It is MS Awareness Week and Taupō’s Lynley Paine has prepared some travel advice based on a recent trip to the Artevento Cervia kite flying festival in Italy.

I was diagnosed with MS in 1998 and my disease modifying therapy is a Betaferon injection every second day, which has worked for me.

I am now in my early 60s, and the joys of getting older are also starting to kick in. Following treatment for cancer last year my incentive to get back to good health and fitness was a trip to England and Italy for six weeks.

I’m home again now, and the trip was fabulous.

A friend, who went on The Spirit of Adventure sailing challenge for people with MS, said she had learnt that she could still do many of the things she wanted to. She just may have to come up with different ways to do them.

My concerns for my trip included: handling higher levels of fatigue than on my last travels in 2019; managing my luggage as I’m past carrying a large backpack; and handling the new technology with just about everything now being organised, booked or checked in through a mobile phone. I needed to upgrade my mobile to cope and find what apps I would need.

Tips that work for me

Taking screen shots are a good back up for tickets, QR codes or confirmations. Especially your British ETA leaving NZ!

Travel in spring, before the hordes and the heat all hit for the summer. Being the start of the season the locals are pleased to see you.

Yes, weather can be fickle. Layers for clothes make for a versatile wardrobe and you don’t need as much as you think.

Carry a small paper map rather than staring at a phone screen and the temptation to thieves for a blatant theft out of the hand: a problem in both Italy and London.

Staying longer in places. See more than just the big things, and it allows for rest if needed.

Pre-book key activities but just have a list of all other possibilities that are of interest. Then, depending on how the fatigue is going, book the night before for each day.

For instance, a boat trip over another big day of walking. Much more relaxing than tearing around trying to keep to an over full preplanned schedule.

Many train stations (and the London Tube) now have lifts available at marked stations and a

‘Step Free’ access, as well as ramps on to trains. https://tfl.gov.uk/maps/track/tube If only staying a couple of nights use a small backpack and check main suitcase into ‘Left

Luggage’ at stations rather than bothering with it at all.

Health issues can be tough. After picking up a Strep throat infection I needed to access an antibiotic.

Rather than trying to locate and book into a local doctor, I used an online service called doctorsa.com and needed a WhatsApp account.

For €29 I got an online face-to-face appointment for 2.15pm the next day; confirmation likely Strep, an antibiotic script emailed, printed out and filled from a chemist that same afternoon. Then a follow up three days later.

I don’t know how it works for more complicated issues but for a simple need like I had I would recommend it.

The highlight of my trip, and the main reason I went to Italy, was to attend the 45th Artevento Cervia: the longest running kite festival in the world.

Held over 11 days at Pinarella Beach, it features kite flyers, wind artists and aerobatic kite champions from 50 countries.

It is a colourful, joyous and chaotic artistic spectacle spread down about a kilometre of beach. Youcannot walk past it all without a huge smile on your face!

I was there as a guest of a kite flying friend from Germany. She and her husband design and fly kites at festivals.

Wearing my guest pass I felt a total fraud as I got to wander wherever I liked and just got caught up with all the kite flyers’ behind-the-scenes activities.

Languages whirled around me with people flipping in and out of their first, second and more languages.

My friend speaks five! Fortunately, English is common. I talked to some fascinating people whose passion is for this art form.

On my last evening, I joined their special night honouring a guest exhibitor of kite sculptures from Bali, Kadek Armika.

His sculptures amazingly all do fly. Afterwards we all spilled out on to the streets of Cervia waving banners and kites.

The Colombian contingent got the mood started with some loud Latin American music. Then led by a man riding a huge robotic dog, made from various ironmongery and could breathe fire, the throng began dancing and waving all its colourful banners as we moved through the streets. It ended at a piazza with a stage for performances, speeches and a final group photo. An amazing experience that will stay with me for a long time. I felt very blessed, and exhausted!