From Rome to Florence, a spot of rain and scoring Prednisone without a prescription

So sad to leave our lovely Writer's Retreat this morning as we packed up and moved on to Florence. This was my second time in Rome, and I gotta say, two times equals twice the love. This city, oozing with history and rawness and those living, breathing streets (cobble teeth!), is stuck in my heart forever. Thank you, Roma. I'm all woke up.

The train to Florence was fast and uneventful. I love traveling by train in Europe and I was we had our act together for more rail travel in the U.S. (I'm looking at you, Amtrak). Upon our arrival in Firenze, we were met by our Airbnb host Andrea, who patiently waited while we picked up our museum passes and then walked us to the apartment. It's a lovely little space with two beds in a loft and sofa bed on the main floor. We have a window into a courtyard and a cute, well-equipped kitchen. Comfy, but no Writer's Retreat.

The business of the day was to get Alex to a doctor to get a prescription for steroids to address his back pain. I spent about an hour trying to connect with the concierge service that came along with the travel insurance package I purchased before leaving the states. Surprise: it didn't go well. I was hung up on a few times and then finally gave up. We decided to find a doctor on our own, boots on the ground. It seemed easy at first, because according to Google maps, we were staying right by a hospital. But as we followed our new best friend this trip, the blue map dot on my phone, no such hospital existed.

But, what to my wondering eyes should appear, but the familiar green plus sign indicating a pharmacy here in Italy. Rob had texted that many chemists can just give you medicine, unlike in the U.S. I was skeptical but also desperate. We headed into the pharmacy and I asked the very stern-looking, all business pharmacist across the counter for some steroids. It seemed like a ludicrous thing to do for this American, and I was not at all surprised when he said, "but you need a prescription." I said, "how do I get one?" And then the miracle happened. He asked me what kind I needed, I said Prednisone, and he just went and picked some out, showed the box to me, I agreed it was what I wanted, and then he sold it to me. What the ever-loving f%&k? That was easy. For those who may feel concerned after reading this sketchy account of drug acquisition, don't worry. We are getting in touch with Alex's doctor at home to make sure it's the right medication and have him tell us how much he should take. 

Dinner was delicious, of course, eating pasta and pizza in Italy. It was raining the entire afternoon and rained into the evening as Alex and relaxed to more Pynchon. Early to bed to nurse this unpleasant cold. Welcome to Florence!