Do you live on the East Coast of the United States of America and are desperate to get away for a beach vacation? There is a gem of a country only a couple of hours from the East coast that is waiting to wow you! That gem is the British island territory of Bermuda, and it is easy to fly to only a couple of hours by plane from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Miami.

Most of us have lived under various levels of lockdown over the past year and because of this, the level at which we can participate in our various communities has been changed and so has how we participate (Zoom, anyone?). As an unemployed tour guide, I have had ample time to reflect on the different communities in my life and how they have evolved or simply morphed over the past year.

I am a tour guide and as you may guess, very affected in my job because of the damned virus. Colleagues worldwide are in the same boat. Many tour operators are disappearing, others are trying to re-invent themselves the way the can and others are just on standby until the vaccine is massively done, waiting for a “new normality” to take hold. A group of friends and colleagues from four continents have created an association called Guide Collective, ( www.guide-collective.com ), of which I am a proud founding member.

I am a generalist and work all over Italy and they are specialists in their regions or cities. I am also a bridge and strive to make connections between the well-recorded history and how it relates to us. Taking things from the past and relating them to our present and trying to not simply rattle off facts and numbers, but to create a cultural experience that will remain as a memory, long after the facts have faded into the background.

The fact that today social consciousness and consideration of the other are crucial to protect not only oneself but also the life of others, and my observation that many people seem to ignore this fact and its importance, lead me to the conclusion that many people all over the world have forgotten about some of the values, rights and obligations of living together in a society.

I have never made a sourdough starter, nor have I ever had an interest in doing so. While I love sourdough bread, everything I’d read in the past indicated that it is a long, laborious process with little promise of success. Why would I bother when my time is precious and I can buy fantastic sourdough from my local bakery?