# 43
  .  .  .   and beyond

Northward

Renting a car with a G.P.S. was stupidly expensive so before we left Canada I did some research and decided to change my cell phone plan so we could use it for our European maps.  With Rogers I could opt into a Roam Like Home feature and for $10 per 24 hours of use, my phone would work just like it does in Canada.  Data rates and amounts, long distance, texting and Google Maps.  Nice.
If I didn't use the service and turned off my phone, it cost me nothing, but while we were travelling from Civitavecchia to Orentano in Tuscany, my phone told us every turn, every roundabout and how to get to the nearest gas station or restaurant.  It never took us to the wrong place and it actually told us when there was an accident or local construction to avoid.  It work very well. Thank you Google Maps!

Our plan was to spend a couple of days in Tuscany with Mike's cousin Marianna and her husband Salvatore.  The three of them had spent time together in the summer of 1970 when Mike and his family had been visiting.  They had lost touch until just this year.  After Mike's mom passed away, Salvatore had contacted him on Facebook through another family member.  That's one of the nicer features of the internet.
                                                                                                                     

A rest stop along the A1 highway where we had some coffee and lemon treats for lunch and took a look at the paper map. Orentano didn't actually show up on the map, but my phone knew where it was.




Mrs. G had tried to stay in touch with her family while we were on the cruise. At each stop along the way we had looked for places where we could send and receive e-mail and or text messages.  Her father was ill and failing.  The morning we were waiting to get off the ship I signed her tablet in on my last few minutes of paid wi fi.  Her sister had sent her a message that their dad was not doing well at all and they were letting family know it was time to say their goodbyes.  It wasn't good news to receive, but at least she knew his time was near and that night, from their hotel, she got to talk to her dad for the last time. Again the internet provided a service as she saw her dad on her tablet . . . face to face.