Is this the new normal? Have we made enough progress with vaccines and masks to allow us to be out and about with people again?
My husband and I recently returned from a trip to Italy with some friends. We flew from Calgary to Montreal where we met up with the other couple who had driven across the border from Upstate New York. And then we flew together from Montreal to Rome.
At the time of our departure, Canadian airlines still required passengers to wear masks on board the plane except when actively eating or drinking, Canada required proof of vaccine to return to the country, and Italy still required masks indoors in the airport and in restaurants and shops.
Italy lifted their mask restrictions while we were there. And once we were on our way back, travelers from Canada to the US were only required to submit a negative COVID test when driving across the border, not flying. So our friends didn’t have to jump through that hoop.
(I have to admit, the only time I was uncomfortable with the no-mask-required situation was when we were taking our Vatican tour. The place was packed: we stood shoulder to shoulder in the Sistine Chapel, and threaded our way through crowds in the various hallways and rooms. We hustled through as best we could on a guided tour.)
But to travel! To see different places! To hear different languages! To eat different foods! (Oh, glory, THE FOOD!) What an absolute joy.
If you want to travel vicariously through our photos, they’re here: https://2022italy.windaywrites.com/. I didn’t want to bog down this website with All The Photos.
I knew I missed traveling, during the couple of years when we couldn’t. I hadn’t realized just how much until we could go again.