Oh, and thing 2 left his new camera on the train. Fortunately it was not a very expensive camera, but Tuesday was basically a wash for everything we had hoped to and tried to do. Still, we were happy and thankful to get to La Spezia and back on track.
As usual, we stayed at the least expensive place I could find with decent reviews and as close to transport as possible. In La Spezia this was Hotel Mary, a nice enough little place on the main road just across the street from the station. It is tucked into a whole block of buildings that looked to be a hundred years old or so but well kept. The elevator had room for 2 people and a small suitcase or two, but the family (4-person) room was plenty big enough for us, with a queen bed and two single beds.
As soon as we got into our room, I headed down to the farmacia and bought crutches for Bonnie so she wouldn't have to keep hurting her leg. She tried to walk on them a few blocks without her prosthetic leg to the restaurant, but unlike typical American crutches that allow you to use your arms, hands and shoulders for support, European crutches force you to put all your weight on your hands. When we passed a little shop that sold food to go before reaching a restaurant, we decided to stop there and let her get back off her foot. We got a variety of pastries, pizza slices and sandwiches and thoroughly enjoyed them along with what was left of the wine.