A time before COVID-19
We at OIR always love bringing you uplifting stories of the wonderful things we discover while travelling throughout the amazing country of Italy. We feel extremely fortunate to have made the trip to the Italian peninsula as many times as we have.
To date, we have made the trip to Italy 5 times in 9 years. It really has been life changing to invest so much time thinking, talking and travelling to this remarkable country.
Without a doubt, we’ve spent countless hours reminiscing of things we’ve seen and done and… what we will do next in Italia. These have been hours well spent. The friends we’ve made along the way including our B & B hosts, fellow travellers and locals have been fantastico.
Enter, the Elephant in the room … Coronavirus (COVID-19)
It is absolutely heartbreaking to watch this wretched COVID-19 rip though Italy and the world for that matter. Seeing Italy close down completely is like watching a poorly written B movie disaster flick. It’s an unbelievable story line, and yet, here it is.
The images of empty streets and piazzas coming out of Italy are shocking and disheartening. It is like the life force of the country no longer flows through their streets.
The people have become captives in their own homes and have been forced to wait out the pandemic. Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones.
The character of the Italian people
If there is a bright spot, the Italian people are making Limoncello from the lemons they have been handed. Watching them sing from their balcony’s to socialize with one another is a heartwarming display of making the best of a bad situation. When they sing and play music… it’s like they are saying “Up yours COVID-19”.
Plans to Visit Italy in late May…hopefully
Our plans for the end of May rest on shaky ground at the moment. We planned our 6th trip to Orvieto a year ago. If things don’t improve considerably by the end of April, we will have to reluctantly cancel our trip.
Ironically, even if Italy begins to recover by the time we are set to leave, we Canadians may be in lock down as the virus starts taking its hold of North America. I hope that we can show the same character that they have shown.
There is always hope that September is COVID-19 free.
If the worst does in fact come to pass and our plans are cancelled, fear not Italia, we will be back in mid-September. It’s always been in our plans to see Italy in the fall. Maybe this will be that year!
How about we end this post on happy note?
Here is a selection of photographs we’ve picked from past trips to help remind us all why we will return to Italy when this has all passed. Enjoy and we will see you as soon as we can Italia!
A presto amici, Ciao!
