Last Friday found all three of the Parzen brothers in Plattsburgh, New York, about an hour south of Montreal, for a long weekend family reunion. That’s Micah (left) and Tad in the photo above, snapped on the ferry that crosses Lake Champlain and delivers its passengers to Vermont.
Our father Zane, 88 years old, has lived there for many years now. It’s not the easiest place in the world to get to but it is beautiful.
I leave for Italy from the east coast tonight from New York City. I’ll be teaching at the Slow Food University of Gastronomic Sciences this week and next.
Because Italy now requires U.S. travelers to show both a CDC proof of vaccination card and a negative covid test, I had to schedule a swab while I was on the ground in upstate New York. And getting a rapid antigen test was essential because wait times for the molecular test these days can be long.
It was my understanding that you had to schedule a test no sooner than 72 hours before your flight. But when I began uploading my documents to my airline’s “travel-ready center,” I realized that you actually need to take the test 72 hours before your scheduled arrival (not the schedule departure).
Luckily for me, I was able to find an antigen test at an independent pharmacy and everything aligned.
But it’s something to keep in mind when you’re prepping for travel to Italy or other destinations in Europe.
Do Bianchi 
Yes you are correct in the timing of the test. My son flew to Italy to visit his father and we were quite anxious that his results would not come back, within the correct time frame. Also, he was flying into France, which has stricter rules than Italy.