You have not heard from me for a while, but I wanted to write and let you know all is well with me, my family, and Exploring Europe. The last five months have been challenging for me personally and for Exploring Europe. All was going well until March 10, 2020. That was the day COVID-19 became a reality, in more ways than one. My wife and I, and several other family members, came down with the COVID-19 virus in early March (I blogged about it here). Fortunately, none of us had a severe case, although it did take a few weeks to get back to feeling normal.
As for Exploring Europe, we have canceled all our tours at least through November 2020. Early on, we had hoped this pandemic would be short-lived, and travel would get back to normal by the summer. After hundreds of cancellations, I now realize that “normal” is not going to be possible for some time. So, we hope and prepare for a new normal in 2021.
A David McGuffin tour is a unique, interactive, and personal travel experience. One of the aspects that sets our tours apart is the opportunity to meet, interact, and become friends with locals living and working in our destinations. Our trips would not be the same if we were placed under rigid travel and social distancing rules. On our tours, we love to spend time relaxing with our traveling guests, visiting with local friends over a glass of wine, exploring a shop, sampling olive oil, or just taking a stroll through town. Attempting these things from behind a mask or at six-feet intervals would invariably take some spontaneity and adventure away from the total travel experience. We have spent the last twenty years honing our travel and tour style to come up with, what we think, the perfect combination of cultural immersion, history and art lessons, engaging experiences, and unstructured free time. We will not depart on any tour until these types of experiences are again possible, reasonable, and safe for the foreseeable future.
Since we cannot travel to Europe right now, I hope to bring a bit of Europe to you in the coming weeks. During this pandemic, I’m writing several books, adding content to my website, and trying to keep on task with the business of Exploring Europe. I yearn for the day when I can hop on a plane and fly to Europe, but, for now, I’ll have to settle for my memories. So, as much for me, as for you, I am going to begin posting a blog series I’m calling David’s Weekly Wanders in Europe.
David’s Weekly Wanders in Europe will feature videos, articles, book excerpts, virtual tours, and live online events. David McGuffin Explores Rome! is the first of several episodes chronicling the experiences and adventures on David’s Best of Italy Tour route. Along with his producer, Abby, and their travel companions, David visits the significant sites in Italy’s capital city. I hope you’ll consider joining in by participating, making comments, and dreaming of your return to travel.
All the best,
Watch David McGuffin Explores Rome! Don’t forget to scroll down after the video and read about my adventure in Trastevere. I even included a sketch from my journal.
Since we cannot travel to Europe right now, I am bringing a bit of Europe to you. I yearn for the day when I can hop on a plane and fly to Europe, but, for now, I’ll have to settle for my memories. So, as much for me, as for you, I’ll share David’s Weekly Wanders in Europe.
This week, David’s Weekly Wanders in Europe features a video, David McGuffin Explores Rome! It is the first of several episodes chronicling the experiences and adventures on David’s Best of Italy Tour route. Along with his producer, Abby, and their travel companions, David visits the essential tourist sites in Rome, plus a few off-the-beaten-path destinations..
Recently, I blogged about “pizza done right” and realized I did not have many photos of a pie. Thanks to a few recent tour members, I’ll share some here.
Phil Waltrip
Marsha Cook
Phil Waltrip
Mercato Centrale Roma
Phil and Genny Waltrip traveled on our Best of Italy tour in September 2019. They win the all-time prize for the most food pictures ever!
The Coronavirus lockdown has disrupted the “normal” routine all over the world. Here at home, in Middleburg, Florida, Charlotte and I are spending much of our time keeping to ourselves, working on previously ignored projects around the house, and occasionally running to the store to pick up food or hardware items. Needless to say, I am getting stir-crazy and itching to get back to travel (#BackToTravel)! But, until we can do that safely, cooking is a good substitute for me.
Pizza Done Wrong
Recently, we had worked outside in our yard, all day long. When supper-time rolled around, neither of us felt like cooking, there were no left-overs in the fridge, and restaurants are closed during the pandemic. So, I decided to run up to Papa Murphy’s and get a “bring-home-and-cook-it-yourself” pizza. (I’ve eaten pizza all around the world and have decided Papa Murphy’s Pizza produces the best takeaway alternative to a homemade pie. I like cooking it myself and eating it hot! By the way, I keep it simple too, thin-crust, mushrooms, pepperoni, onions, and bell peppers). It was only 6:30 in the evening, but unfortunately, the store was already closed due to shortened hours! So, I went to the local Pizza Hut, walked in, ordered a pizza, and waited for it in my car. It was semi-warm when I got it home, but we were starving by this time, so we opened the box and dug in.
It was not very good. The crust was overcooked and hard, the red sauce was tart and astringent, and the veggies were not fresh. The pepperoni was the best ingredient. But we ate it!
Next Time, I Made My Own
A few days later, I decided to stock up on the ingredients to make fresh homemade pizza. But, when I got to the grocery store, they had no flour on the shelves. It seems, like toilet paper, flour is a hot-selling item during this pandemic! So, I walked over to the deli counter and purchased a hunk of made-fresh daily pizza dough. I’m not sure if Publix Super Market mixes this up every morning in their deli, or if it arrives frozen and they thaw it out, but regardless, it is pretty good. I also stocked up on my fav four ingredients of pepperoni, bell peppers, sweet onions, and mushrooms. Here’s how it turned out… almost like Italy!
Italian Pizza Done Right
When in Rome, we often begin our Exploring Europe tours with a Day 1 get-together at Mercato Centrale Roma for a pizza lunch before heading out for sightseeing. This is the perfect way to get acquainted with one another and with authentic Italian food. Not only does it house a great pizzeria, but there are also 17 other food stalls selling almost anything to eat or drink that comes to mind when thinking of authentic Italian cuisine. Check out this artisanal pizza from pizzaiolo Gabriele Bonci. Photo thanks to Italy Magazine and their article on Mercato Centrale Roma.
We have searched thousands of photos in our archives for a picture of our groups eating pizza at Mercato Centrale in Rome or Florence. I guess the pizza is too good to document, but we did not find a single photo in our files. So, if you have any photos of pizza at Mercato Centrale or in Italy or your favorite pizzeria at home, send them in and we’ll post ’em!
There are hundreds of pizzerie (that’s plural for pizzeria) all over Rome. Some are better than others, but none of them are bad. If they were, they would be out of business real quick! I like to visit those that are small places with a real wood-fired pizza oven, a pizzaiolo (the man who wears white clothes and makes a pizza), and is located outside of the tourist areas.
Rome- Quattro Fontane
Rome- Testaccio neighborhood
Claudia’s Homemade Pizza
My friends the Del Duca’s live just outside the ancient Etruscan town of Volterra, in Tuscany. I visit with them six or eight times a year, either at their home and agriturismo known as Podere Marcampo or their Ristorante Enoteca Del Duca. Twice a year, we rent out their agriturismo rooms and host 12-15 people on our “Villa Vacation” tour. This is a delight because we get to unpack our stuff for seven consecutive nights and experience what life might be like for a local in Volterra. Each day we go on short excursions to Lucca, Siena, Volterra, San Gimignano, and the Chianti region for sightseeing, wine tasting, and fun. When we return to Podere Marcampo, there is time for relaxing, swimming, sunbathing, hiking, and of course, eating and drinking!
PODERE MARCAMPO
One evening, a few years back, Claudia offered to make pizza for our group and to share her recipe. Here it is.
INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE
1.3 lbs all purpose flour
1/2 oz. beer yeast
14 oz. warm water
Half a glass of extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. spoon of sugar
1 tsp. of salt
tomato puree
oregano
Dissolve the yeast in warm water. In a bowl, mix the flour with salt, sugar and extra virgin olive oil. Add the water and knead until you get a soft uniform dough. Cover the bowl with a cloth and let the dough rise for 2 hours.
Thereafter, extend the dough with a rolling pin and adjust it in one or more flat oven pans lined with parchment paper. Cover again, and let sit for an hour.
In the meantime make the tomato sauce. Puree fresh tomatoes or purchase quality canned tomato puree. (David’s note – I always use the CENTO brand for whole canned tomatoes and puree. They have no citric acid which is often added as a preservative). Mix in salt, pepper, oregano, and extra-virgin olive oil. Let it rest for at least one hour in the fridge.
Pre-heat the oven to 500°F.
Uncover the dough, place a thin layer of tomato sauce on the dough. Add other ingredients from the list below. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
Mozzarella, sliced potatoes, bacon, rosemary
Mozzarella, spinach (pre-cooked with garlic), and sausage
Tomato, mozzarella, ham, mushrooms, olives
Tomato, mozzarella, sliced veggies, marjoram
Slice and enjoy your homemade pizza!
Claudia is at the far end of the table. There is a bit of her pizza remaining in the photo on the right. These photos were taken at our Villa Vacation Tour in July 2015.
Feel free to leave comments below. Share your favorite photos of pizza and tell us all about your dining experience on one of my social media platforms noted below.
Charlotte was sick with a fever, chills, and a cough over the weekend. I was 4-5 days into my symptoms. In retrospect, Charlotte was probably two days into the Coronavirus by Friday. It is funny how you remember small, seemingly insignificant details, with the advantage of hindsight. Charlotte recalls she had an eye infection earlier in the week, and now we hear that is a symptom of COVID-19, too. We both stayed home and away from people over the weekend. When Monday rolled around, Charlotte called our family doctor and reported she suspected she had COVID-19.
The doctor wrote orders for her to go to a newly set up, drive through testing site at a local hospital. She hopped in the car and drove there only to find no testing site and no one who knew anything about it either. The next day, we gave it another try. This place is an hour from our home, but with nothing to do, it was a welcomed distraction just to get out, even if it was only in our car! No signs were indicating where the drive-thru clinic was located, but with a little luck, we found it behind the hospital in the industrial area. The only indication was a sizeable mobile sign, the kind you see on the roads, flashing traffic information such as “detour.” Only this sign said, “Event Parking,” ha!
The entrance driveway was lined with orange traffic cones. Several hospital employees were standing along the way with hand made signs saying, “Don’t roll down your windows,” and “Pull forward to the tent.” Once at the tent, we were met by an attendant, holding another hand made sign which said they would need names and information to match the patient to the doctor’s orders. This was a swift process, and we were on our way in a couple of minutes. Moving up about 200 yards down a cone-lined drive brought us to a rear entrance of a medical building with a covered drive-through portico.
The medical staff was divided into two sections, the first to collect your personal information and match it with the doctor’s orders. The second station was where the test was administered. These people were decked out in full PPE (funny how we did not know that term until a few weeks ago). A lab tech asked Charlotte to roll her window down, and with just a few motions, stuck the swab up Charlotte’s nose, retrieved it, and placed it in a bio-hazard bag, sealed it, and said, “that was it.” We were in and out of the whole process in fifteen minutes!
Just as we pulled out to leave the hospital parking, Charlotte took a call from her doctor, who was concerned Charlotte may have COVID-19. Given that she recently had open-heart surgery, the doctor wanted her to go to the ER to have a chest x-ray. So, we pulled into the ER, and I let her out at the entrance door. I was not allowed inside, so I parked and waited a couple of hours for Charlotte to finish her visit. The good news is the x-ray showed her lungs to be clear, so all was well. We drove back home and, like many of you, spent the next days at our home. That was St. Paddy’s Day, March 17.
The Test Results
Four days later, on March 21, Charlotte received a call from the testing center confirming she had COVID-19. That call was followed up by a conversation with the local Department of Health. Charlotte had to provide information about who she was in contact with and where she had traveled. By this time, I was 12 days beyond my initial symptoms and Charlotte was 8-days out.
We passed it on to our family!
Earlier in the week, our son reported he was sick with Coronavirus symptoms. Then a day later, his wife and my daughter developed similar symptoms as well. So, within 10 days of my having the initial symptoms, at least five other family members exhibited the Coronavirus symptoms. There are four grandchildren to consider as well. They range in ages from 4-7 years. We suspect, at least two of them contracted the virus, but who knows for sure.
Our Symptoms
All five of us exhibited similar and varied symptoms. I experienced a dry cough, fever, and chills for about 12 hours. In retrospect, I suffered a loss of smell, loss of appetite, and feeling of lethargy that lingered for 7-10 days. Charlotte recalls she had an eye infection after returning from DC on March 9. When she got sick on the 13th, she had fever and chills overnight and into the next day. Additionally, she experienced periods of extreme sweats, loss of appetite and smell, severe head congestion, headaches, a runny nose, and a sense of being tired much of the time. My daughter and daughter-in-law were sick with fever and chills, coughs, and loss of appetite. My son had the worst case. He became ill on March 16 and exhibited symptoms for ten days. He was tested on March 25 and pronounced COVID-19 positive on March 30. His symptoms were much like what has been described above, in addition to extreme tiredness, sweats, and chills that went on for a week.
COVID-19 Negative?
During the first two weeks of April, we all noticed drastic improvements and our health getting back to normal. Charlotte was re-tested on April 10 and confirmed negative the same day. My son, had another test today and was confirmed negative. As for me, I am sure I had the Coronavirus but was not showing symptoms when the drive-through testing became available in our area. So, I was not eligible to have the test. Our hope is that all of us can give plasma once the “antibodies” test arrives in our area.
Conclusions
I am not a doctor or medical professional so my conclusions here are based on anecdotal information from my family and my personal experiences.
The Coronavirus is very contagious.
I am convinced a lot more of us have/had it than is reported.
I imagine many people are infected but asymptomatic.
We are fortunate all our cases were relatively mild and that we’ve had a full recovery.
Most people in my neck of the woods are not doing a very good job of social distancing. It is crowded in our local supermarkets, whole families are wandering around in wads with little concern for the required 6-foot distancing.
All things COVID-19-related have rolled out slowly. The drive-through tests, PPP loans, antibody tests, and plasma donations have all been delayed by days and caused us multiple trips to accomplish anything.
I pray for the day when this is all behind us and we can get back to life as normal. But, I think when it does happen, there will be a new normal. Maybe we won’t shake hands and give hugs, just a hello will do. When it comes to travel, I have a sinking feeling it will come back slowly. Maybe I will not even go to Europe this year! There is no way to predict anything because this is new for all of us. One thing I do know, this pandemic and its repercussions have not caught God off guard! He is in control of the situation and I pray that I can give up and let Him do the leading. All the best to you! Stay safe and stay home!
EPILOGUE
It was the first week of May 2020, when I got word I could have an antibodies test. By this time, testing had been ramped up in North Florida and there was not a shortage of COVID-19 test kits or Antibodies test kits. I went to a nearby Quest Diagnostics facility, had my blood drawn, and within two days had my results. I tested positive for the COVID-19 antibodies, meaning I had had the Coronavirus, had recovered, and now my body had generated antibodies to fight off another attack.
A few days later, the health department and our local blood bank called to ask if I would donate plasma. My son and daughter-in-law had donated their plasma a few weeks before and it was no big deal, so I was happy to donate as well. Unfortunately, I was not able to donate due to the blood-thinning medication I take.
Watch David McGuffin Explores Rome! Don’t forget to scroll down after the video and read about my adventure in Trastevere. I even included a sketch from my journal.
