Well, I did it. I finally booked a ticket to Italy. And I leave in two weeks!
It will be 497 days since I last flew home from Europe. I counted.
I may be crazy, but there are three great reasons to do it now:
- Crowds are still light, so I can experience Rome without throngs of people.
- I’m fully vaccinated and ready to go back.
- And four airlines are offering “Covid-tested” flights to Rome, so – like traveling to Hawaii – you get your test before departure, everyone on the plane has a negative test result, and you skip off to enjoy the city without quarantine.
I say “skip off” tongue-in-cheek because – like traveling to Hawaii – it will have many hurdles, traps and boogeymen.
It won’t be easy. There are still restrictions, curfews and closures. Small businesses and big hotels have scaled back services. But there’s another reason to go now: as a tour operator and consultant, I can experience the restrictions, see which of my favorite places are still open, and have the answers my guests need when it’s time for us all to go back.
· Do they kiss-kiss anymore, or is it fist bumps now?
· Is Rome in Italy's (Covid) Yellow Zone?
· Are masks still required indoors and out?
· Where do I get my Covid test to come back to the U.S.?
I would not encourage my travelers to go just yet.
Things are sure to improve this summer. At the moment, my colleagues in Rome are saying it’s not a nice “holiday” atmosphere, although locals are giddy to be out and about. But I’m not going on holiday. This is pure recon – and a proverbial shot in the arm for an Italy tour guide who has been idle for months.
I could wait until later in the summer, but July and August are slammed, and I may have travelers by September who are ready for Italy. Then in October I’m leading two tours to Europe: Croatia (island yacht cruise – room for two more) and Greece (a travel-agent tour to Athens and Santorini.)
I can’t tell you how elated I am to have a ticket in hand. It has been a long wait.
This will be a perfect opportunity to navigate Italy’s famous bureaucracy and oft-changing Covid rules. I’ll fall on this erudite sword to find answers, unknowingly break rules and re-learn the societal expectations of post-pandemic Rome.
Surely this will be most educational, if not highly exasperating. But as many of you know, our mantra during my tours is: it’s all part of the adventure!
That applies to missing a train whose binario was mismarked, waiting for an overdue driver, or getting caught in a downpour that soaks us to the bone. It can also apply to unexpected delights like watching fireflies on a summer night, catching a Sienese drum-corps parade or hearing a pipe-organist blast a practice tune while touring a cathedral.
I will count how many times I remind myself that it’s all part of the adventure. Hopefully the good outweighs the bad, but at least if it’s the latter, I’m the only one impacted (and my travel mate/colleague, Haley, who will join me.) She has a similar positive outlook coupled with boundless energy: “sleep when you’re dead, friends, we have a lot to see here!”
I will post an update soon, ideally during this "re-opening maiden voyage." Follow along on Facebook, join the Cypress Tours Travelers group, or follow on Instagram (@cypress_lynette).
Keep those travel dreams alive!
Here's the time Haley and I and two friends went on a recon trip to southern Italy. (January 2020 - last trip before the pandemic.) We were in an absolutely frigid tasting room, laughing about our absent winemaker. He would pour a taste and then disappear for 20 minutes. We thought he was either waiting us out in his warm office or we were part of a Candid Camera segment. (How much can four American women endure to taste good wine?)
It's all part of the adventure!