The End of La Quarantena :)

Hey folks; glad to report we have spent our 14 days in Quarantena and are "now free to walk about the country"! Things are different here, but we are glad to be home in Chieri. We were literally confined to our apartment for 14 straight days (slight exception: took out the garbage, at the bottom of the stairs, twice). Thank goodness for Netflix (Ozark is pretty intense; and if you want a laugh, check out My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend!), Amazon (Bosch is a little-known gem of a detective series), and our Hulu account (yes, still using "The Odd Couple" like a warm glass of milk every night)!

Not a lot of contact during the quarantine but a few kind visitors, like colleague and friend Sophie below, popped by to test our temporary food/provision delivery system (basically a rope off the balcony, Swiss Family Robinson-style):

Best of all, teaching from the same time zone as my students has been downright restorative for me (and for Barbara). Having a lot of fun joking/commiserating with the kids from the same side of the ocean; they are understandably giddy as the end of this bizarre school year approaches (June 12).

But for more insight on the situation here, let me turn to guest blogger Barbara and her thoughts on life during and after la quarantena:

"Everyone here in Chieri is eager to get outside after the two-month lockdown. Remember, Italians were not even allowed outside to exercise; only one person at a time from a family could go to the grocery store/doctor/pharmacy. We hear this was strictly enforced - yes, la polizia were stopping folks to "check papers." --------------

Photos right: (top) Many balconies are adorned with banners saying "Andra tutti bene" (all will be fine); (bottom) a tribute to health workers on the statue outside the Duomo in Chieri

--------------- "Starting May 4th, people could go outside again, and starting May 18th, restaurants and cafes could reopen, with social distancing restrictions. Matt and I are feeling like most people are adhering to the rules, and we feel pretty safe. "Almost everyone is wearing a mask - maybe 85-90% compliance. There is almost no kissing/hugging/hand shaking (which is a pretty big deal here). Almost all the stores have signs reminding people to stay apart, with tape on the floor showing where to stand. Masks are required and most have hand sanitizer at the entrance. Some shops have a limit of how many shoppers can be inside-some allow only one or two people at a time (a lot of stores are very tiny.) At the grocery store, there are arrows, and masks and gloves are required. Most stores have re-opened, although some are still closed, and we think some may have gone out of business.

"The cafes we've gone to in the past few days have had only outdoor seating, spaced farther apart than normal. They ask people to wear masks before and after eating or drinking...The servers are wearing gloves and masks. Menus are more limited...and some places are using disposable cups and silverware, but some aren't.

(l-r) Safety first; practicing social distancing; Bar Tandem's prettiest (and best) customer

"But people are out like crazy! The pedestrian street in front of our place (site of the nightly passeggiata) can be very crowded with people, but most are masked. There's definitely a lot of pent up energy and folks just want to be out of their houses. I hope the virus doesn't spike again here, but yesterday was the lowest day of new cases, so we will see.

Free masks from the Regione in our mail box today!

According to Worldometer, Italy has had 230k cases and 33k deaths as of May 26 (our region, Piedmont, has had 3,812 deaths). We are restricted to staying in our region until June 3rd. After that we can travel anywhere in Italy. Starting June 15th, if everything stays steady COVID-wise, we can travel to other EU countries. Right now, Matt and I don't have any specific travel plans, although we would like to go somewhere this summer. We're adopting a wait-and-see approach right now."

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Grazie Barbara!

So, are we back to normal here? Not even close, but every day feels a little more like "the before times." As an example, we took a short drive to Torino along the Po River, and saw this man's attempt to get back to his routine. Maybe we'll get there eventually. Stay safe everyone!