Salmagundi

This will be a bit of a hodgepodge! We have been discussing so many things we are seeing and experiencing and thinking about.

LULU: We knew that our trip would be different with LuLu along, but we didn’t know HOW it would be different! For starters, LuLu is a great ice-breaker. Most people smile when they see her, but lots of people want to greet her and pet her and ask questions about her age or canine ancestry or where she is from. A lot of fellow tourists have left their dogs at home and are missing them. LuLu gets a lot of overflow affection! Could she be a vicar of vicarious indulgences?

She is handling the travel like a champ! She seems to recognize that a morning of packing bags means a car trip and kind of follows us around making sure that she is on the packing list. Once we put her harness on, she calms down.

She accompanies us almost everywhere. We can leave her in the flat when we are headed to a museum or other locale that doesn’t allow pets – on the bed with our pajamas seems to keep her calmest. She was allowed in Herculaneum, if we carried her, but after about 15 minutes she was too heavy and too hot to continue with that. Fortunately,the car was parked underground and it was fairly cool, so she stayed in the car while we toured the ruins. Leonardo, being no fool, let LuLu into a private exhibit of wooden and fabric models of his work machines and flying devices.

Of necessity, her diet changes often. We try to keep some things the same – like blueberries or green beans, yoghurt and oatmeal. But the meat part has changed pretty much with every country. We’ve only found frozen food once in France. In Croatia we found a tube of dog food made in Italy, so we were excited to get to Italy and stock up on it, but haven’t found it anywhere since we’ve been here on the second leg. Go figure… Anyway, her digestive system has adapted to many changes and seems fine.

HEAT: Two weeks after our arrival in Europe, the heat wave started and has mostly not let up since then. Every time we check the weather for the next stop, it’s hotter than where we are. We are pretty scrupulous about making sure we stay hydrated, and we have both bought some linen pants and tops. But our northern California summers have not prepared us for this 90˚+ heat!

POLITICS: No kidding – we have heard a very few comments or questions about the circus currently going on in the US. If it comes up at all, the Europeans are merely sympathetic about what we are suffering through. One English couple we met called Boris Johnson a Tin-Pot Trump. But that was pretty much it. So one of us on this journey is elated about being away from the 24/7 news cycle, but we both catch a few articles and opinions and portions of punditcasts. 

AIRBNB: We have had almost uniformly great experiences with Airbnb. As mentioned previously, we had a sour experience after we could not stay in the previously-booked apartment in Dubrovnik (health hazard), for which Airbnb has refused to issue a refund. On the other side, each flat has been a respite from the heat, the culture shock, the exhaustion of touring around. Most have had washing machines, which, on a long trip are almost more important than a stove or refrigerator! Many of the hosts we have rented from have been terrifically generous, kind, interesting and helpful people. And almost without exception, we have slept in some of the most comfortable beds ever!

SEATBELTS: Until we reached Croatia, we observed that most people used seatbelts in the car. From Croatia on, we have observed that almost NO ONE uses seatbelts! We’ve seen toddlers standing up in the front seat, hanging out the back windows, or a pile of 2 or 3 on mom’s lap in the front seat! We don’t get it!

SMOKING: OMG, the smoke! Sam routinely checks the direction of the breeze before we sit down in a restaurant. Nearly everyone smokes, including pregnant women and nursing mothers! We have observed a lot of people rolling their own tobacco cigarettes. Teen-agers seem almost uniformly to be smokers! Again, we are not used to seeing this! Happily, there is no smoking on public transportation or in museums.

DRIVING: In France, Switzerland and Italy, the highways are usually toll roads and well maintained. But Croatia, North Macedonia and Greece are another matter entirely. Plus, they’re narrow! And windy! And full of pot holes!

In Italy, the genteel rules of the road we observed in France, especially, are not in evidence! We just experienced a traffic jam coming from Sorrento into Rome that was a hot mess. About a half mile from the toll plaza, with probably 10 toll gates, the zany behavior started. We don’t have the Italian version of FasTrak, so we picked a lane that took cash. But as we neared the booth, it was apparent that 4 lanes of cars were vying for the same lane! And it was every driver for him or herself! Just because you have your blinker on, does NOT mean that anyone will let you in the lane. In fact, it usually means that they will edge you out viciously! We are not sure if our French plates cause some kind of chauvinistic furor or not! Forty minutes! It was exasperating but once through the toll gate, there was no apparent reason and the flow picked up.

And motor scooters & cycles! Yikes! One tour guide called them “mosquitoes”! They dart in and out of the lanes with impunity! We have not discovered why one does not observe 10 motor scooter accidents a day! So Watch Out!!! This will be discussed in more detail on the Amalfi Coast post, coming next.