The Amalfi Coast Was Breathtaking. So Was the Bus.

There are certain things you expect on the Amalfi Coast. 

Spectacular views. Beautiful cliffside towns. A fabulous lunch in the mountains. 

Getting hit by a bus was not on my itinerary. 

We had hired a driver for the day, but on our way back to our cruise ship traffic came to a complete standstill. Our driver finally gave us two choices: 

Get out and walk—or miss the ship. 

We walked. 

Picture an impossibly narrow Amalfi Coast road with cars, buses and pedestrians all sharing roughly the same six inches of pavement. 

Then a bus came toward me. 

Close.

VERY close. 

The bus cleared me. The giant side mirror did not. 

WHACK. 

It hit my shoulder, knocked me sideways, and I stepped into a hole and went down. 

I had officially been hit by a bus in Italy. 

My first thought - Am I hurt? 

No. 

Then. WE CANNOT MISS THAT SHIP. 

So I got up and kept walking. We made it. 

The next morning, however, my ankle looked like a grapefruit. 

Fortunately, I'd packed tennis shoes with side zippers—the only shoes I could squeeze my swollen foot into. 

So naturally, I did what any sensible former ICU nurse would do. 

I kept traveling. 

Sicily. A winery. The Greek Islands. Four days in Athens. 

Two months later, an orthopedic surgeon finally gave me the news: 

“You've been walking around on a spiral fracture of your fibula.” 

Apparently, I'd toured the Mediterranean on a broken leg. 

I should have known better. 

But I've learned something: Nurses don't necessarily make the best patients. 

THE PASSPORT SOCIETY TRAVEL NOTE 

PACK THE PRACTICAL SHOES. 

You may be planning fabulous dinners, staying in beautiful hotels and wearing glamorous outfits. 

Your ankle may have other plans. 

Those zippered tennis shoes were probably the least exciting thing in my suitcase. 

They turned out to be the most important. 

So pack one pair of shoes you can actually depend on. And one more thing... 

On the Amalfi Coast, admire the view—but keep one eye on the buses.