After dealing with much unrest and frightening circumstances of the COVID-19 virus around the world, many countries have been attempting a return to some form of normalcy. The Delta variant has thrown yet another wrench into this fiery storm of various restrictions and mask wearing. But, this summer I was lucky enough to experience another two week trip to Florence after being away for two years.
I bet you’re wondering how my traveling experience transpired this time! It was a bit more challenging than my other trips, but the Pandemic did not seem to affect it as much as I thought it would. I did worry about scheduling a COVID rapid test 48 hours prior to take off in Philadelphia, PA. This was partially due to one of the local urgent care facilities I called. A fast talking representative insisted that I needed both a rapid test and a lab test. The grand total was over $100. No way! Previously, I researched government websites and saw that I only needed one rapid test. Interesting, huh? Even my family physician said I should simply go to a local drug store and get it covered by insurance, which I was eventually able to do. Then I was a bit concerned over whether or not I would make my flight on time in Atlanta, Georgia (only 1 hour and 15 minutes after landing to get to the next gate is not much time in such a large airport). After that there would be another stop in Amsterdam to wait 2 hours and 40 minutes for an 8 hour flight to finally get to the Florence Peretola airport!
Thankfully, on August 1st, in the midst of that crazy flight, most of the staff in the airports, including customs, were quite calm and helpful. Once the mandatory documents of a negative COVID test, digital locator, and passport were produced it was smooth sailing onto each flight for a total travel time of 16 hours. I was ever so grateful that no one caused any disruption or complained about mask wearing – whew! Stay tuned…..my next blog update begins with some of the ups and downs of my adventure in Florence!
ValVentures 