Travelling in pandemic times is different. Even before leaving, there’s dealing with the ever-changing entry requirements for each country. As Canadians, we rarely have to bother with entry visas, as many countries stamp our passports and send us on our way. Now, however, we had to plan around the ever-changing admission and sanitary rules. We’ve been reading government websites weekly since we entered the planning phase of our vacations many months ago.
Reading pages upon pages of long, winding sentences written to cover all possible cases of a single rule isn’t fun. A throwback to our high school days, we had to do sentence-structure analysis and reading-comprehension exercises on paragraphs full of triple negatives—something even the most devious English teacher wouldn’t do.
We chose Italy as our destination country this year. Most countries require proof of vaccination to enter any indoor space. Italy was the only country that stated out right they would accept the proofs issued in Canada. Since restaurants are indoor places, confirmation that we would be allowed in was key. Like an army, we pretty much travel on our stomachs.
All in all, the actual travel part of going on vacation hasn’t changed much. The airport is emptier, the ever-present shops that sold overpriced stuff are mostly closed, and the temples of bad food that dare call themselves restaurants are now even scarcer. Overall, the most significant difference is having to wear a face mask at all times. If you think wearing a mask during the day is a pain, imagine how comfortable that thing is to sleep in and how wonderful it is to wake up to the smell of your morning breath and dried drool. It goes to show Karine’s fortitude as she’s willing to kiss me in the morning.
Travelling to other countries also entails going through passport control and immigration. Despite all the rules and requirements, European passport control confirmed my long-held suspicion that they care more about having a passport to control than who owns it. To board our flight in Canada, the airline had me remove my facemask for a second to verify that my ID photo somewhat resembled my face. European Passport control, on the other hand, didn't. I would think it would be a helpful thing to do. After all, the guy in my passport photo has hair, and I don’t have much anymore. Aside from being Canadian and, I believe, friendly, my passport self and my physical self have a few things in common above the nose. The added vaccination check is just as stringent. They did ask to see proof of vaccination, but they didn't bother to check the name on the document. As long as it lists two doses of the same vaccine and the last date is more than 14 days ago, it’s all good. I don't know about the security of the process, but the trust in our honesty is refreshing and sure makes the entry process smooth.
In the end, we’ve made it to Florence. Where any Italian vacation should begin, this is our first time arriving in Italy without passing through Fiumicino Airport. I didn't miss the chaos of Rome’s international airport or the hunt for decent food around Roma Termini. Florence Airport has a convenient tram line that departs every 7 minutes from the airport and takes about 45 minutes to reach downtown Florence. Google Maps will tell you it takes 25 minutes, but it forgets that it takes about 20 minutes to figure out how to pay the 1.50€ per person for the ride downtown. There are two machines at the tram station to do so, and neither worked for us. It came down to the complex gymnastics of downloading an app, creating an an account with a password that’s complex enough but not too long, provide our planned journey, select two tickets, go to the payment screen, pick Paypal as the payment provider, login to Paypal, select a credit card, select pay, wait for it to complete, find the tickets in the app, tap the use button to validate them, and you’re done. Or... You can risk the fine and the board by buying a ticket. It’s totally your choice.
The feeling of being on vacation in another country is both surreal and relaxing. It takes a little while to get used to walking through the crowd of other tourists walking as if there’s nobody else walking on the same street. At least that's how it feels to me, since we seem transparent and get walked into regularly.
Today's activity was a visit to the Giardino di Boboli, a one-square-kilometre park that used to be the Medicis’ backyard. Every inch of that place is trimmed, tucked and manicured more than any of the real housewives. It’s a gorgeous place where we spent about two hours walking around. Even discovered a small botanical garden in it (the Giardino della Botanica Superiore). The entry to the garden is tickeded and part of the Palazzo Pitti. We weren’t sure how getting in early (tickets were for a 16:30 entrance, and it was close to 15:30 when we showed up) or how showing the “green pass, the European vaccination proof, would work, as all we had were our Canadian proofs. Turns out the Italians see rules as suggestions. Nobody checked the time on our tickets, and while they did glance at our vaccination proof, they didn’t actually read it. As soon as we claimed our passports were from Canada, we got waved through. In Canada, we trust it seems.
After spending a day in Italy, I’m not sure why I had to fill out the European Passenger Locator Form (EU-PLF if you like acronyms). It is stated as a requirement for entry into the country. It asks for your flight information in excruciating detail, including seat numbers and the address you’ll be staying at the longest in Italy (a challenge for us to figure out). Once filled, the form gives you a QR code that someone, and we don't know who that might be, could scan to verify we didn't. After landing in the country, taking public transit, walking through the city, having gelato, an apero, and dinner at three different places, no one has yet asked to see the form or the QR code. Maybe it’s one of those rules that’s more a suggestion than anything else.
Even in business class, sleeping on a plane is still a limited affair. Of the 7-hour flight, three are taken by the desire to serve us two meals. I do appreciate not having to hunt for dinner or breakfast and getting decent options on board. However, this leaves only 4 hours of sleep over more than 24 hours. Knowing we would feel sleep-deprived, we opted for an early dinner at Cipolla Rosa (one of our favourite places in the city). As with any Italian meal, we know it’ll take at least 2 hours (and most likely 3), but they’ll be uncomplicated and relaxing. On top of that, we’ll be sharing 1.3kg of bisteka, leaving us with a full belly to sleep on.
