Well, here we are again, 11 months later…
At the end of June last year, I posted a blog about restrictions on travel easing and places opening up again. With summer 2021 just around the corner, it’s that time of year once more when we are allowed to think about where we would like to go on holiday. (I really hope I’m not doing another post like this in 12 months…) This time around, of course, we have vaccines on the scene, so there is the prospect of this being a more permanent situation than was the case last year.
In any event (except a really catastrophic increase in Covid numbers), Italy, along with many other places, is reopening for business, and – even better – for fun:
And couldn’t you use a little dolce vita right now…?
Whilst the Italian government can’t promise you Anita Ekberg or Marcello Mastroianni, it has been issuing decrees and guidelines left, right and centre with a view to offering you at least the Trevi Fountain. On 16th May 2021, both Delta and American Airlines began operating flights into Italy again following the change in Italy’s travel restrictions on people coming from the USA.
On 17th May, the Italian government announced that they had brought forward some more measures (or, more correctly, got rid of the existing ones sooner) to allow indoor dining – which is what you come to sunny Bella Italia’s piazze for… – and extend by 1 hour the evening curfew, making dinner a more realistic proposition. Let’s face it, having to be done and back at your lodging by 10pm practically amounts to a fast-food experience here. And, as we all know, Italy (and specifically, Piemonte) is the birthplace of Slow Food. Well, now you can have that grappa or limoncello and enjoy a leisurely passeggiata after dinner before retiring for the night.
If a destination wedding is on your list, then there has also been news on that front – The Local Italy posted this article on 18th May about the changes affecting sweethearts the world over who are planning to get hitched in Italy this year. If you need someone to help you organise your dream wedding in Italy, then I can give no better a recommendation than Barbara Gourdain at Extraordinary Weddings Italy – she planned and executed my wedding, and it was a stonking occasion. If you need a destination for your destination wedding, then Monvigliero Vineyard Villas fits the bill, as these photos show…
The knives are out a bit early, but only for sabering the local fizz in celebration!
Monvigliero Vineyard Villas has 4 villas arranged around the pool…
And if it’s not big enough to accommodate all your guests, then you should bung some of them in the exquisite Villa Ribota nearby (or stay there yourself, and get some peace from all the family and friends bothering you – I mean wanting to be with you at this special time…).
You will have all this to yourselves if you leave your wedding guests elsewhere… Photo courtesy of Villa Ribota
It’s an ideal place to stay in any case, whether you’re planning a destination wedding in Italy, attending one here or simply want a great villa in Barolo, in a great location, with great hosts!
If you’re coming from the UK, then The Local Italy had this article about what has changed for you because of the other great purveyor of uncertainty over the last 12 months, Brexit.
And the answer to the question posed by the title…?
You should go, of course!
Italy is open again and Piemonte is waiting for you, so what are you waiting for…? Click on this link to get an idea of how I can help give you a little Dolce Vita!