Florence

On Day 7 we were supposed to leave with our tour group for Florence, but I had a terrifying scare! I started to feel some bad abdominal cramps and had to go to the local hospital in Levanto. Tommaso and our hotel hosts at Hotel Primavera were so kind and accommodating. I was so thankful for them! They set up a taxi to take me to and from the hospital, and they allowed us to stay at the hotel for another night so that we could take it easy. After a one hour ambulance ride from the Levanto hospital to a regional hospital in the area, I got checked out and thankfully everything was okay! They did an ultrasound and baby Liliana was doing just fine. We were so relieved! For the rest of the day, we took it easy and enjoyed watching the sunset.

Our taxi driver who took us to the Levanto hospital was actually available and willing to drive us all the way to Florence on Day 8. We said our farewells to our sweet and caring hosts, packed up our bags and headed out to Florence. Tommaso took care of us by notifying the hotel that we were arriving late, so checking into Hotel Torre Guelfa (thanks to Tommaso!) was seamless. When we entered our hotel room, we were so touched that Tommaso sent us a bouquet of flowers and a get well soon card. That gesture alone would have us signing up for a Rick Steves' tour again. We were so moved by the level of care that we received and their attention to detail. Unfortunately, we were too late to join our tour group at the Uffizi Gallery, but we had the opportunity to explore the streets of Florence and see Brunelleschi's cathedral dome.