Gorgeous day and due to get into the late 20s today. I’m in my usual spot near the Secret Garden but trying out another bench in front of a nice bit of topiary.
Later today I’m going to have a chat to Cammy about the feasibility of going to Italy at the end of July. I’m missing Capena and need to check on my house before it’s occupied by a German family who will be my first holiday home guests not to cancel since the pandemic struck.
My plan is to drive, stopping over for 3 nights en route in campsites, which I figure are safer than hotels. I’ve checked through my camping gear and updated it a bit, because I think it’ll be handy in other circumstances too.
There’s a possibility Cammy might drive down too, in a separate car, with her friend Elly and we’d meet up in campsites every night. I’ve done the route tons of times driving solo, but never in a pandemic!
Jack might join me in Rome from Seville for the first two weeks of August provided the quarantine rule has been lifted. Otherwise he’ll have to hole up in the UK for that fortnight before a wedding due to take place mid-August. Nothing can be planned until we know what the rules for quarantine, stag nights and weddings will be.
Jack and I were due to go to a Masseria run by a Swedish couple Puglia who’ve become firm friends and this could still go ahead. All we have to do is switch his cancelled RyanAir flights to new dates.
I’m hoping against hope that I can go anyway. The idea of swimming in a pool and the sea surrounded by olive groves seems a wonderful dream, but it’s now a possibility in Italy and Spain.
Le shuttle is open now and I’m sure I can drive safely through France and Switzerland into Italy by staying on campsites. I will have to sign a health declaration when I enter France but Le Shuttle website says I don’t have to quarantine in France if I’m driving straight through.
My next step is to find out if I can book on campsites in France and Italy and if I will be welcome in Capena. After all, I will be coming from the Sick Man of Europe…
2022 and all that 