March 13, 2020
How drastically things have changed for the world in the past few days! Fresh news rapidly become obsolete in a matter of hours as the world grapples with the Coronavirus. This has made it a bit difficult to make rational decisions. Here’s how things are shaping up for us and the rest of the country as of today, how we made our way back and what we’re up to as the world tackles Covid-19.
Our Coronavirus Update And Quarantine Lockdown
On my last post, I told you all about how we decided to keep our travel plans despite the fact that the conference that we were scheduled to attend had been cancelled. Almost three weeks in Sicily sounded ideal. There had been rumblings of things taking a turn for the worse in Italy at that point and l wondered if we had made the right decision. I wrote the post while in Palermo enjoying the food and sights. I didn’t watch much TV but could tell from Facebook that the hysteria was really growing by leaps and bounds, but no quarantine yet on the island, only in the Lombardia and Veneto regions which were faraway from us.
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We left Palermo a few days later, planning on coming back there after we had spent about ten days in Catania. Guides from the island and a few companies had set up a rough schedule for things to do for the days the conference were to have taken place, so we weren’t very worried. We scheduled five nights at an AirBnB close to the Duomo and right in the centre and we were pleased with it overall, save for the useless internet connection (it was an old historic building with insanely thick walls and even with a wifi booster was inadequate). That’s why it took a bit of time to answer questions and emails to us.
Quarantine catches up with us in Sicily:
Everything was fine the first day, but by the second, Sicily was in lockdown mode as well as the whole country. The already thin crowds were now a trickle. We were the only diners at the awesome restaurant we found walking around, so you can just imagine the portions and quality. Chatting with the young waiter who turned out to be a chess champion (would not have imagined that from the neck/body tattoos) who had been to Valencia for a competition, we heard first hand how bad things were getting for the small business owners who depend on the tourist dollars.
The shop hours had been reduced from 6am-6pm starting the next day, including restaurants. We bought some Arancini to keep in the little fridge and have for dinner. We didn’t take any pictures, and took very few the whole time as there were more cops than people for the most part. Everyone seemed to be in a kind of shocked surprise. With the reduced hours, I started thinking perhaps we should get new flights out of Sicily, either that or work our way back up to Rome and stay with his mom to ride out the rest of the time and then leave from there.
I ultimately nixed that idea for three reasons. One, I don’t speak Italian and unlike Spain, you can not change the language on the TV for instance. That’s a lot of hours for me not to be entertained. Second reason was the fact that his mom is going to be 70 this year, one of the risk groups. I didn’t want to inadvertently give her the virus if we were carriers or get it from her either.
The third reason being that much as l love my MIL, tight quarters is still that. I needed my space. The Italians believe that guests are like fish. After three days, they start to stink! :-). Federico gets frustrated at having to translate, trying to find words in Italian does my head in, and God love her, she loves to talk as much as her son does. The sister has two kids aged nine and four and a lot of shouting ensues even when they’re not fighting. They were now suggesting the quarantine would be lifted on April 3, then it became the 8th, quite a few weeks, and much too long for me.
Trying To Change Our Flights From Italy to Spain:
The airlines were starting to cancel flights from and to Italy. The noose was getting tighter. I told Federico we had to leave and go back to Spain at this point. The last two airlines still flying were Easyjet and Ryanair. We were unable to change our flights because the flight had not being cancelled, so no refunds or exchanges. We bought new tickets for the next flight out to Madrid which was in two days time, at an outrageous price, price gouging at its finest. Cost was three times the amount but hey, c’est la vie. I was breathing easier. We would lose a couple of nights at the AirBnB but no pasa nada.
Ryanair announced they would stop flying from Italy to Spain on the 13th, and we thought..cool..we would make it out! By morning, that date had been moved up to the 11th and our flight had been cancelled. We noticed it when l tried to check us in. It was useless trying to call the customer service number or get anyone to help of course.
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One of the other conference attendees happened to mention that the guy at the counter told them they were getting on one of the last flights out of Sicily till April 8th! They were leaving for Amsterdam and would work their way home from there. We had no idea where we could go since a lot of countries were shutting out people traveling from Italy. Our solution was to eventually take a cab to the airport (by now it was nighttime) and talk to someone at the desk.
The guy informs us there are no more flights to Spain. I asked what our choices were. He says Marseille the next morning was about it, or Budapest in the evening. I happen to love both cities but took Marseille since it was the first out and was definitely scheduled. Parts of Spain were in quarantine as well by now, including Madrid. We spent quite a bit of time on the runway in Catania. It was packed as people were literally leaving with no idea what was going on. The girl in the third seat paid just over double the amount that we paid for the flight!
We got to Marseille without incident and checked into a hotel in the Old Port. It was refreshing to see normal life. Not a mask in sight. Another world in fact, and we might have even contemplated staying a couple of days more but after seeing how quickly things were changing, we kept our tickets to fly out the next evening at 7:15pm hoping and praying it wouldn’t get cancelled.
The press conference to announce the French lockdown was scheduled for 8pm, 15 minutes after our flight took off so we didn’t have to do the mad dash to find someplace else to go. Whew!
The Domino Effect of the Coronavirus:
Our lovely house and pet sitters had come from Portugal. The had wanted to see our amazing Fallas festival. Our coming back earlier than anticipated meant that they had to also try and move their flight up. The city of Valencia at this point had reversed their decision to go on with the festivities. All the ninots assembled were to be burnt at an undisclosed time to prevent people from gathering and the street decorations were gone in the blink of an eye. It was obvious we were heading to a quarantine.
They were luckily able to move up their flight for the day after we got back. It was just as well because Lisbon and perhaps all of Portugal is scheduled for the lockdown as of Monday so they got out in time too. Strange days indeed.
What’s involved in the self quarantine:
Everyone has been asked to stay indoors. All businesses apart from pharmacies and grocery stores are to be closed. You are allowed to walk your dogs and go to work if unable to work remotely. Starting Monday, the police can seize your car, bike etc. if caught violating the quarantine. There is also a hefty fine involved.
Surviving the quarantine: What to do:
- Don’t panic buy. You really don’t need ten gallons of olive oil.
- Pick up new hobbies ( I am going to try my hand at oatmeal raisins and other baked goods). Youtube is awesome for learning new things. I am replacing my gym classes with video classes.
- Catch up on your reading. I just finished reading “Don’t Blink” and “The Whistler”. I am also going to finally start the last chapter of one of the best novels that l wrote about on this post. I can only hope “A column of Fire” is as amazing. Trust me when l say you will never look at Cathedrals in the same way again. I am a big fan of fiction from the masters. Some other suggestions of oldies but goodies:
Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. The best novel ever written in my opinion. Ever. Period. Pretty much anything by him is great.
Chances by Jackie Collins. Classic. All the other sequels to the story were crap though, so you can’t say you weren’t warned :-).
John Sandford and the earlier Prey series. The first, Rules of Prey is insanely scary good. Those should get you going. Sorry l don’t have newer novels but l’m a firm believer in rereading great books than sucky new ones.
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- Clean. ( I hate that, so l will save that for when l am supremely bored which will never happen).
- Watch TV. Netflix, Hulu, Movistar. Lucifer on Netflix is a funny delight.
- Listen to happy music.
- Learn a new language. I am hoping that my Spanish will improve with Spanish soap operas and shows.
- Get great travel insurance coverage, especially if you’re going to be bullheaded like us. We got extra cover even though our insurance covers us in Europe and pretty much everyplace else.
- Thank your lucky stars. Being asked to stay at home where you have all the comfort is better than being asked to go to war for instance.
At 10pm nightly while we are in lockdown, the citizens get out on their balconies or lean out the windows and clap wholeheartedly in support of the men and women on the front lines. Paramedics, doctors, nurses, pharmacist, grocery workers. Everybody. It’s good for morale.
Would I have done things differently?
Nope! No regrets. I would have done exactly the same thing. I am still of the belief that yes, the Coronavirus is serious, but the mass hysteria is worse. The repercussions will be coming soon enough, and so many industries will be obliterated. I sometimes wonder if the panic caused by this is because this virus takes no prisoners. It does not discriminate between the rich and poor. Scares the crap out of people doesn’t it? Rich doesn’t mean just the 10% either.
I will leave you with this video song from one of my favourite singers for eons. I always remember it when l think that life sucks. Listen to the lyrics. Remember the story of Bert and the piano because someone may have planned for you a music lesson.
Are you afraid the quarantine will reach you wherever you are? It’s pretty much everywhere so it’s simply a matter of time. How does it make you feel?
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Lovely update. So glad you made it home. Sorry I didn’t get to meet you in Sicily — I ended up taking the next morning flight out to Amsterdam as soon as they announced the red zone. A few days there and then back home to the US. What was surprising was how fast things went from “not a big deal here in country X” to complete lock-down!
Thanks Cindy. It would have been great to meet you, but everything went pear shaped pretty quickly. Hopefully it will happen at some point. I’m glad you were able to get out in time. I saw the lines at the designated airports yesterday including in my old home, Boston. It’s insane. let’s hope things get better quickly, but l have a feeling this might just be the tip of the iceberg. You’re right, it went from 0 to 90 in the blink of an eye. Stay well, and thanks for the comment :-).
You had quite the adventure! But all is well when it ends well. I think you made the right decision to trust your gut and get out. While no place is ideal to be locked in, it’s much better at home than anywhere else 🙂
Incredible how fast things change though. I’ve been following the news on this virus, yet I had no idea that Spain, Portugal and France were under lockdown as well. The situation changes from one day to another and I personally believe that right now all countries should do that, no matter how many cases there are. Right now they are probably delaying it by a month at most so no real long time gains from it…
Such a shame that they didn’t get the chance to at least exhibit those ninots, though. So much work for nothing. Maybe it would’ve been better to just keep them for a later date, when things calm down… but probably it’s a tradition that has to be done, public or no public.
Again, though, I am happy to hear that you’re both back home and safe. I laughed when you described the potential situation at your MIL – home is always best!
I have no clue how your comment ended up in the spam folder and l am so glad l looked there before deleting which is my norm. Things definitely changed super quickly…sometimes in minutes with updates. It is definitely better to worry about stuff from home rather than on the road, especially at that place with the weak internet.
Spain, France, Portugal, and l think a few others are joining in. There is a blogger stuck in Sicily, and a couple more stuck in Croatia l think, they were driving and the borders closed. It became a whirlwind. I agree that all countries should do that as a form of containment. This here and there only makes it worse.
I am hoping that the ninots in the museum get to stay there for later use. Tentatively, the new dates are July 15-19. The big ones like this one are definitely being burned from what they say, except for one. I think it does have to do with tradition, but it’s still a shame.
Thanks for the best wishes. I’m sure even my MIL is happy that we didn’t come.. haha! I’m also glad we have dogs so at least we can go outside to walk them. The little one hates going out in the rain and it had rained overnight. I actually had to hold treats in front of her to get her to walk a bit. Not for her sake, but for mine :-). I need the fresh air for a few minutes. Such quiet in the nighborhood. Stay well too.
I love your blogs amiga, so VERY thankful for all the great friends I made in Espana – especially if they also love vino and with an italiano marido that can cook like a chef! We are all strong healthy people and will take this virus by the balls! At the end of this quarantine we should all be fluent in Espanol – ha ha ha (or ga ga ga :)). Stay safe and looking forward to when we can share a good time together again – until then we do it in cyberspace XXX
Hahaha! No, it’s ja ja ja :-). Thanks so much for reading and for the comment. I am also very grateful as l have met so many wonderful people from all over. The motherland, like you and more :-). We will definitely crush this virus with solidarity so we can get together again. I hope you’re right about being fluent. We either will be or we will only know curse words.. ja ja ja! I can’t wait for the next ladies Mexican get together. It now seems like so long ago :-). Fede made linguine with shrimp yesterday and l was thinking of you. Can’t wait to get together again, you know he’s always ready to cook :-).
I’m old enough to want a song to be sung! Glad your quarantine adventures are over.
Not sure what the first part means. Sorry the video is not a video video. It’s just a song with that pic. The album was wwwaaayyy before videos became the norm :-). Thank you. We’re glad too.
Glad you are home. Hoping all goes well in Italy for Federico’s family as well.
Thanks so much for the best wishes. These are swiftly changing and trying times. I’m sure your plans have to be altered as well :-(.
Kem, I keep missing your posts. Will try to unfollow/follow to see if that fixes the situation. Anyway, sounds like you had quite the adventure, much like running from the wild fire into the flames! We are watching this thing take hold and wondering why the US hasn’t already ordered quarantine for every state in the union. Florida is slowly, slowly shutting down, but all that does is increase anxiety, waiting for ‘what next’. I am a firm believer in ripping the bandaide clean off. It will hurt like s***, but at least it’s done and we can get this thing under control before it overloads the healthcare system. I shutter to think what NY will look like next week if we don’t take some drastic measures.
Glad you are home safe and thanks for the food pics. Those always make me smile!!
Hi Suzanne! Sorry to hear about the problems. It seems that since the last WP update, things like that have been happening. I hope your solution fixes it. If not… someone will hear from me :-). It certainly did feel like we were moving from one red zone to the next and things changed so quickly. I was just booking tickets, paying and saying we would figure it our later about refunds.. and the cancellations came, but the emails didn’t come in time to have it applied to the next flight because the airlines were overwhelmed. Worked out in the end and have gotten refunds, but l shudder to think of the people that couldn’t make it happen. They certainly weren’t shy about gouging people. At one point, one of the other ladies said her ticket price from Catania to the Netherlands was over 500 pounds!
I hope the U.S gets their shit together. It’s going to be a madhouse trying to control things and it will overwhelm the system. I also believe ripping the bandage off is the best way to go. They need to cap this, and quickly too.
Thanks for the good wishes. Please stay safe as well. My friends and family there are worried for us, and l am more worried for them. It won’t be pretty.
Hi Kemkem. Glad you are well and got out of Italy (and France!) in time.
I tend to self-isolate anyway, and I’m a huge hand washer thanks to dogs and horses, so I’m not too concerned with getting a virus that most people won’t get anyway.
I have a fairly well-stocked pantry and freezer before all the panic stockpiling and hoarding happened. I went to Walmart yesterday, and cursing myself out for not putting barley on my list for homemade soup, but I doubt they had any. The aisle for paper towels and toilet paper was empty. The baking aisle empty. No flour, sugar, etc, but there were a few spices. I wanted to buy condensed milk to make granola bars – none! I got on Amazon last night and bought them and a few other things. Kind of kicking myself I didn’t think about buying Febreze on Amazon before hitting the checkout, but that’s a big deal. The meat section at Walmart was empty. Good thing I’m a vegetarian!
Money is the big problem. The senior man I’d been visiting in the care residence just passed away – heart failure, history of heart attacks – not virus related, but they’d pretty much shut those down for visitors. I just got an on call job driving pick up trucks between BC and Washington, about a 15 mile drive. I’ve had 3 shifts. Yesterday there was talk of shutting the Canada/USA border down, and today it’s a done deal. However, the border is open for commercial traffic and we go through commercial anyway with the big semi trucks due to importing and needing paperwork stamped. So, I’m not sure if there’s still work or not. I was out of work for such a long time, really hard finding work when you’re older because ageism is alive and well. So not good. Back to the drawing board. A lot of people are hurting financially from this. Bars have been closed and restaurants can operate if they have take out and delivery. Let’s not even talk about my stocks taking a huge nosedive.
Our new reality.
Anyway the sun is shining and I’m off to ride my horse! Keep well!
Hello Cheryl! Oh I am sorry to hear the troubles with ageism. It’s so sad that experience is not valued over age, and now with things changing so fast, and borders being shut, it must be worrying to be in your position. I have a brother-in-law in the same position. Engineering, years work in oil and gas with probably what is the biggest company, lives in Houston… but the minute he mentions age, everything is out the window. How can people be so short sighted? I fear it’s only going to get worse. Spain is working on postponing mortgage payments and urge landlords to work with their tenants.
I remember this scenario really well in 2008. We had quite a few tenants who couldn’t pay their rent, ending in our financial devastation due to carrying the mortgages. I am so glad we were able to come out the other side and rebuild. Loving the lighter load now.
My sister sent me a video of the line at a Croydon Costco just to enter. I am not kidding that there were over 1,000 people in line, no distancing either. It’s crazy. The lines are longer at the supermarket, but it was worse the first day of the lockdown, about 100 in line…now, nothing even though the shelves are empty. Thankfully we love seafood, so we are still able to buy it, and the salads. We love fresh milk and are able to get it, and canned tuna of which there is plenty. I heard Amazon was shutting down except for the essentials, but l might be wrong.
I predict things are going to get much worse there, but it won’t be that big of a shift for you. I really hope things work out and the work appears. Hang in there :-).
Kemkem, things have certainly changed very fast. I don’t think anyone could have predicted that the whole world would be facing such a huge crisis. At times it feels like we taking part in some sort of apocalypse movie. I am glad you have managed to get home, even though it has cost you a lot more financially. We felt so relieved when we finally arrived home, with so many flights getting cancelled, it was a close call. Now the UK is in lockdown, but we can’t really complain, since we had a wonderful trip and the memories will keep us going for a while. Take care and stay healthy.
I am so glad you guys got home safely, and also glad that you got to enjoy your holiday as much as possible. There are people pointing fingers, but the truth of the matter is that one makes the best decision they can at the point in time. All the would have, could have, should have makes no sense. The speed at which it all changed was breath taking.
We’ve been lucky to have been able to recoup money from the cancelled flights. I didn’t want to deal with it till we were back and settled in. All in all, we paid a steep price for the Catania to Marseille flight, but the others were refunded and we are only out one night’s stay at the AirBnB. I had booked it through Booking.com and they refunded me the other nights save for one so l was fine with it.
You guys stay healthy as well. Hopefully it won’t be too long for all of us and life can go on in some form or another. Loved keeping up with your travels on FB :-).
Here in Portugal things are getting worse every hour. “Emergency state” will be declared later today. I guess we’ll be confined to our homes for weeks, maybe months. Hard times…
Stay safe. All the best to you and your family.
I was relieved that our sitters who live about two hours outside Lisbon were able to get home in time. I would have felt terrible had they been stuck here. Everything just changed so quickly, and so drastically. I, like you, think that it will be longer than the two weeks before they have control over this. Very hard time indeed.
Thanks so much for the best wishes Filipe. You stay safe as well. We will come through the other side of this. Obrigado :-).