I have had 2 whole years to contract Covid, and was feeling pretty smug that I had not contracted it at all yet, with most friends and families having had it over the last 2 years. I started to think I was super immune!
And then with a negative PCR in hand from a few days earlier, it’s at the airport flying home I test POSITIVE.
I know I will be laughing about this experience a few weeks or months from now, I’m just not there yet!
For me, blogging is my version of journaling in the cloud. A place to store my throughs and experiences forever. So here goes on the last 5 days of my life…
After the most brilliant 3 weeks at Podere Macchione in Tuscany, I prepare to leave. I follow all travel agent instructions emailed to me and even double-check with the agent that these are correct. They have told me to get a PCR or RAT 72 hours before landing in Australia and have proof of the negative test.
I go off to the Farmacia and book an appointment for the RAT in the time frame and get my negative test with proof and documents for the airport. Easy!
The morning on my flight I woke up with a sniffle but I got my negative test 2 days ago so I should be fine and I’ll be home soon. People still get sniffles right, not everything is Covid I tell myself.
I say my goodbyes, hugging and kissing everyone (oops), and drive 3 hours from Tuscany to Rome on freeways with speed limits of 90-110 which means everyone around me drives 120-140km/hr. Pretty stressful drive, and still sniffly but finally arrive and head to the check-in line, knowing I can finally rest on the plane.
At the check in counter, they let me know you need a PCR test 72 hours prior to arrival OR a RAT test 24 hours prior to arrival, so my RAT was done too early. I need to go downstairs at the airport to do another one to confirm its negative. The supervisor keeps my spot in the line and said to come straight back when I get the result…perfect!
After long lines, lots of paperwork, paying cash only (finding an ATM to get cash) my test comes back POSITIVE.
So I sit there in shock for 3 hours while there is a lot of talking and whispering around me.
Next thing I know, 2 men in hazmat suits and an ambulance come to take me and my luggage to a hotel about 15 min away.
I was told they don’t want to see me until next Friday, and if I test negative then I can fly home that night 1 April.
I am going to run out of my medications staying here another week so I order tablets via to the doctor, and they say they will arrive tomorrow.
I’m given a long list of rules, including dial #11 from your room in a medical emergency. Every time I call 11, it rings out and no one picks up. The one time someone picked up, they said ‘no English so I’m not feeling very medically safe right now.
I’m now referred to as #4801 by any doctor, delivery or reception staff. There is some inspo for my next tattoo :-)
I spent most of Friday & Saturday in shock and calling all over Rome to arrange a rental car to take me back to Tuscany as I was invited back to isolate at the house with the gang. Everyone there had colds, so we all thought it’s only a matter of time until everyone is positive.
After calling every car rental company, large and small, I could not get anyone to deliver the car to the hotel and was not allowed to the car rental agencies as I’m covid positive.
I tried everything including private concierge services to drop a car off and tried people who drive your car home when too drunk and put a scooter in the boot. But nothing was working…
I finally thought I had a car organised for Monday morning (yay) and tried to get clearance from a doctor to leave, but he said no Tuscany…it’s a different region to Rome so can’t go back there at all (boo).
I thought at least I’m in Italy so the food should be good so I should try and see it as another week of rest and relaxation and try to enjoy the experience! I eat pretty much everything and the food is not great at all. The food ‘sometimes’ arrives 3 times a day, ‘sometimes’ only 2 times a day. It always comes very cold and is often hard to tell what meat it is most of the time. The worse meal in the rotation is the cold white fish with crusty cold pesto with soggy fennel and cauliflower. Brekkie every day is a pear juice popper and a packet supermarket croissant. Lunch is cold pasta and a dry bread roll, and dinner is meat and a dry bread roll.
They come along in hazmat suits every few days to check blood oxygen and temperature and always curse me because of shellac nail polish. It does not work on my finger and they get very annoyed.
The rules list said you can order on UberEats to supplement the meals. Only one place on UberEats will deliver as the hotel is middle of nowhere - 12km from Rome Airport in an industrial area. It takes a few hours to arrive at the hotel. Another hour or so to make it up to my room. This one place is called ‘Nice Grill’ and is a highway rest stop.
Since I don’t have a fridge (or cups, kettle, tea/coffee, anything really) in the room the food can’t be kept cold so it’s hard to order for future meals. I’ve just ordered on Amazon some muesli bars and dry cereals for the next few days.
I ordered an Italian-themed puzzle which ‘should’ arrive soon so I can stare at the Italian countryside for hours while being trapped in the room!
I also ordered a bottle of Aperol and bubbles but did not realise with no fridge, glass or ice that’s not ideal. Do I put both bottles in my mouth at once to make a spritz???
After spending Sunday and Monday on the phone with the consulate and embassy to try and work out the constantly changing rules for Italy, the medicine is still troubling me as I’m almost running out. I keep asking but nothing arrives.
The doctor also told me today if I test positive on Friday I need to stay isolated for another 7 days…I can’t find that written anywhere and the Australian consulate is working on those rules with me.
I finally had my first meltdown about the medicines tonight so they came up to my room with two white tablets wrapped in tissue and told me this was the medication I ordered (um sure it is!) I asked for a box or something to prove what they are? They bought the box but still no idea what they have popped out and given me? So I did not take them…They also had some unidentified liquid medicine in a cup and asked me to take it, which they said was Seroquel and would help me sleep well! Ummm I looked up Seroquel after saying no thank you to their persistent pushing, is anti-psychotic medicine. I’m ok for anti-psychotic medication right now thanks!
I finally decided to put on the bath, a Spotify spa music playlist, and relax and of course, as soon as I got in the bath the doorbell rang, so I’m yelling ‘come back, in the bath, later, and a few Italian phrases’ but they keep buzzing. I think if I don’t answer it might be a doctor and they will think I’m dead and barge in so I get out of the ‘relaxing’ bath, dried and dressed just in time for them to walk away and no one is there.
Day 5…not sure what you have in store for me, but after 2 hours of sleep, I’m ready for you!
