May 10, 2020
The latest instalment of the lockdown chronicles is an interview with a full time practicing physician, best selling author, speaker and successful luxury travel blogger. Fresh off her CNN appearance where she talked about the coronavirus back in March (post viral blog post on covid-19), and just before the whole world imploded, my interaction with Dr. Nadeen White resulted in a very informative and fun podcast because of so many shared interests. Check out the interview and read also about how Valencia failed in our quest to move on to the next phase in the coronavirus containment government strategy.
Lockdown And Life Stories in Atlanta:
I remember the first conversation l had with Dr. Nadeen about four months ago. It now seems like a lifetime ago. We had chatted about this new coronavirus that was devastating China at that point. She had sounded the alarm and was worried this was going to be an unmanageable predicament for the whole world. She was urging people not to travel. Truth be told, I didn’t agree with her at that point, despite the fact that one of my older sisters, another physician, agreed with her.
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I considered them worriers. I had my conspiracy theory firmly in place :-). While she didn’t agree, we were able to discuss the matter in a civilized way. My advise then, and now still, is not to panic too much and listen to the expert advice rather than your relatives and Facebook friends. Of course the travel part is out of our hands for now.
I have admired the energy this woman possesses, not only for her full time job in the hospital, but also the time to run the blog, speak and moderate at conferences, write best selling wine guides for novices, and also manage to run a book club. Whew! Talk about me feeling like a slacker! It was a pleasure to speak with her about just some of her passions, how she does it all, and her never ending craving for more.
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Some of the lockdown and life stories podcast highlights:
- Childhood and where she got the passion for travel.
- Her grandmother prodding her towards her chosen profession.
- Working as a full time physician.
- Incorporating blogging into her life and expanding her online presence.
- The best selling wine guides for beginners (wineries in the U.S.A) and her love for wine.
- Her past travels and the ones she considers favorites, including one which surprised her.
- Learning to slow down during travel.
- The new role as an Oprah “O” ambassador.
- Coronavirus. Separating the facts from the scams and false information.
- Predictions for travel post covid-19.
Listen to the lockdown and life in Atlanta podcast here:
You can find Dr. Nadeen on these platforms:
Blog: The Sophisticated Life where she writes about travel life, guides and staying healthy while traveling.
Instagram: @thesophislife
Twitter: @thesophislife
If you’re enjoying these podcasts, please make sure to subscribe on your favourite platform (iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher etc.) for new episode notification.
Other podcast episodes in the series:
Lockdown in Valencia with Jane
Life in Valencia Update During Lockdown:
Valencia got some bad news a couple of days ago. While most of the rest of the country has moved into a new phase which offers a bit more freedom, Valencia failed to advance, so unfortunately, our Phase 0 is still in effect. Barcelona and Madrid were also held back. Feels like being back in school. 🙂
It’s a bit puzzling to be honest, because compared to the other two cities, the numbers here in Valencia have been way lower. Most people think the reason is political, and that the citizens of the other two cities would have rebelled if Valencia had advanced to the next phase.
This has to be crushing news for shops. We had seen signs popping up at some of the smaller stores nearby saying they would be open, starting tomorrow. Now, that is no longer happening. Restaurants can’t open either. Shops with less than 400 square meters that had also been scheduled to start operation are also affected.
No church opening or gatherings at funerals for now.
Another thing that would have happened in the next phase was that private gatherings of up to 10 people would have been allowed. The meeting could take place on a terrace or in a private home. Needless to say, a lot of people are disappointed. I for one, don’t really care too much one way or the other. The full list of phase 1 allowances can be found here.
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Apparently though, the region does not have to wait the full two weeks before applying for a change in decision as the politicians in the Valencia province are completely pissed off at being left back. We continue to stay inside as much as possible. Since adults have been allowed out for one hour daily, the streets are a bit livelier. The first day was insane and it seemed nobody was obeying any rules. The past few days have been much calmer and a lot of people are wearing masks, and observing the social distancing.
As l have said prior, this coronavirus has done something that was all but impossible to believe a little while ago. It has made people stop and smell the roses wether they like it or not. I am still so proud of the way most people are handling the crisis over here. All for the greater good. I am also discovering a new talent for making Chinese dishes… so yeah!
Hope everyone is healthy and keeping safe as we navigate new waters post Covid-19. How is life in your neck of the woods? If you have a lockdown chronicle story that you think would be of interest to others, please contact me. You don’t have to be a blogger either.
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Kemkem, thank you for introducing me to Dr. Nadeen. She really is a force of nature, working night shifts as a paediatrician and having the time for all the other things that she does, how brilliant. I have not read her blog, but I will definitely check it out. I loved that she is keen to visit Brazil, such a shame that her plans to visit my home country had to be cancelled. I hope that she will make it there soon. Sorry to hear that Valencia has not progressed much on the lockdown front. Here in the UK, we were told yesterday by our PM that we can now go out to exercise more than once per day and some people are being allowed back to work, although most people will continue to work from home if possible for them. But overall things have not progressed much and critics feel that the government has not made the new rules very clear. But let us stay positive and carry on.
Yes, I agree with your choice of words. She is indeed a force of nature. I get tired just reading about all she does… haha! I don’t know how she finds the time to do it all and still run a FB page and book club. I am still ambivalent about visiting Brazil :-). It just seems so far away. I think right now, l can’t even think of traveling so maybe my brain is set up to make me feel better :-).
The sentiment here is indeed that it is a political move, and they have to placate the Catalan region. It’s great that you guys have even more freedom. I hope the numbers hold and decrease. Yeah, I really think decisions are being made on the fly in a lot of places, but we just need to hang in there and do the best we can. Ay yay yay! This year has certainly been one for the record books.
I’m with Dr. Nadeen – no hostels! Though it surprises me how many older people swear by them.
I tried to get a spot at the hostel in Madrid years ago but it was full. I had a book called Let’s Go Spain and it recommended other cheap lodgings that were also called hostels, but you didn’t show your hostel card to stay in them. They were more like private rooms, slightly more money. I went to one that was in an an apartment building with about ten rooms, one to four beds per room, run by an older couple. I think the hostel might have taken up the entire floor in the building, it was on the third or fourth floor. It was a good location near the Prado and walking distance to everything. I stayed a few days and booked a single room for my return in two weeks, I think for a couple of nights. But they screwed up and rented out my room! The wife was so apologetic and cursing out her husband for the mess up. But they had this emergency room and asked if I wanted to stay in there. It was like a closet with a single bed barely fit in there. Oh well, it beat bunk beds at the hostel if there was even availability! The joys of traveling when you’re young and on a budget.
It sounds like you had quite the adventure in Madrid in your youth. I like the part about the couple fighting. I never stayed at a hostel in my early traveling solo days. Truth be told, I had never even heard of that. In boarding school, l did share dorm rooms with at least 20 other girls. We did stay in a private room at a “hostel” in Stockholm. I’m not even sure it was a real hostel as the room cost an arm and a leg and l saw all kinds of people there, mostly family. I definitely prefer hotels or AirBnB stays where we rent the whole unit as l like my privacy.
I do understand why older people would stay at the hostels, especially when traveling alone. It is a nice way to meet younger travellers and have company along the way, so win win.
Great new episode! It’s nice to get confirmation that you’re not the crazy one to consider this new virus a real threat, as opposed to the ever-growing crowd that thinks it’s more of a joke. Travel will get back to normal and I hope she’s right that we’ll have a vaccine next year. Or some medicine. Or anything 🙂
Sorry to hear about Valencia! That must really suck and even more so with everybody already expecting to be “free”. I do understand what you mean about things being a bit livelier – Romania will go out of the lockdown by the end of the week, but they announced this a while ago and now traffic and the number of people outside have probably tripled. People are anxious to start going out – hopefully they’ll be careful when they do. We still didn’t beat this yet.
It’s simply crazy how some people can choose to ignore the fact that people are dropping like flies. I guess they don’t think it concerns them because it hasn’t affected them personally. Just like they feel about gun deaths etc. etc. The unlimited selfish attitude is staggering. Getting to pick and choose :-(. Hopefully they will learn sooner than later.
I heard one of the women who owned this take out place and they were lamenting the fact that they had ordered fresh food which of course they can’t sell and have to be thrown away/donated l hope. I hadn’t even thought of that. The announcement came over the weekend and so not being able to pen on the Monday after placing orders must be crushing to already devastated cafes and restaurants.
I’m happy to be able to go for a long walk daily now. It brightens up the day a bit more as l am no longer limited to Youtube for zumba classes. It’s also nice to see people in the park. I do enjoy the lower number of cars though still. I too hope that people will realize that we have not beaten this yet and continue to take precautions. It’s so easy to get caught up with it all and relax.