, but this place is booked after us. So tomorrow we’ll go to Cinque Terre, where thankfully we also have two bedrooms.” And, “Thank god I haven’t lost my sense of taste! Lol”

I’m glad she still has her sense of taste – and sense of humor! But I am worried with her overseas with covid.

To send Kristina a comment, email turning51bykristina@gmail.com.

Kristina’s Life Coaching Website for Adults with Autism – ASD