Observations and Book Review
Masks up!
- Covid: Blinding flash of the obvious, THB and DB did not catch the virus during this two week "training" trip to Italy. We consistently wore our masks indoors, especially when it was crowded, on public/private transportation, when in elevators, and ate almost all our meals outdoors. In other words, the safety protocols we have followed for 2.5 years. Sometimes we were the only ones following the protocols. Nobody challenged us, acting like we were aliens from another planet. In fact, THB and DB were almost universally treated with respect, volunteered assistance regularly with much humor, even in the most trying and crowded places, even when we were being pretty dumb tourists.
The twins are traveling demons: here they are on their way to Disneyland, J on left and C on right, holding hands and wearing mismatched shoes (the shoes match, one per pair per twin)
- Traveling: THB and DB are another 2.5 years older since our last significant piece of international travel. Flying is still bizarre at times, especially in navigating airports, maybe not much different than it ever was. The rules have changed, some due to Covid, some not. THB is definitely less confident about his skills under pressure: the combo of wearing a mask, wearing hearing aids, not being able to read the fine print or even the not-so-fine print, having shaky hands (not helped by being "under stress") and having forgotten most of our acquired "good travel sense" puts lot of pressure on DB to be all things for two people. Flying biz class, staying in very upscale hotels, and trying to make things easier for us helps. It helps a lot.
Sunrise the last day, we're up early to have breakfast
- Art: in better times, this would be the first category of observations when talking about a trip like this one, so it goes in times of Covid and growing older. Good news: there were quite a few thrilling moments, not too many downsides, and much enjoyment overall. THB and DB highly recommend Turin for art, a place we hadn't been before. And, while we put in a lot of steps, and decided to call it a day in the afternoons, THB was impressed with how much we accomplished, especially given the heat of the trip and our being "out of shape" when it came to putting in this many hours for this many days. THB thinks we may have to switch to traveling in mid-October and March to avoid the weather being in the 80s in the northern hemisphere.
- Hotels: DB did some excellent research, we got some great recommendations, and stayed in four pretty much totally different hotels. Not cheap, and given all the travel we didn't do for 2.5 years, we are very, very privileged to be able to afford this lifestyle.
- Food: THB has a bias on food post-Covid (since we seem to be close to all going mask-free) - it isn't as good as it used to be and this part of Italy isn't known for great food. Plus, we aren't up to starting a nice meal at 7:30 any more. Well, not at 7:30pm; at 7:30am THB has no trouble enjoying the breakfast buffets, particularly at the Magna Pars and the Cipriani.
- Smoking/Vaping: Seemed prevalent, especially vaping in Turin and Milan. There were so many people in Verona and Venice it didn't seem that many smokers/vapers compared to the total walking around. Way more than here in the US, not sure why.
- Graffiti: Tons of very bad tagging in Turin and Milan, the walls were well scrubbed in Verona and only moderately tagged in Venicee. THB was paying attention because he has been taking pics of the murals in Emeryville. In fact, while THB and DB were chasing art, 30 (THIRTY!) new murals went up in E-ville. Time for THB to hop on his bike and get back to work.
Buildings in Verona for most part were graffiti free
When it was around, the tags were small
Marco Polo airport
THB thought someone was having a gender joke here
Biz class meal on Swiss Air: muesli with flavored yogurt was pretty good, all two spoonful's
Unfortunately, milk chocolate
Now this was a well-stocked lounge in the Zurich airport
Outdoor dining doesn't work well when it has been raining. Pretty much the only rain we saw was at our two layover spots: Frankfurt and Zurich, exactly 2 weeks apart
Well show me the wayTo the next whiskey barOh don't ask whyOh don't ask why
THB has a make-it-yourself affogato
Book Reviw: Aftermath, Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, Harald Jahner (translated): the author did a huge amount of research and presented a fascinating look at what it was like in Germany, mostly years 1945-1953. The last chapter is particularly relevant to today as the Germans had the ability to somehow turn their collective psychology from aggressors to victims. Nobody was a Nazi, nobody wanted to acknowledge the murders of 6 million non-combatants, nobody was doing much of anything other than scrambling to survive the devastation of their country. After all, they were being led by an evil psychopath. Highly Recommended
Why THB and DB are couch surfing: The floors in the loft are being replaced...or rather, the floor in the loft is being replaced since it is all one big floor. We stopped by the loft for a quick peek and they are about 1/3 done. It was too prohibitive to move all the art off-site, so there are three moves inside the loft: move half the art and furniture to one side, move all the art furniture to the other side, then move half the art and furniture back.
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