My Italy Travel Disaster

Plus details for the next Ask Me Anything, tour info, and a book recommendation

For the first time in over 30 years of travel, I had a trip that was a total disaster. I’ve had a few mini disasters while traveling before: A migraine that took me down hard in Joshua Tree National Park, or the time in Cozumel where the hotel was overtaken by a weekend-long techno rave. But this jaunt to Italy, which was to include the Parthenope exhibition in Naples, book research in Agnadello, a podcast episode about Ascoli Piceno, and a Bologna Deep Dive, was destroyed due to cyclosporiasis. Yes, yes, I’m talking about the lettuce parasite.

Forget Ozempic; this thing has shrunk me nearly three pant sizes, but the most famous effect is really not the worst part. It’s the near-constant nausea and fatigue that left me unable to leave my room at Borgo La Pietraia for a week. I was ill a few days before I left, but then recovered, and the doctor, who did not want to test for the parasite, said it was likely food poisoning. That seemed reasonable given the heat plus a ton of stress from the most…uh—challenging client we’ve ever had. But no, it was indeed the parasite currently feasting on American stomachs as testing remains difficult to get, labs are overwhelmed, and Bactrim, the only antibiotic that works on this sucker, is also hard to get. Also no, I did not eat at Taco Bell. I suspect it was either a turkey club sandwich or an ancient curse from the difficult client.

The first part of my trip was to be four days in Cilento to catch up with my family, go to the beach, and eat buffalo milk gelato. There was no gelato eating or eating of anything really, and after relapse #3, I realized I couldn’t accomplish anything I had planned. I did, in fact, visit a doctor who prescribed an antibiotic, though unfortunately not the only one that works on this bug. There was no point in traveling from hotel room to hotel room to just sleep all day. Plus, it is very hot in Europe this year, and something to take very seriously when planning your own travels. In the comfort of your temperature-controlled home, you may decide you’ll just deal with it. The lived experience of it is immediately humbling.

Another point to take seriously: Trip Insurance. I sometimes buy a separate policy if I’m spending a lot of money, but this trip was going to be relatively inexpensive, so I didn’t. However, I purchased nearly everything with a credit card that offers trip insurance, and just filled out the claim for reimbursement of my non-refundable hotels in Ascoli and Bologna, extra days for the rental car when I was too sick to return it, and the change fee for my flight. When I logged into the portal and checked the card member benefits, I was pleasantly surprised by how many perks are actually available, so be sure to know exactly what is already covered by your credit cards, especially related to lost luggage, car rentals, emergency medical treatment, and trip interruption due to hurricanes, fires, or illness.

I questioned my decision to leave early until the night before the flight, when I transferred back to Naples in anticipation of my early flight. I took just a short walk, and was nauseated by the smell of my most favorite foods — fried pizza and sfogliatelle. If you look at these beauties in the window of Pintauro, a Naples institution since 1785, and feel anything other than joy and delight, call the doctor.

I will return to Italy in October for take 2 at my plans, and I’ll also be hosting a small group for a week to visit ancient ruins, pick olives, and revenge eat all the buffalo milk gelato and mozzarella that I missed. This week, called The Cilento Secret, is the live version of Episode 35: The Mozzarella Highway, and we’ve got a group of 6 people who are now officially registered and paid, with room for 6 more.

There are currently 2 Deluxe Suites available (best for singles) and 4 Junior Suites. If you’d like to join us, and you should because this is a good price (that includes nearly all the meals) and one of my best ever itineraries, you can jump straight to the registration form here.

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In other news, Thursday night will be the next Ask Me Anything About Italy live here on Substack.

And in lieu of a new podcast episode, I wanted to share an episode I co-hosted for the Italian American Podcast. I am a recurring co-host, which is so much fun, as it’s recorded at Red Sauce Studio, which you can visit if you’re ever in New York City. This is an interview with Andrew Novo, author of Where the Mountains Burn: A Novel of World War II in Italy. Dr. Novo was inspired by his grandfather’s personal story, and as an accomplished scholar and professor, I so appreciated how well he articulates complex and little-known pieces of history. I learned so much.

Listen or watch this episode of the Italian American Podcast with Andrew Novo

I won’t be premiering a new Deep Dive this month since I still haven’t fully rejoined the living, but I will be updating the Rome and Venice Deep Dives soon.

A la prossima