Pasquetta Monday

Monday, 13 April, 2020

Day XXXVI of the Great Italian Lockdown was equal parts waiting for news of my next Escape Plan and enjoying a small slice of the Italian Pasquetta traditions.

In Italy, Easter Sunday is known as Pasqua, a day of obvious religious significance and also a day to be with family if your are not under a National Lockdown.

Pasqua 2020 in Italy featured no church services and limited family gatherings.

Pasquetta in Italy is the Monday after Easter and a National Holiday. It is a time for large gatherings and BBQs with family and, most definitely, friends.

We have experienced some tremendous Pasquetta gatherings over the years in terms of both crowd size and crazy amounts of delicious foods.

But not this year.

I would LOVE to board the airplanes

on my journey home in one of these

vintage medieval Black Plaque masks

I should have purchased one last year when I was in Venice for the Carnevale.

If I'd only known . . .

Isn't this the ABSOLUTE truth?

At mid-day, I got another call from the Nardi family next door, we were having a scaled down Pasquetta complete with face-to-face human interaction.

I was ALL IN!

We would have more of these Apollo 11

concoctions that we had yesterday

GAME ON!

Santa Barbara was in the House!

Federica was cooking

Raffaele was Mangiando

An Apollo 11

ready to BLAST OFF!

We had a small meal that was highlighted by Federica's eggplant with a rich tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese topping.

Throw in some chicken and a lot of camaraderie and we had an intimate and wonderful Pasquetta mini-celebration.

GRAZIE Santa Barbara,

Federica and Raffaele for the last

two great days in the backyard!

After our Pasquetta feast,

I had a Zoom meeting to attend

Back home in Camarillo, Dick Bellman spearheads a monthly breakfast meeting of retired Rio Mesa H.S. teachers on the second Monday of each month at the local Eggs N Things restaurant.

Well, today was the second Monday of April and a meeting was due even if Egg N Things is not open and at least a few of us are out of town.

This Zoom meeting lasted for about 90 minutes and was great fun for all of us I think.

GRAZIE DICK!

As for my highly anticipated journey home, I got word late in the afternoon that I was booked on a flight from Milan to Rome tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

Once in Rome at 8:40 p.m., I will spend the night in an airport hotel.

On Wednesday, I hope to fly to London at 9:30 a.m. where I will have a four hour and five minute layover.

If all goes according to plan, my last leg of the day's itinerary has me flying out of London at 1:30 p.m. and arriving in Los Angeles at 4:50 p.m.

The travel agent that our team uses told me to wait for her call tomorrow morning when she can confirm with the airlines that these flights are not cancelled.

Keep your fingers crossed for me . . .

Finally, a group of Italian mayors, regional dignitaries and national officials met to discuss the potential, gradual easing on the Lockdown if all of the Coronavirus data continues on its current downward trend.

All of the listings below from May, 2020 to March, 2021 are hypothetical, not set in stone by any means, but it at least gives the Italian citizenry an idea of what the future might hold in store.

The two April dates are not hypothetical, they will happen.

April 14 - Book stores and Stationery stores open

April 19 - Agricultural and Industrial companies open

May 4 - Free movement around cities but with Masks and Social Distancing still intact

May 4 - Textile, Furniture and Clothing stores open with staggered entrances, long lines and reservations but no opening of shopping malls

May 11 - Courts and Professional offices open

May 18 - Bars and Restaurants open but with strict Social Distancing protocols

May 25 - Hairdressers and Barbershops open but Masks must be worn by all and only one customer in the shop at a time

May 31 - Re-start the Soccer season and other team sports

June 8 - Sports centers open for only individual sports and lessons with small groups

September - High Schools open with students attending in shifts and using online lessons

December - Cinemas and Theaters open

March, 2021 - Discos and Stadiums open

March 31, 2021 - Re-opening of Borders and the end of all restrictions, return to normal life as before the Coronavirus outbreak

Only time will tell . . .