and the rambling continues ...
PART 6Alright so in the lead-up to the trip I had been trying pretty hard to learn a few simple Italian phrases, but all that had been forgotten now … the first few weeks we simply didn’t need to speak Italian. All the ‘tourist’ places we had been to were geared towards the English speaking tourist, a few conversation went something like this:
I would start with an Italian greeting and then try to convey my message
This would be followed by a reply of “It’s OK I speak English”
To which I would try and express my willingness to try and converse in Italian
"OK, but I’d prefer you used English" would be the reply
Now it was a different story. We weren’t dealing with people in the hospitality industry … we were dealing with people in the hospital industry. They were more or less a closed shop and had no need to speak English, so for the most part, they didn’t. This made it pretty stressful at the start when we had lots of questions but Julie’s doctor was excellent. He would come back and explain things as best as he could once everybody else had moved on. The nursing staff spoke very little English but some made a huge effort. We were trying as well but I think it if safe to say they learnt more English than we did Italian.
Travel tip for those susceptible to hayfever there are two possible solutions: either have your spleen removed or have a couple of feet of spew tube shoved down your nose. Something did the trick because Julie’s hayfever cleared up overnight.
Joe and the Ducati Tours guys were also very helpful. It was a tough situation for them trying to run the tour for their remaining customers and day-trippers while trying not to abandon us. They found me accommodation a short walk from the hospital and made numerous trips back and forward. It must be a tough business to be in sometimes for a bloke with only two part time staff … especially when there is an ‘incident’.
So we ended up spending a week in Bologna without getting to the factory. People I have spoken to since always cut in about now with ‘ah, Bologna is a beautiful place’ … but the few hundred metres between the hospital and hotel that I covered several times a day didn’t really offer that much. So no, I didn’t see that much of Bologna. There was however many conversations with home (very difficult), travel agents (complicated), hospital admin (very stressful) and the insurance company back home (just as difficult, complicated and stressful).
After Julie was released we went to the police station to retrieve her licence (which was taken at the scene) and it would seem that the Police and Insurance company had differing views on who was at fault as she was able to re-claim her licence without incident or fine. We then headed back to Pisa as we had pre-booked accommodation … as this was supposed to be our last night in Italy. But as Julie was not allowed to fly, we would be staying a little longer.
... yes there will be more ...
