The Bliss of International Travel - Workshop Travel in the Time of Covid-19

Watch for a short preview of my Italian Watercolor Sketchbook workshop!

Hi there friends,

We finally made it happen! The workshop - trip that was postponed twice finally happened….and oh was it ever wonderful! I have been home only a few days, but I am on the blissful state of happy. I love sharing the joy of watercolor with my students. I love that sense of small-group community in traveling to see new places, meet new friends. It’s all incredible to be able to do this again!! At last!

So, I do know that many of you have questions. Did we feel safe? Was the paperwork insurmountable? Were you able to get Covid-testing before and after your trip - so that you could get into the EU and back home again to the USA? So I’ll address those questions first. By next year things may change, as this seems fairly fluid - you react to what is necessary. I have to admit, I felt safer over there in Italy than I do here in the US. They were hit very hard, early on, so they take it seriously over there when it comes to covid precautions.

As our trip neared, and our final air travel bookings were committed to and confirmed, there are a few things to be sure to complete online with your airline (depending on where you’re traveling to). If you’re planning a trip, follow the requests of your airline if you are booking online. If you are booking through a travel agent, they should be able to help you complete this. One form is essentially a contact tracing form, so that if they needed to, they could contact you if there were a person that ended up with covid on one of your flights. I have been vaccinated, so I will share that information with you. If you are not vaccinated, requirements are different, (you’ll have to research that). If you are traveling as a citizen of the USA, you’ll need to bring your original vaccine card with you to show proof of vaccinations - for your airline, as well as for entry to museums and indoor eating at restaurants. No exceptions. It’s not a big deal, and truthfully easy comfort once you realize everyone does this. I would advise getting a little plastic sleeve for this vaccine card so you don’t wear it out. Keep a photocopy elsewhere (perhaps one at home, and one in your luggage so you’ll have that copy, but the original needs to be the one presented!). I’d also keep a copy on your phone, perhaps in the Notes app with a copy of your passport and drivers license, etc. I flew on Delta going over to the EU and KLM (their partner) coming home. Everything was orderly, calm, like a flight should be. Yes, you keep your mask on during the whole flight, no it is NOT a big deal. You are sitting there maybe watching a movie or sleeping, it’s not like you have to look good for anyone! During the flight across the Atlantic when the meal is served, they do ask that you keep your mask on while the flight attendant is handing out the meals, before you unmask to eat. After the meal service is completed, they’ll announce that the service is over, (things have been cleared and trash collected) and masks must go back on. Again, not a big deal!! Everyone complied, not a problem. The Delta flight going over to the EU was full. The KLM flight coming home was half filled (so I actually could sprawl out for a bit of a nap in my short row). All in all, it was a very pleasant flight and airport experience. People did seem like they were on their ‘best behavior’ making an attempt to be nice and courteous. (And I did my personal best to bring good cheer every where I went!!) ;-)

Now, for the covid-testing part, before the trip and coming back to the USA. There are several ways to go about doing this. You can find a local testing site in your area, and make an appointment to get this done within the window of travel time for your trip. In some cases it’s within 72 hours of your flight, in some cases it’s within 48 hours of your flight - that you need a negative covid test. You have to read through your booking information to see what is required. Also - at some point in October, insurances here in the US changed reimbursements so that testing for travel was NOT covered, so you’re going to pay out of pocket. The rates can vary, so it pays to check this out. CVS was going to charge $135 for the test. Another couple in my group were opting for the online testing so I decided to look into that and am glad I did. It IS DIFFERENT than the at-home testing kits -so don’t think you can get off the ground with one of those. Your airline will have information regarding acceptable tests as well. The rapid tests are fine - they are accepted. (and the only way you can be sure to time things right and get your results back before your flight). The online test we used was purchased through emed.com and was on the approved list of Delta and KLM. The cost is $150 for 6 tests!! So I got one of these sets for both hubby and me. This way we were covered for both going over to the EU and coming home. We could time the test-taking around our flights and not worry. That left us with 2 spare kits…which I’m glad we had, as one of my kits proved faulty. When I went to add the drops to the test the bottle was dry- so the test was invalid. (yikes, had a mini-panic there, but knew I had a spare kit). While you’re doing this test, you are logged in to an online testing site with you on camera, so you can be talked through the entire testing situation. They can assure you did it right, and you are assured of a valid result. Your test results are recorded in their app (the Navica app) and sent to you in an email as well. The app is live so that it shows the amount of time that has passed since you took the test.

For those in our group not opting for an online test, our host Lisa Statkus arranged to drive everyone to the nearby town pharmacy that had testing available, so that they could get their tests done the day before our exit flights. There was also testing being done at Florence airport by appointment so that you could get it done before your flight. Pay attention to timing here!

Now that all the ‘hairy-stuff’ has been covered, let’s talk about all the fun! From the moment I got off the plane in Florence I was spellbound! It had been perhaps 40 years since I had been to the city. Yes, it still looks the same - though perhaps a bit more wonderful in my 60s than it did even in my 20s!. I spent two days in Florence with my hubby before the workshop began. My taxi driver was also a painter, who loved and appreciated art history. Our ride from the airport to our B&B went so quickly, and already I was excited about what I would see and experience before the workshop even began!

The Italian people are so ready for tourists to return. Everyone was so nice and welcoming. I got to practice my very limited Italian - and luckily in the cities, many people are multilingual! On the day of our van ride to the countryside where our workshop was held, we met back at the airport and gathered everyone. It was so good to finally see everyone in person. I had held several Zoom meetings with our group contingent so they could have a feeling of who they’d be meeting with. No one in our group felt like a stranger at the airport. Instead, it felt like a long-awaited reunion! Joyous! Stepping out of our vans at La Montalla - the agriturismo which was our destination was like being on a movie set. Geraniums were still in bloom in late October! Olive trees and cyprus dotted the landscape of rolling hills… I could see paintings in every direction I turned. Our ten days were filled with painting lessons, excursions, great Italian cooking, and incredible scenery. Somedays we were out in the countryside. Other days we’d go visit some of the local towns. The history of the region is fascinating. I do love traveling this way - slow and deep. Not having to rush. (I don’t enjoy mega-tours with bus-loads of people). I do enjoy our relatively small groups and getting to know the people I’m sharing this joy with!

Now that you know travel can be done - and done with care and precaution for our current times, I invite you to join me next year on one (or both) of my travel and paint destinations! I’ll be in France, June 2022, and return to Italy in September 2022. I’ll have website registration pages coming soon! Choose one or both and find your greatest delight in “keeping it light with watercolor” and seeing the world’s most wonderful places with me! I teach brand new beginners as well as those with many years of experience under their belts so that they can develop their skills and grow their confidence and joy in this endeavor!

Painting in the Tuscan countryside, rolling hills, winding roads, tall cyprus trees dot the landscapef