Day 121: Genoa

Back to the port where our journey began, it was a bittersweet day. Our bags were gone, a final check of the cabin to make sure we didn’t forget anything (we did). Up for our last breakfast and more tearful goodbyes. We were the last in our departure group, as we stopped to chat with many of the crew, even the captain. By the time we got through immigration, ours were the only bags tagged with our group number waiting to be picked up. We grabbed a cab because we had so much luggage. I had arranged to ship the big heavy ones to Milan, and the cab driver could not get me to the drop off place because it was down one of the alleys that was pedestrian only. These alleys are bordered by 4 story buildings, so the map apps work poorly. I’m going back and forth trying to find the place, while Google is telling me that they are about to close, and I actually passed it three times, pushing these large, unwieldy roller bags. I showed the guy my paperwork and he relieved me of them, lightening my load considerably. He said that there was no guarantee that it would be delivered to the hotel before we arrived, but I was notified that they arrived the following day. We brought a lot of stuff for four months and ditched some of it, including shipping some back home from Australia (which still hasn’t arrived). When we got to the hotel, they told me that they had upgraded us to the attached hotel next door. We had planned to stay one night and take off with our lighter load to travel around northern Italy.

The hotel was nice and paid for with CC points, and we were exhausted and sick, so we decided to stay for 3 nights, and do day trips. The next day, we booked the hop on/off bus, and rode both routes, which was a fantastic way to get a good feel for the city.

We switched to historic loop and saw some more cool sights

We jumped off at the big fountain at city center to check out that area. We grabbed a snack and checked out the fancy shopping street

We went into a shop that had these striking purses in the window, and were greeted by the “worker” who was dressing a mannequin and spoke excellent English. She told us of her travels to the USA and Coachella. I turns out that her family owned the store and others, and she designed the purses! She was amazing and even though she was young enough to be our daughter, was sophisticated and delightful! Of course we had to buy one of her purses, but which color?

The hotel was very nice and had a rooftop deck where I enjoyed an Italian cigar.

The next day, my leg infection was making a swift return, so we decided to try out the Italian healthcare system. We were heading to a “private” clinic, and the hotel desk clerk told us to go to the public hospital, which was much closer. Well, it was an experience, to say the least. I was seen by an admitting doctor, and he slapped a wristband on me after collecting my information, and referred me to a dermatologist. We had to exit the building and wander down the street, asking a bunch of people for help finding it. We finally did, I showed the receptionist my paperwork and was given a number. Well were shown a waiting room and did wait for quite a while. I was finally called to see the doctor, and she looked pretty exhausted, but gave me an exam, and decided to treat me with steroids and antibiotics. She wrote me a prescription, and said I was free to leave. No charge, no insurance, unbelievable! I went to the pharmacy, and had 3 prescriptions filled for less than €20. Unbelievable!

That chewed up most of the morning and early afternoon, so we decided to check out the aquarium

We left the aquarium and went to an outdoor market

Jess loved this leather purse vendor! The next day, we checked out and took the train to Milan and then the airport. I was having trouble checking in for our British Airways flight, and couldn’t do it via the AA app, but we finally got it resolved and went to our hotel where we collected our heavy bags. And the new Pope was selected while we were at the bar. The smoke was white, and there was a lot of excitement with the church bell ringing in the small village where the hotel was located. We ate our last meal at a nearby restaurant, which was crowded and amazingly good.

The next morning we caught the 5:30am airport shuttle, which began our 23 hour travel day home. Italy was a fitting cap to an incredible adventure of a lifetime!