This year is turning out to be the Year of the Family.
We were headed to Rome for seven days and then Florence for five. Daniel was coming over with his partner and asked if we could all meet in Italy. We hadn't seen them since their marriage two years ago.
In the weeks leading up to our departure I increasingly felt I was fighting a virus of some kind or other. I wasn't feeling well at all and my shoulder started hurting pretty badly. Two days before we were to leave I had a small rash break out. Then the day we left it appeared that I was developing a textbook case of the shingles.
I was taking the pox to Italy.
Jude had the shingles a few years ago and it was horrid stuff. Her face was involved and it was a very slow process of healing. Portions of her face are still numb from the nerve damage. So I wasn't looking forward to this.
On our first day in Rome we visited a pharmacist and asked what they might have. I was given pain meds and an aloe vera/tea tree oil lotion. Between the two I was able to make it through the trip without being too cranky and snarky, even though blisters spread from just over the heart, across the upper chest, through the armpit, and down one arm to the wrist. I have to say that trying to focus on the tasks of daily living and trying to take in the beautiful sites was mentally taxing. The pain, even now, three weeks later, is constant.
One morning Jude awoke and said she thought we had bed bugs. Her legs were bitten by some little evil bug. I thought the bites looked like mosquitoes had gotten to her. Daniel had similar bites develop on his legs, too. We couldn't rule out bed bugs, even though I wasn't being bitten (I had other nasties to deal with, I guess). So we waited.
A week later we visited the Michelangelo Hill that overlooks Florence and walked through swarms of mosquitoes. Sure enough, Jude's legs were bitten and the bites became inflamed. She's very reactive to insects and little did we know that the swarms that got her were the nasty African Tiger variety.
Doing a little research (unfortunately well after the fact) uncovered the truth. Italy is lousy with 'skeeters. Visitors are, apparently, being warned to bring repellant to ward off the nasty critters. Jude's legs look terrible and she assures me that the pain is constant for her as well. We may know better next time, but for the moment my wife and I are both the Walking Wounded.
Jude was bringing the plague back to France.
Even behind the pain and suffering we could notice a few things. What struck us were a few differences between France and Italy. The train stations, for example, are nice and clean in Italy. There is no trash strewn about like there is at Paris train stations. It makes us wonder what's so difficult about keeping French public places as clean as their Italian counterparts?
Indeed, there were many wonderful museums and fine meals during our Italian Adventure. It was great to see Daniel and his partner. We had a few laughs and shared many good moments.
Have I mentioned what we saw in Modene? There is a large block building that is the local mortuary. I can't imagine why the building is so big, but it is. On one side is a sign that says "Eskimo Cold Storage." There are many curious things in this world, aren't there?
Next up? My father and brother are due to arrive in just under two weeks.
We were headed to Rome for seven days and then Florence for five. Daniel was coming over with his partner and asked if we could all meet in Italy. We hadn't seen them since their marriage two years ago.
In the weeks leading up to our departure I increasingly felt I was fighting a virus of some kind or other. I wasn't feeling well at all and my shoulder started hurting pretty badly. Two days before we were to leave I had a small rash break out. Then the day we left it appeared that I was developing a textbook case of the shingles.
I was taking the pox to Italy.
Jude had the shingles a few years ago and it was horrid stuff. Her face was involved and it was a very slow process of healing. Portions of her face are still numb from the nerve damage. So I wasn't looking forward to this.
On our first day in Rome we visited a pharmacist and asked what they might have. I was given pain meds and an aloe vera/tea tree oil lotion. Between the two I was able to make it through the trip without being too cranky and snarky, even though blisters spread from just over the heart, across the upper chest, through the armpit, and down one arm to the wrist. I have to say that trying to focus on the tasks of daily living and trying to take in the beautiful sites was mentally taxing. The pain, even now, three weeks later, is constant.
One morning Jude awoke and said she thought we had bed bugs. Her legs were bitten by some little evil bug. I thought the bites looked like mosquitoes had gotten to her. Daniel had similar bites develop on his legs, too. We couldn't rule out bed bugs, even though I wasn't being bitten (I had other nasties to deal with, I guess). So we waited.
A week later we visited the Michelangelo Hill that overlooks Florence and walked through swarms of mosquitoes. Sure enough, Jude's legs were bitten and the bites became inflamed. She's very reactive to insects and little did we know that the swarms that got her were the nasty African Tiger variety.
Doing a little research (unfortunately well after the fact) uncovered the truth. Italy is lousy with 'skeeters. Visitors are, apparently, being warned to bring repellant to ward off the nasty critters. Jude's legs look terrible and she assures me that the pain is constant for her as well. We may know better next time, but for the moment my wife and I are both the Walking Wounded.
Jude was bringing the plague back to France.
Even behind the pain and suffering we could notice a few things. What struck us were a few differences between France and Italy. The train stations, for example, are nice and clean in Italy. There is no trash strewn about like there is at Paris train stations. It makes us wonder what's so difficult about keeping French public places as clean as their Italian counterparts?
Indeed, there were many wonderful museums and fine meals during our Italian Adventure. It was great to see Daniel and his partner. We had a few laughs and shared many good moments.
Have I mentioned what we saw in Modene? There is a large block building that is the local mortuary. I can't imagine why the building is so big, but it is. On one side is a sign that says "Eskimo Cold Storage." There are many curious things in this world, aren't there?
Next up? My father and brother are due to arrive in just under two weeks.
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