744. Day 1 in Azores | COVID Travel

Hello from Azores! We have finally arrived at our home for the next month..after a whirlwind trip to Lisbon, Madrid and back (all within a 24 hour time frame). The COVID situation in mainland Europe is pretty bad at the moment and I can understand why. Unlike what I've experienced so far in Toronto (a drastic decrease in usual crowds and lots of social distancing precautions everywhere), in Europe it seems a bit more relaxed and there were still a lot of people at the airports. In the Toronto airport it was empty when we departed and most people I've encountered anywhere (on the streets and indoors) stay a safe distance away. Here in Europe, there is no distancing when lining up or walking and as you can see from these floor stickers from the airport bus, people are not required to stand at least 6 feet apart like we do in Toronto. At the airport people were walking super close to me too.

However, Azores is pretty strict which I will explain below.



Some travellers take it pretty seriously though (they are from China so I guess they are used to this)


To enter Azores, ALL travellers (even their own residents), must either:
- Have a negative COVID test taken in a foreign country signed by an official within the past 3 days. Then take another test here after 6 days.
- Or take a COVID test immediately upon arrival, and another one after 6 days if staying for long.
- Of course the third option is to leave and return to where you came from.

We took a test in Toronto before leaving but wasn't aware the results would be posted up 1 day after. So we ended up having our test results 4 days prior to arriving in Azores (which was just past the cutoff), so we had to take it today upon arrival.

We lined up almost an hour I think (same as in Toronto). I wasn't too nervous since I already did it once and didn't feel it was that bad. It was uncomfortable but I was able to handle it.

This time, it was wayyyy worse. It was super painful when they stuck the nasal swab up by nose. It went so deep I think it came out with some blood. & it was almost to the point where I wanted to push his hand away to stop going in further lol. In addition to that, they also stick one down your throat which was also super uncomfortable and makes you gag.

Unfortunately we have to take another test in 6 days since we will be here long. I guess it's a good thing they have these precautions in place though..so we can be a bit more relaxed and safe in public.


Finally arrived! This is the street we are staying at. The streets here kind of remind me of Cusco in Peru. They are pretty narrow with a small sidewalk on each side..lined with small houses and a lot of cobblestone.


Our first meal at this cute restaurant


We got octopus and smoked Azorean sausages. It was delicious! Can't wait to try more local dishes.



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741. Recent Life | Long Overdue Update!

Hi everyone! It has been a long time since I last posted..I've been extremely busy these days that I've literally had no time. Also there isn't much to update about I guess. The COVID19 situation is still more or less the same. Places in Toronto are still not fully open yet..but are starting to slowly now. I just hope there will not be a second wave bringing us back to square one again.

I have gotten so use to living in quarantine though that I don't really care about stores or restaurants re-opening lol. I mean I do want things to go back to the way they were before eventually, but I've been busy with work, my course and my new store (that I will reveal in my next post) that I haven't had time to think about that. Living in quarantine actually helped me to be more productive these months which I really needed. I do look forward to travelling again though.



The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. Unfortunately I've also had to cut down on my reading time these days. I've been slowly reading this book about the mass extinctions that happened on earth and the 6th one which is happening now caused by humans. It talks about how humans have altered life on the planet for other animals/plants causing more and more extinctions of different species. I'd really love to go back in time and see some animals that are now extinct..in particular the large ones. Apparently there used to be sloths the size of a house.


Some more of my books collection..mostly the finance/investment ones


An hour long wait at TD bank one day







My favourite building in Toronto. It's nice and peaceful to be here when it's empty


The Shoppers across the street from me boarded up all the windows last (?) weekend due to the protests. Luckily there were no riots and looting. But it's sad it had to get to that point. I can't believe the state of the world we're living in right now.

My building/hotel has a restaurant which is closed for now..but they've been offering weekly meals for us residents. This was from a few weeks ago. So good!



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740. Recent Quarantined Life | Empty Streets of Toronto

It's almost mid-May now and we are still quarantined. At least the weather is still pretty bad here/cold so people are not as tempted to go out. I wonder how much longer this is going to last. It has been nearly 2 months of lockdown here in Toronto. I think I've stayed home more days during this period than all the days in the past 11 years I've lived here. Before living in downtown, I lived in the suburbs at my family house. During summers off from school, I sometimes stayed indoors for weeks at a time without realizing it lol. Then when I moved downtown, I was so happy to be in the middle of everything that I would be out most of the day every day.

I don't mind it now though. I've gotten used to this lifestyle. I just miss being able to travel.

A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I went on a long walk around our area to take photos of the deserted streets. I tried out my new camera (my birthday gift from him). We are in the Financial District which is normally packed with people (on weekdays at least).
















Stairwell cardio & home yoga..unfortunately this hasn't been so consistent

Been cooking and baking a lot. These are Hong Kong style pineapple buns. They turned out pretty well for the first time. Then we tried Mexican conchas (below) which are similar but with a different top. They don't look how they should, but apparently they taste pretty authentic.





Takeout from Hy's for our 31st Monthsiversary dinner.

Woke up to see this at the window. I guess it is a dove. I know some wildlife have been creeping into the cities now that there's less human presence..I wonder if this is a result of that. Or maybe they've always been around downtown and I never noticed? I think I've only seen regular pigeons here though.


One of our quarantine foods


The empty PATH..I'm glad it's still open (I go in there for Longo's)

Themed reading: At Home by Bill Bryson. So far I'm about a third of the way through..really love it so far. It's really interesting and contains a lot of facts on everyday items you probably never thought about.


Got a Kitchenaid citrus juicer attachment for orange juice. It takes a lot of oranges to make a full cup. We've tried a few different kinds. My favourite are the Cara Cara oranges.

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