My Life in Paris and Travels Around France
What it’s like in Paris right now…is complicated. It’s Paris but it’s not. It’s incredibly beautiful and quiet but almost sad. There are a lot of people wearing masks and maybe even more people not. And because it’s August, it feels especially empty with many Parisians on vacation.
Like the first week, week two of our COVID-19 confinement in Normandy flew by. Or at least looking back it feels like it did. I think the expression “the days are long but the weeks are short” will probably apply to our time here. Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a movie, but luckily it’s a comedy.
While I initially thought the decision to leave Paris was difficult, over the past week it’s become abundantly clear that we made the right choice. As we move from a strict confinement in week one to likely a total confinement in week two, I’m beyond grateful to have the ability to go outside in the sun, catch glimpses of the stunning Normandy beaches, take walks through the garden, and share my Sunday Mexican food tradition with Romain’s family.
On Saturday evening the government announced further measures to hopefully slow the spread of COVID-19 in France. The only places open in France right now are essential stores. This list includes grocery stores, boulangeries (the French need their bread), TABAC’s (which sell another French essential, cigarettes) and pharmacies. Restaurants and cafés were forced to close. This marked the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown in Paris.
Last night I went to bed knowing that there was a possibility that a ban on travel from Europe to the US could be implemented while I was sleeping. When my phone rang after 2AM I knew that President Trump announced the restrictions. While I can’t say I expected the travel ban to go into effect so quickly, I believe it’s the right call.
