December 22, 2021
Interview with Alexandra From ArtTrav
How Alexandra's travels and blog changed due to the pandemic
When it came to traveling during the pandemic, what was the hardest thing logistically? What was the hardest emotionally?
I didn't travel during the pandemic - I was in Italy, the first country to go into total lockdown. We weren't even allowed outside to walk around the block.
Did you get caught in a lockdown anywhere? If so, how did it go? What helped you get through it?
I was locked down at home in Florence, Italy. At the beginning, it was terrifying. Then, my husband and I found routines at home. Working from home, it was hard to create limits and stop working at the end of the day - it's taken me more than a year to figure that out. Certainly, having my husband and best friend with me all the time helped me get through this tough time. That and the fact that we don't have kids ;) !
Did you continue blogging and posting on social media during the pandemic? How did the situation affect your blog?
Unfortunately, the pandemic really zeroed my inspiration to write blog posts. Most of what i write is reviews of new art exhibits so there were none of those. I published perhaps 8 posts in 2020 and not much more in 2021. My traffic plunged since I had a lot of organic search traffic over the years.
With many borders closed, a lot of people traveled around their own countries. Is this something that you also did?
I am lucky to be based in Italy, so in the summers, when it was possible to travel a bit, I explored close to home.
What's the thing about traveling that hasn't come back yet that you miss the most?
Travel itself!
Do you have any grand adventures planned next?
Nope. It's hard to plan when you don't know when the next variant will hit, when it's not safe to be with other people, when borders may close again. I literally make no advance plans. Sometimes, if i find myself bored on a weekend, we'll go somewhere by car.
Being a traveler, you often deal with uncertain situations and new experiences. Do you think this prepared you to handle the pandemic better than most?
I don't think I ever could have prepared for the world to shut down overnight. It was something we had only ever seen in movies. However like everything we just had to learn and adapt to the situation.
