Laura and Alex in Italy – Post 3

As you remember from the last two posts, Laura and Alex went to Italy, and most unfortunately, Laura got covid. They tried to extend their stay in Parma because she was hardly able to travel, but they were unable to extend their reservations, and had to continue on with their itinerary. Here’s her text messages and pictures from the last few days, starting with Friday, Oct. 7.

“Made it to Cinque Terre. Traveling is miserable, I am utterly exhausted”

“This is my new view of Italian scenery”

“We’re on the ocean now. I think it’s really pretty, but I haven’t left my room since we got here”

“I’m lying in bed while Alex does the hike along the coastal cliffs between villages. This is what I was most looking forward to on this trip, I’m so disappointed”

On Saturday she wrote, “We extended our stay here, so we’re skipping the next place, Livorno, and will just go from here to Rome on the 12th. Maybe I’ll improve enough to hike at some point, but I’m not hopeful. The fatigue is so bad today! Every time I do anything, like make breakfast or shower, my head starts to hurt more and I have to lie down for a bit.”

“We very slowly walked to the beach and Alex rented us some lounge chairs, and I just lied there for a few hours”

On Sunday she wrote, “Fingers crossed, knock on wood, I seem to be recovering 🤞”

“This small yellow house is our Airbnb. It was advertised as a “fisherman’s cottage”.

“It’s right next to the trailhead for the trail that goes to the neighboring villages. We’re in village #5 of the 5 (Monterosso). Here is Alex about to hike to village #4 (Vernazza), taken from my bedroom window”

“Today Alex hiked to Vernazza and I took the train and met him there for lunch. Then we both took the train to village #3 (Corniglia), explored a bit, and then he hiked all the way back while I took the train back. I’m exhausted, but also glad because I wouldn’t have been able to do even a fraction of this just yesterday. Alex did all of his hiking in flip-flops because he’s got really bad blisters from the only other pair of shoes he has, even though there’s a bunch of signs everywhere saying no flip-flops on the trails and the police can ticket you for it”

Then Monday she writes, “We’re getting a bit bored of this area. My original itinerary would have been perfect, had I not gotten sick. It was the right decision to extend our stay here, but man is it frustrating”

“Today we took the train to the first and second villages, Riomaggiore and Manarola. As you can see, it was more of the same 😝”

“Alex found some avocado toast and made fun of himself for being a millennial”

“I found a shop with gelato, crepes, and cannoli, all gluten & lactose free”

Then today, Tuesday, she wrote, “I hiked to the neighboring town! And back 😁 I’m so glad to be feeling better. And also kind of grieving the time I lost. Trying to focus on enjoying right now, but I keep having this thought, like, “This espresso at this outdoor cafe is so good. Just think of all the good espressos I missed out on while I was sick…” And so my emotions are going from super happy to crying back to happy very quickly”

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

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