{"id":5224,"date":"2021-09-03T19:08:10","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T17:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danamladin.com\/?p=5224"},"modified":"2025-08-14T19:37:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T17:37:52","slug":"londra-cu-masca-fara-masca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danamladin.com\/en\/2021\/09\/londra-cu-masca-fara-masca\/","title":{"rendered":"London with mask, without mask\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I haven’t been to London for 2 years!\u00a0It’s something for me, considering that I have an addiction to this place, where I have been 25 times!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\nlast time I got here, in November 2019, nothing predicted what would happen on\nthe planet and how the pandemic would change our travels\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically,\nfor a year and a half, I removed London from the list of “possible\ndestinations”, firstly because access was forbidden, then because they had\nsome horrible conditions, including quarantine for I don’t know how many days,\npaid out of your own pocket, tests over tests\u2026 And then the Delta wave also\ncame, which gave me chills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now,\nhowever, I have taken the courage! Being both recovered form COVID and\nvaccinated, on the one hand I felt safer, on the other hand, I assumed it was\neasier to enter the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah,\nright!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\ndid the test before leaving \u2013 luckily they started accepting antigen tests, as\nit cost me less than a PCR. Then I needed a reservation for a PCR test to\ndo in England on the 2nd day of arrival \u2013 this is because I am vaccinated and\nRomania is in the green zone for them, otherwise things would have been much\nmore complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And,\nman, I had to find a place to test myself in London. On the net, dozens of\nclinics threw their offers at me, starting with 20 pounds for the test. Only\nthe fun cost me\u2026 119 pounds!!! Almost as much as the plane ticket!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\nwithout this paid appointment from Romania, I could not have taken the next\nstep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nwas followed by the filling of a “locator form”, mandatory to get on\nthe plane. In this document you are also asked to present the PCR test\nreservation in England. Man, I wrote so much in this “locator form”,\nyou’d think I was taking an exam for college! The main chapter had about\n34 questions!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And,\nas there are discussions now about our new ID cards, let me show you what I\nfound in question 16:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Okay, no more “grid test”, I can now make my suitcase sure that I have everything in order, according to the requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The\nBucharest Airport <\/strong>is busier than ever! I haven’t seen it\nlike this since the good old days, before the pandemic. With check-in queues\nthat reach the entrance of the airport!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands\nof people go enthusiastically, on postponed vacations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nexpect not many people will fly to London, given the conditions, but what do\nyou know, the plane is full!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s\ntrue, I don’t see much of a holiday cheer on the faces of the others, but\nrather the worries of some Romanians who return, with their families, to the\nadoptive country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nseem the only crazy one excited that I’m going to see London again, but,\nespecially, that I’m going to musicals, which I missed a lot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\nthe way, the shows have just resumed. Some in June, others in July, and\nmany \u2013 already known to me or premieres \u2013 start only in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nwave of relaxation in the UK (July 19) has eliminated the limitation on the\nnumber of people in meetings, the world who worked from home is gradually\nreturning to work, nightclubs have reopened, social distance is no longer\nmandatory, theaters and cinemas return to the maximum capacity of spectators,\nand wearing a mask is only recommended <\/strong>in crowded public\nplaces, such as public transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It can be seen that it is only “recommended”, because in the subway I came across so many people without masks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n