After a lengthy and very nice holiday vacation in the States, we have finally returned to Turin. It was not without its drama however, no thanks to the Corona virus.
Into the Unknown
Having made our plans to return months ago, we continually monitored the situation unfolding with the virus hoping to mitigate any surprises. Never under-estimate the best laid plans of mice and men. The day before we were to leave, it finally really hit us with an email from Delta informing us that our flight had been cancelled. We had three choices, rebook for an immediate opening to get us to Milan, delay our trip and rebook for sometime in May, or get a refund. We thought about our options for a while, a short while.
On the one hand, we could try, at least before its too late. If we get stuck somewhere we could hopefully make other plans to get to our destination. We already had a trip to Naples booked and coming up soon, we wanted to keep those plans, if at all possible. We also had to take into account our growing boredom sitting around Cary, while paying for an apartment in Turin.
On the other, there was the virus and all the complications entailed with it. We even considered it might be safer in the U.S., especially if there were a severe breakout and one of us were to get sick. Keeping all this in mind, we threw caution to the wind, bought a stock of travel wipes, rebooked through JFK and Paris to Milan, and headed into the unknown.
We were rebooked through AirFrance from JFK to Paris. Though the flight was packed, it was totally without incident, with the exception of the flight attendant ramming a cart into my knee halfway through the night. The only unfortunate thing was, the flight was the midnight red-eye which totally screws with my circadian rhythm. The good news was I never hear one cough or sneeze while I was awake, perhaps the really sick ones stayed home!?
Onto Milan
Going to Milan was totally different. This was the first indication, that the attention to the virus was having real affects, people are scared and are really staying home! The plane from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Milan was more or less empty.
Luckily once we arrived in Milan most train services were still operating. The schools are of course closed for a few weeks and there is some reduction in long haul routes, but for the most parts you can still book and travel to most places.
Milan Hotels and Streets Vacant
We arrived in Milan around 7 P.M. From the main train station, we had a quick walk over to the Just Hotel, our accomodations for the night, only to find that it was closed! They did however, have a sign informing us that the Glam Hotel across the street had taken all of their reservations. It was while we were reading this sign, that two unknowns tried to pickpocket us. However, since we were wearing long coats and had burglar-proof stuff on, they had a big problem. So, they sprayed our pants with a dark brown colored paint and said we had gotten something on ourselves, probably from a bird. 
They shot it in such a way so you could not clean it without taking off your coat, which is what they want you to do. Don’t fall for this one! It is, or course, only meant to distract you. There are of course no birds out at that hour, especially in a city. They were just trying to distract us. Well to make a short story even shorter, we quickly realized what was going on and quickly wandered our way across the street, avoiding all contact with them. They would of course not enter the hotel, confirming the ruse.
After a quick clean up we headed out across the street for a quick bite to eat. Milan is empty. When I say empty, I mean empty. There are very few people around and definitely NO TOURISTS.
Milano Centrale – Back To Turin
Our biggest surprise was the next morning at Milano Centrale, the always bustling train station with hordes of tourist, vacationers and commuters, as a heart pumps its blood to all its organs, totally anemic.
The trains still run, but there are frankly few on board, including ourselves. We left on the 10:30 A.M. Italo (originating from Naples) from Milan to Turin and we were the only ones in our carrage. Naturally, with all that’s going on, that can be a good thing.
We finally arrived in Turin around 11:30 to finds things, more or less, the same. Though the were plenty of children around due to school being suspended, people were still going about their work. It is good to be back.