Holiday greetings from Paris
May has always been the working woman’s and man’s favorite month of the year in France. Workday wise it is like a Gruyère cheese, full of little holes that let the air in and make it even tastier. We have for example two Fridays that are public holidays, as well as one Thursday, which of course calls for a long weekend. This year there is even a more pronounced taste for holidays, as most employers have requested their employees to use all pending holidays before the end of the month. So, this second week of deconfinement finds our family in holiday mood ; my husband is on holiday for the whole week, whereas I work two half days. Schools, on the contrary, continue their distant teaching/learning and give the pupils only the public holiday Thursday off.
We are now allowed to travel within a 100 km perimeter (by bird’s flight), but as the hotels are still closed and we don’t have a car, there is really nowhere to go. Staycation is the hottest trend this year.
We are not ready to use public transportation yet, so we walk everywhere. It is like being on a real holiday in a foreign city, we slowly stroll on the streets, our daily distances varying from eager 12 kms to more tired 5 kms. Twice we venture on the automated metro line 14 to rest our feet, but it is very stressful, The weather is so beautiful, we are experiencing an early summer this year. Most of the people are very disciplined and follow social distancing guidelines, especially in the city center which has become a peaceful provincial town. It is the strangest of feelings to see hardly any traffic, except bicycles and scooters in Place de la Concorde. My beloved Jardin des Tuileries is still closed, I fondly think about its alleys and beautiful green chairs. Pyramide de Louvre is not accessible either, neither is the Jardins des Palais Royal. Rue de Rivoli is closed for cars and taken over by bicycles.
In our neighbourhood most bars are selling takeaway food, beer and wine. Lots of people gather for pavement apéros in the evening, so do we sometimes, but stay at the outer edges with social distancing, Little guilty pleasures. The near by Montmartre has become a living room for the locals who gather around the steps going up towards Sacré Coeur.
Highlight of the week is visiting my sister-in-law’s family in the western suburbs outside Paris. Our stressful ride in the half empty metro and RER is rewarded by a wonderful afternoon of seeing family and enjoying their garden and bbq.
All in all, the deconfinement is going well, with a slow but steady pace.
