Getting Ready

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 Ok, I know my last two posts were a bit dreary, but seeing as we worked it out, I'm going to look on the bright side now.  I figured out our transportation in Italy. I've read on several blogs about transportation from the airport and within the city.  Italy has tried to protect it's tourists as best they can and I appreciate that. By law, taxis from the airport cannot charge over a fixed rate into the city. Even better though, are the shuttles. We got round trip tickets that are valid for any/date time for only £17 for the two of us. Also great, are the metro/bus passes the city sells.  They come in 24/48/72 hour passes and are valid for any public transportation for unlimited stops. Woo! We'll mostly be walking, but for a few of our tours, the meeting points are a few miles apart. The meeting points are also tied with a lot of the metro stops for convenience, so that's perfect. 

Another thing I thought about when checking into our flights...We live in Scotland, but we have US passports.  We have UK residency cards, but that's only for getting back into the UK, not for entering other countries. So even though we are flying out of London, we have to show our US passports in Italy, which matters for COVID requirements. I've been searching entry requirements to Italy from UK, but if we're showing our passports does that mean we're entering as US citizens?  Brain teaser. Either way, we're covered.  Italy seems to have dropped all vaccination/testing requirements along with passenger locator forms, but mandates FFP2 masks on public transportation. We will still bring our CDC vaccination cards from the US and our booster QR code from the UK, along with our FFP2/N95/KN95 masks.

We got our euros from the bank yesterday and my excitement was renewed. I read that it's important to carry cash since a lot of places (mostly cafes) are cash only.  Plus, I distinctly remember the last time I was in Italy, I had to stop at an ATM in Florence because I used cash for everything. The bank teller remarked that it seemed like a lot of cash for only a few days, and I explained there was a discount for cash at the hotel. 

Bank teller: Sounds like they're keeping it off the books.

S: 😬

Bank teller: Ay, you'll be fine, enjoy!

I've seen this a lot searching for hotels in Italy, and it wasn't uncommon in The States either. Well, someone's got to make a living.

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