Life Happens - Even While Traveling

Pivots, Medical Needs, Travel Insurance and Angels

Melbourne, Australia - January 2024

Hi friends,

How are we doing this week? All good, I hope. 

I am on week 3 of being in Melbourne, Australia, and still find it wonderful, lovely, and charming. 

But I want to share that while I am excited to explore this beautiful part of the world, my focus right now is more on creative work. For full transparency to my wonderful readers, I am deep in a transformational stage in my life: emotionally, physically (hi menopause!), location-wise, career-wise - all the things. 

I am now coming up on the 6-year anniversary of making a conscious decision to define success for myself for my life and instill real changes in everything from career to living. That lead me to putting all of my things (a whole house - a whole life) in storage, leaving a traditional job and making things up as I went. I am now at my 5-year anniversary of leaving for Southeast Asia and what was supposed to be 4 months of living in a different country every month that turned into 8 months and 7 countries. I’ve now added multiple trips to Italy, UK, Scotland, Denmark and Australia to that growing list. 

This past summer I spent several months [ethically] disposing of the storage unit. I could do a whole post on that journey and how difficult it was to ethically dispose of so many of the items that could not be donated. When I say it was a process that is an understatement. But wow was it incredibly satisfying when I was done. 

The last quarter of 2023 had me reflecting on what I want for the future and I’m still working on that plan - making it up as I go but also putting together some exciting projects around travel and experiences that I hope to share with you soon. Stay tuned. 

For this stretch of travel, which began in Scotland in September, I am in my 5th month and 3rd country. Life happens. Even during exciting and delicious travel. And part of life includes emergencies, pivots, calamities, minor inconveniences, and medical needs. 

Maybe not the sexiest but content I feel is very relevant to anyone traveling - whether it is for a week-long trip or a month or several months. 

Let’s start with pivots and feeling capable - some good stuff! 

Feeling Seen in Edinburgh, Scotland

I have had several people who have reached out about my travel, specifically with questions about my time in Italy, asking how I manage getting around when I don’t speak Italian. One person that comes to mind told me they never would take the train in Italy or France because they were afraid they wouldn’t be able to manage it and wouldn’t feel comfortable asking for help. 

A couple of things: 

First, you don’t need to speak Italian to take the trains in Italy but you do have to be attentive. What I mean by that is train announcements in every station I’ve ever been in from Milan to Lecce have been made in Italian and English. However, you do need to stay alert to be sure you don’t miss, say,  an announcement of a train switching tracks (which happened to me and my son and we narrowly made it off the train before it took off in the opposite direction of where we were going) but all announcements are made in both Italian and English in the stations and on the trains. 

Second, there is no shame in asking for help! I highly (highly) recommend you have your Google translate handy and begin by asking “Capisci l’inglese?’ Do you understand English? 

Honestly, I find that by beginning the ask in their native language, makes everything so much friendlier. I also say “Capisco un po l’italiana” - I understand a little Italian. And I stress “little”. People are so nice! And they want to help. I’ve never asked and been told no. But if that does happen, just move on to the next person. 

Pivots: I had a big pivot one day in Italy while I was in Torino in November. 

I was actually getting ready to leave Torino (part 1) for a month in Florence. It was my last full day and I was taking the train to Florence the next morning. 

Well, I took a leisurely stroll to my coffee (and sweets) spot, Bar Ristorante Pizzeria Conte Verde (a must visit by the way), and came home with some of their delicious snacks for a leisurely Moka Pot coffee. While I was enjoying my sweets I saw a notice on my phone from Trenitalia. This was a first. However, when I translated it it told me that trains were striking the next morning and there would be definite “disruption” to all travel, most importantly mine. 

Yikes. 

I sat for a minute and then went into ‘solutions mode’. You have never seen a human move so fast when I found out the last direct train from Torino to Firenze was leaving in 90 minutes. I told myself: you can do it!! 

To be honest, it was a little crazy. 

First thing, I messaged my apartment host in Florence, who I know quite well now, and she answered right away (thankfully!) that my apartment was empty and they would love to have me arrive early. Yes! 

Next: I am fastidious about leaving my apartments in EXCELLENT condition so luckily I had already done things like clean the refrigerator (I had been there for a month!) and the bathroom. I had also packed half my bag the day before. But still - lots to do to get going out the door. I also tried to change my train ticket online. I tried this for a few precious minutes and kept getting stalled so decided to do it at the train station. Better to get there as early as possible rather than wasting time in my apartment. 

I had to walk to a taxi station but luckily had already scoped out my options earlier in the week (your girl is prepared!) so once I messaged my host that I was departing early and took out all the recycle/trash, I was on my way. 

I got to the train station and found the Trenitalia “help” office. I was concurrently trying to change my ticket online while waiting my turn (I only had 13 minutes before my train!) and I missed my turn but folks were understanding and let me get the next window and I made it on the train with 4 minutes to spare. Whew!

I go into all this detail to say that overwhelm could easily take over in a foreign country but don’t let it!

Pivots are possible. 

I also highly recommend planning for a possible need to pivot by knowing your travel day needs (transportation needs; finding your taxi stand; arrival at the train station or airport; etc). I have also really leaned on my hosts for help and they have all been amazing in helping with items big (arriving early, transportation, ordering me items from Amazon) to not-so-big (reservations by phone when no one speaks English, sourcing filtered water fountains in the city). In Italy in particular, train strikes are frequent. Know before you go and check your travels on appropriate apps. It’s so helpful. 

I also want to suggest: being flexible with your travel. Sometimes pivots that seem unfortunate or inconvenient are a gift. Even with all the chaos, I was delighted to arrive early in Florence. Once I unpacked I decided to go to my corner Bistrot for a spritz and snack. As I sat outside under the awning in the courtyard in the misty rain I looked up to see a wonderful friend I had made the year before arriving and we exchanged a giant hug and made plans to see each other during my stay. A true gift. 

Post-Pivot Spritz - Florence, Italy

Life Happens: Travel Insurance & Medical Needs 

In the past 3 years, I have spent 3-6 months of the year traveling and living in different countries. While I won’t get into the absolute BS United States health insurance is, I will just say my coverage doesn’t even help with out-of-state medical needs, never mind out of the country. But just because I am in a gorgeous country, enjoying spritz and Bicerin or Scottish Whiskey or epic coffee, doesn’t mean that health needs that require a doctor don’t come up. 

This year, quite a few have come up. 

With that said, I will tell you I always (always!) buy travel insurance. I recommend it strongly for any travel and policies can cover quite a bit. I’m going to link to an excellent article I resourced recently about medical travel insurance (which you can buy separately from bundle travel insurance) for very reasonable pricing. Travel insurance overall helps with so many things (but read the fine print!) such as lost or delayed luggage, canceled flights, trip delays, medical reimbursement, emergency evacuation and so much more. 

When I was in Copenhagen in 2022, I ended up with an ear infection randomly and used the public health system (which is excellent). I paid for my services and submitted my invoice to World Nomads (who I have used several times) and was reimbursed. Pretty easy. 

I am currently in contract with Allianz Global Assistance which is covering all I mentioned above (medical emergency; luggage; flights; delays; etc). 

This article on Travel Insurance by Wendy Perrin is very good. I highly recommend reading it if you have travel plans this year. The most important thing with choosing your specific travel insurance is READ THE FINE PRINT and ask questions if anything is unclear. Hot Tip: If you call to ask questions, ask if the call is being recorded as you may need to refer back later (this is from a travel friend who had almost $10k reimbursed after being told NO and asking management to listen to the call they made before traveling). 

Credit Cards & Coverage: 

You should also check your credit cards for what they possibly cover. The Chase Sapphire Reserve has very good coverage to excellent coverage, albeit with caps. I have the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card which also has good coverage though less than the Reserve. But both of these cards don’t provide enough so I get travel insurance as well. 

Here is a great article on travel cards for coverage. 

I also wrote about travel and money here for the best cards with no foreign conversion fees and the best card for ATM’s (no fees and they refund all ATM charges!). 

For full disclosure, and for example, my travel insurance for 3 months is less than $250. So worth it. 

**Please note: there are NO affiliate links here. I am recommending resources I know and trust and have used myself.

Medical Needs: Know Before You Go

When first traveled to Italy in 2021 we were still in the days of needing Covid Tests to enter countries and requirements seemed to be changing every minute. When the US had the big Omicron wave in January 2022, I was getting ready to return to the US from Italy and needed a negative test that was 24-hours (or less) old. Let me tell you, it was stressful. I had to find a place in Florence, Italy that could do a test with a 12-hour or less turnaround because my flight was so early in the morning. Luckily, I found a great one but waiting for the test to come back I was on pins and needles. It all worked out and I received my negative certificate in less than 3 hours. 

I’m not perfect at the “know before you go” part but I do highly recommend doing some online digging and finding resources for English speaking doctors and clinics to have in your file when traveling to countries where English isn’t the dominant language. Of course, in a true emergency you are going to go to the closest clinic or hospital but if you have something less urgent there could be options. 

For example, this past winter in Florence, I had a very random but painful physical issue that I definitely needed medical advice on. I googled English-speaking doctors near me and had several options, a few I recognized from the Covid search 2 years earlier. But I ended up contacting Medical Service Firenze and was easily able to make a same-day appointment with an English-speaking doctor who was fantastic. The clinic is in the center, right next to the Duomo, very central. My doctor was excellent: kind and thorough. She even gave me additional intel, in case I needed to go to the hospital if my situation escalated (which it didn’t), on which to go for English-speaking doctors and shorter wait times. I paid a flat fee for my service and she wrote me prescriptions that I ended up not having to fill. I have now put this information into my address book. 

While I was in Torino over the holidays, I had another medical incident. This one was a bit scarier and urgent. I will tell you, friends, I was scared as it was happening. I travel solo and as this was happening in real time on a busy street I wondered how I would manage. But there are true angels - everywhere. I asked two gentlemen who were dressed in guard uniforms who spoke very little English for help and they couldn’t have been kinder. They got me into a farmacia where I swear everyone was beyond excellent. They took my blood pressure and sat with me and they ended up calling several hospitals to get me the “shortest waiting time” as I needed to have some things checked. Torino is not a big English-speaking city like some of the more tourist destinations like Florence, so having my Google translate was key once I was in hospital. People were very patient and helpful. I ended up seeing a private doctor 2 days later for some tests and now have that clinic in my address book for Turin for future visits. I paid a flat fee for my visit to the Private Doctor, who ran several tests on me. It was all very reasonable and straightforward. 

Asking for help is not my strong suit. But goodness, I needed to be able to ask for and accept help during this time, and wow, I could not have asked for more wonderful, caring human beings. I am so incredibly grateful. 

I also shared what happened with my Airbnb host in Torino. If you are traveling solo, and you have a medical incident, I think it is good to share that information with your hosts or a hotel manager, if you feel comfortable. My host and I had already developed a friendship based on mutual interests and business (and he and his wife are fantastic!) so I felt very comfortable messaging him. He checked in on me many times during my stay and it was very kind and most welcome. He’s a gem.

Know Before You Go Final Thoughts - for now

Before I came to Melbourne, I made sure to research my area and find out what the closest clinic or Urgent Care was and where in relation to my apartment. I also looked up what I could expect for fees. If your at-home health insurance doesn’t cover you while traveling, that is a good thing to know and then you can prepare accordingly.

For meds/scripts: in Italy especially, I would recommend knowing what you can and cannot get over the counter at the Farmacia. It is not like the US. So, if you need specific items I would recommend stocking up or doing your research to see if they are available to purchase without a prescription. 

I know several folks here have reached out to me who are going to Florence this year so here is the link to Medical Services Firenze. I hope you don’t need them but put them in your address book just in case. 

I hope sharing this information is helpful. Life happens, even on amazing travels, and we are more capable than we think. There are also lots of good people in the world. 

Pivots or delays or U-turns can be GREAT.

My recommendation is to lean into them as much as possible. 

One caveat: luggage delayed or lost ALWAYS SUCKS.  I can’t spin it as good. I wrote about travel and technology here and I recommend reading for my very favorite tech item for travel. Trust me - it is a good one! 

Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts to add.

I always love to hear from you. Until next time….