April 14, 2020 Bon Voyage!

The Liberty Gazette

April 14, 2020

Ely Air Lines
By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: A couple of weeks ago, we found another way to appreciate the extra time we have at home. Not that we couldn’t write more, or drool over the pictures our avionics tech is sending of the new gadgets installed in the Elyminator, but we’re doing a lot of that already. Usually on weekends we were out and about. With that option out the window, down the drain, dead in the water, we turned to our trusty friends at WithLocals.com to comfort the nomad in us.

WithLocals is based in the Netherlands and contracts with people around the globe to offer tours, experiences, lessons, workshops, and more. We used them in Saigon and connected with Vi, who was our guide for a full day tour of the Mekong Delta. That experience was over-the-top amazing.

As this evil virus has spread, trying to bring the world to a standstill, we notice people everywhere pushing forward, pivoting, finding ways to live life within the restrictions we need to observe. The folks at WithLocals brainstormed with their independent contractors and came up with inventive options to offer the same level of one-on-one personal service online. We’re impressed, to put it mildly. We’re not letting our downtime go by watching the grass grow out our windows of isolation. Instead, we’re “going places!”

If your inner gypsy is feeling kidnapped and suffering too, check out the escape hatch in the secret spot on your web browser. Hint: the special code needed appears at the bottom of this column.

So far, we have:

Taken a drive through Berlin in a Mercedes, stopping whenever and wherever we wanted, with our private guide, Miha, a former veterinarian. I remember when the Berlin Wall came down. To see it now is incredibly moving, filled with messages of hope.

Had an amazing time learning how intricately ancient Roman poetry is woven into Roman history, live from Rome, given by Simone, an actor and published poet. Afterward, he wrote a personal poem just for us!

Learned about the birth of debate and democracy live from Athens with Vicky, a teacher working on her PhD. Afterward, she invited us to a different app where she posted a couple of happy debate topics we could have fun with.

Learned about Roman gastronomy and culture, and how today’s most popular foods in various regions came to be. This was a marvelous experience, given by Gabi in Rome. He’s getting us vegan version recipes.

I did “Stretch for the Wine,” which is a private yoga session with Christianne, followed by some really fun chat and wine sipping together, live from Paris. This was my first time ever to do yoga and she was quite patient and didn’t laugh at my clumsiness.

While Mike was out picking up our ordered groceries curbside, I “hung out” in Buenos Aires with Simona. She introduced her sweet family and taught me so much about the staples of life in Argentina. I can't spoil the surprise at the end, so I won't say what it is, but there is a unique and fun surprise. You must schedule this one to find out for yourself.

After Mike got back with groceries, we had a great time “visiting” Prague with our local guide, Erin, who had all kinds of cool spooky Prague ghost tales to share. That was a blast!

Then we met back up with Vicky in Athens for her other offering, about Gods, Myths, and Legends. Oh my, I think I like Bacchus and Poseidon the best.

About mid-week, Mike took a painting class with Sara in Florence, Italy. From the other room where I was working, I could hear her giving instructions, with her Italian accent adding an “a” at the end of almost every word—like the ending of “mama mia!” They painted with “white-a” and “red-a” and worked on brushstrokes and color blending.

We also experienced a super-cool session with Marzia, investigating some of the most interesting curiosities of Venice, direct from her apartment. The locals say Venice is a state of mind.

When Marzia was a child, she found out that even though she loved the natural history museum she went to every day, she loved the explorers the most. From her thirst for their stories, we learned so many things we didn't know about Venice—and Mike has even been there before. And so we paddled along the canal on a virtual gondola to discover Venetian novelties. We’ll share a couple of them, but you’ll have to connect with Marzia for the whole experience.

Did you know that the word “Gazette” originates with the Venetians? An early 17th-century Italian word, “gazzetta” meant “coin.” Since they did not have a word for their first newspaper, they referred to it by what it cost to buy one. The price of the first newspaper was one gazette.

The word “quarantine” also comes from Venice. In the mid-17th century, Europe was hit by the black plague. Ships coming into the port at Venice had to be isolated for a time, and all aboard had to stay there to be sure no one spread the plague further in the city. At first, they were kept on the ship for 30 days, but when that time was up, the period was increased another 10 days. “Quarantina” means forty days, from “quaranta,” meaning forty.

WithLocals offers a variety of family-friendly options, like cooking, music, dance, history, culture, and so much more. For us, signing up for these experiences serves two important goals. First, we are helping to support independent contractors who rely on tourism for a living. We get to meet people on the other side of the world, experience new things, learn stuff we didn't know. And isn't that a lot of the reason why we all love to travel? Second, we are not sitting at home doing nothing. We are traveling in the only way we can right now, and what a fantastic option it is.

If it sounds like something you'd like, you can see what they’re offering now (and they keep adding more) at https://www.withlocals.com/online-experiences/.

Bon virtual voyage!

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