Lockdown- Day 7

Today we complete a week of lockdown, the month of March,2020 and the 1st quarter of this year- all on the same day. There has been some news since yesterday that the lockdown will not be extended beyond the 3 weeks- will have to wait and watch, it is still early days. Today I busied myself with household chores and office work. I was on leave yesterday and today. Tomorrow will be back to the grind!

Lockdown- Day 6

I read a book late into the night yesterday and as a result woke up late today. I went to the ATM but could not get any cash. I enjoyed a slow paced relaxing afternoon.  Quite an uneventful day mostly. I stumbled upon John Krasinski's- Some Good News channel on YouTube and thoroughly enjoyed watching the 1st episode. In times like this, of fear and anxiety, it is great to have a channel dedicated to Good News. What made it all the more special was the fact that 2 people from my current favourite TV show were a part of it, reminiscing their favourite memories from the show. It was great! 

Lockdown- Day 5

This morning was busy with a lot of household chores but I was surprised how quickly I finished them. I had a nice morning time chatting with my cousins over a video call. It was nice to stay in touch with people who care about one another, and also take stock of situation across different continents and also cities in India. I guess I will speak to my uncle and aunt over a video call in sometime.

Lockdown- Day 4

It was a much better day today. This morning, I was able to purchase some groceries, fruits and vegetables online. The service was quite good. I then came to know that a near-by small super market was also open, so I went to buy supplies I could not find online. I was impressed to see the strict practices implemented at the supermarket-

- Social distancing was being practised. There were clear slots drawn out to indicate where people should wait in queue.
- In order to enter it, one had to put on a mask.
- They would not let anyone in without hands sanitized. One person from the supermarket, waited at the entrance and would place a drop of an alcohol based hand sanitizer on our hands.
- Only one person was allowed in at a time, when another person was billing.
- Only 10 mins of shopping allowed.

In the evening, I connected with my some of my relatives living in different parts of the country over a video call. It felt good to catch-up in such a time and to know that they were doing okay.

Lockdown- Day 3

Day 3- Excerpt from my journal

In these very testing times, we achieved a milestone at work and that cheered up a lot of people and created a much needed diversion from the grim, depressing times everyone is living everywhere. 

I was on leave today and wasted a lot of time. I spent a lot of time on online groceries but unfortunately most things were out of stock. Hope things will get better tomorrow. Also, I think I must stop watching the news all day- it does not help to watch it all day. It is funny how our brain works- lack of/insufficient information causes anxiety and so does too much of it. It is hard to strike a balance. 

Lockdown- Day 2

Day 2- Excerpt from my journal.

Today was a colleague's birthday and we teased him about a virtual party. He said he will host a post-apocalyptic party and all are invited. This was the darkest thing I have heard some one say in a long time. Hope COVID-19 passes soon.

I observed that time management is a state of mind. Sometimes we lie to ourselves saying we do not have the time when we have an affinity towards some other activity- like watching TV shows. Sometimes, we tell ourselves that we are tired and would like watching shows or spend time on our phones. Well, sometimes it is true and others it is not.

Lockdown- Day 1

The world today is battling a new kind of a war- a war with something that is not visible to the naked eye, a war which will change the course of lives for everyone forever, a war which we are not yet sure if we will survive.

One of my objectives of blogging is to chronicle some parts of my life so that if anyone stumbles upon this blogs years later, they can see what it was like. I plan on writing bite-sized posts until the lockdown due to COVID-19 is over in India. These are excerpts from my journal and I hope some people may be able to relate to it. In Bangalore, we had a partial lockdown much before the national lock down. It was a different experience compared to the national one which is much more stringent. In this blog, I plan on writing about the complete national lockdown. I plan on writing everyday. Since today is Day 4, I will write 1 blog per day from tomorrow and today, I will cover the 1st 4 days.

Day 1 excerpt from my journal:

It is Ugadi today- a festival that serves as a harbinger of hope and new dreams. However, it was quite grim. There was know festivity in the air due to the lockdown. I hope this passes soon and brings better times for all. I cleaned up my home, prepared the vermicelli sweet-dish and worked a bit in the afternoon- a productive day some might say!

Rome

I was not sure if it was appropriate anything about Italy at this very trying time. It feels surreal, unreal, very movie like. I pray and hope the very best for this beautiful nation which has contributed so much to the world. I would like to send some love and courage to the people of Italy- just know this will be over some day and I hope it is soon. I dedicate this post and a few that would follow to Italy and the wonderful and kind people that it inhabits.

I would like to make this log more pictorial than me writing. I will keep the writing to a minimum. I visited Italy last year in early October. I visited Rome, Florence, Pisa and Siena. I would blog about Rome, Florence and Pisa. I am not writing about the history and evolution of any of the place as all details are available on the internet and wikipedia.

Let's get started:

The Colosseum:
I was really happy to one of the 7 wonders of the world, intricate with architecture and an example of ahead of its time engineering and construction.

Constantine Arch:
In the same area as the Colosseum.

Palatine Hill:

Ruins of the ancient palace of Augustus was here. It is above the Roman Forum

The Colosseum from Palatine Hill

Roman Forum or the Ancient City of Rome:

Roman Forum from Palatine Hill

Roman Forum from Palatine Hill

Temple built in honour of the Empress Diva Faustina- Temple of Antonius Pius

The Wedding Cake- The Victor Emmanuel Monument

Trevi Fountain- It is whiter than it appears on these pictures.

Pantheon- Unfortunately on the day we visited, it was closed until 6pm for prayers. We waited in the queue beyond this time and it looked like it would take longer than expected so we could not go in to witness the magnificent dome and we just clicked the pictures from the outside.

This ends our short trip to Rome. I would like to provide some details on stay and weather etc:

- We stayed at a B&B in Tiburtina area very close to the railway/metro and bus stations. It did appear a little shady and felt a little unsafe outdoors at nights. So, please do a better research than we did to pick your place of stay.
- In early October, the temperature was around 25C, but it felt like 35C with the sun beating down harshly on you. So please carry a wide brimmed hat to protect yourself.
- Please ensure you book your visits to these places of interest well in advance, otherwise, you will not let be inside. Please also make sure you arrive for your visit on time as well- if you are late, it will be extremely difficult to manage to visit these sites.
- If you are a vegetarian, you should be able to find good vegetarian food in most places easily. People in many restaurants are also willing to customize their food to meet the needs of vegetarians.
- All these areas are at a walking distance but if you are not a fan of walking, you might find the walks very long.
- Most places in Rome are quite crowded with tourists. Our friends in Italy had warned us about possible pick-pocket. So, that's something to watch-out for.
- You can get a Roma pass to move around the town easily. It also covers a bit of sightseeing.