Ask me anything October Edition

Endless summer, how to buy a bus ticket in Rome + a list of upcoming exhibitions

I started the month by stretching summer out to its last possible moment with a trip to my favorite island. We had planned to hike and read books on the terrace but a pal with a sailboat was in the neighborhood and the weather was agreeable so I showed him around instead. After a few days of swimming and sunset watching and wine drinking, we hitched a ride over to Ischia. Mark and I explored one tiny corner of the bustling island and now I have a long list in my notes app that will be a guide for you soon.

Even though it is late October the summer stream of visitors has not slowed down. One thing that seems to be universally confounding for almost all of my visitors is how to get a bus ticket in Rome. I so rarely take the bus anymore that I had forgotten blocked out how difficult it is. You can not buy a ticket on the bus. The fine for not having a ticket is €50 on the spot and the controllare are not interested that you didn’t understand. I use an app called My Cicero and just buy a bunch of tickets to have on my phone in case I need one. It makes taking the bus in Rome easy. When you get on the bus you open up the app and validate the ticket. Problem. Solved.

My month is ending on a dramatic note with what was planned as a quick trip turned into Mark spending a week in the Venice hospital. He is on the mend and we are infinitely grateful to the incredible Italian universal health system.

Now it’s time to ask me anything about Italian travel in the comments below.