Tour de Force = A Trip to Paris during the Pandemic

It is with great sadness that I press “send” on my last post. I still have so much to share but will save the “big bites” for when we come together in person. Until that time comes, I want to do a quick share of what life was like inside the oh-so-small-window of opportunity we had to travel throughout Europe during the pandemic.

I took a risk in September of 2020 and booked Lily into French Language school with the hope that the pandemic would be over by July when classes started and that things would be back to normal in 10 months time. Yes, it was a risk. I paid the deposit for the school and booked two tickets on Air France. I then wrapped up the printed confirmations from the school and airlines into a pretty package and presented them as a gift to Lily for Christmas. July seemed like such a long way off and our hearts were filled with hope over the Christmas holiday.

Well, anyone reading this now knows of the roller coaster we rode on. The vaccines came out in the US and we rushed to get in line. Masks stayed on, but restaurants, hotels and bars started to open as I peeled open French guide books and opened the AirBnb website to start planning and dreaming the details of this travel fantasy. But then France jumped on the struggle bus and had problems with the vaccines. French AirBnb hosts would not take my reservations because they did not believe anyone from the US could enter France in July. Then the big scare came when Air France canceled my tickets to France ENTIRELY. They were kind enough to refund my money but they told me those flights from SFO to CDG, Paris were no longer running. But I still held out hope.

As we inched closer to our departure date I opened the CDC website daily to get updates on France’s vax rates and everything was trending in the right direction. John was able to get a week off of work and found a flight from SFO to Lisbon, Portugal ROUNDTRIP for only $300!! He could join us! He found a flight from Lisbon to Bilbao, Spain for $30 and a plan was born. I rebooked our flights at a higher cost but a direct flight from SFO to CDG – roughly over $1200 per person but I was grateful new routes were appearing to France on the Air France website.

We packed our carry-ons, grabbed our vax cards and passports, masked up and headed to the airport.

“POSITIVES” AROUND TRAVEL DURING THE PANDEMIC

Okay, let’s start with the bright side! Take a look below at pictures of us in the Palace of Versailles and the Louvre and tell me what you see as a common theme. Keep in mind as you look at these pictures that both these two destinations received 10 million visitors per year – that translates to roughly 25,000 people per day.

No tricks were pulled here. I did not photoshop people out of these images. There was truly no one at these locations. The Palace of Versailles was so empty in fact that Laura and I spent 40 mins in the gardens by ourselves. NOT A SOUL around (except the gardener) and then the 3 of us had the Hall of Mirrors and the entire 3rd floor of the palace to ourselves. We had fun sliding into the green dress you see here to live out our princess fantasies. (this dress is made of silk and folds down into a ziplock bag that I carried in my purse. What you can’t see is that we have masks, tennis shoes and dresses on under the dress. ha!)

“NEGATIVES” TO TRAVEL DURING THE PANDEMIC

First off, no nightlife anywhere. No shows, no bars, no clubs were open. Museums and galleries I had hoped to see were closed: Musee D’Orsay, The Rhodin Museum to name two. Thankfully Paris has a robust outdoor dining culture so even though we had to wear masks to and from dinner, once we were seated outside, we could take the mask off to eat or sip drinks. (I put my mask on every time the masked waiter/waitress approaches the table). I think the pandemic is the real reason the Moulin Rouge had no availability – I think the fact is that they’re simply not open during the pandemic, nor should they be.

I don’t want to turn this into a complaint post but the other challenges – quickly – were flying for 11 hours and 50 mins with a mask on. Add to that 12 hour travel time, the 3 hours we wore masks in the airport because it was an international flight and you need to arrive 3 hours early and the back-end 2 hours of standing in line at customs and immigration. Roughly 17 hours of solid masking. There are very few TSA folks on staff so lines are looooooong at airports. As we were at the CDG airport, an airline employee at Air France told me they had just been given notice that mass layoffs would start Sept 1.

Other challenges were that we needed our VAX cards with us everywhere. There was a day that we had set aside to go on the “Giant Wheel” and could not do so because I had the vax cards in my other bag. doh!

TRANSPORTATION IN A PANDEMIC WORLD

For the most part – our mode of transportation throughout Spain and France were our feet! We masked up and walked EVERYWHERE!

Aside from walking, we had all kinds of options at our disposal for transportation. On the days that I was driving with John we had a rental car that was solid (I got to drive a stickshift again!). Renting a car is easy and affordable. I HIGHLY recommend getting out into the surrounding countryside and even surrounding countries. As I mentioned in an earlier post – switching from one country to another via car is as simply as putting your foot on the gas pedal. John and I got stopped one time on our way back into France and the official asked to see our VAX cards and that was it. Didn’t even ask for passports.

We also took the subway while in Paris. It’s so simple and affordable! 1.90 euros gets you a pass for the day. The subway is clean and we always felt safe.

In Biarritz, Vespas are the most popular form of transportation. Coming in a hot second are e-bikes to rent. Biarritz is filled with hills and an e-bike is the best way to explore the terrain if you don’t feel like “hoofing” it.

And my new favorite mode of transport? Electric scooters for the win!

I will admit that I was slow to get started on the scooter and might have hurled some swear words into the universe as I shakily pulled out onto the wide bike paths on the Parisian streets, but on the last day, the “Highlight Reel” day when Lily, Laura and I could choose anything we wanted to do and we all went our separate ways – guess who chose to scooter all over Paris!? Yes, me! You can teach this ole gal some new tricks! Paris has massive bike paths EVERYWHERE and scooters are allowed on those paths. It could not be easier and safer. I went all in.

And speaking of last day highlight reels. My dear, sweet, Lily, (16 years old) given the chance to do anything she wants in Paris on her last day, says “Take me to Shakespeare and Co” I just want to read all day.” YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!

“Shakespeare and Company” is definitely a must-visit spot in Paris. On Lily’s last day she curled up in the room with the piano (see pics above) and read for 3 hours. The store cat curled up next to her, piano music was played intermittently, and when she was done reading, she simply rolled out the front door to join Laura for a beverage at one of three brasseries that flanked the store while they waited on me to finish “scooting” around town. Lily says she wants to return to Paris and work there. Look at the reference to City Lights Bookstore! (City Lights Bookstore is one of Lily’s favorite spots in San Francisco and has been since she was a child and used to love going deep into the basement where the children’s section was housed.)

EATING IN FRANCE

Just a quick post to remind everyone that eating in France can be affordable and that Spain is sooooooooo affordable! I thought we were going to break the bank on our food budget because, well, eating out three meals per day for 3 weeks can add up. The way around this is first off – stock your AirBnb fridge! We had some lovely nights tucked into our Parisian garret and enjoyed a buffet of Parisian “vittles” we bought at the local Carrefore (think Whole Foods but in France). Fresh produce abounds here and tastes and looks amazing. Vegan food is available pretty much in every city we visited in France and Spain also!

Pain (Bread) is available for only one euro. The morning routine for most Parisians is to awaken and visit the boulangerie for a warm baguette or two and then head back home to start the day. It is quite normal to see folks walking up and down the sidewalks with baguettes in hand.

But on those days where you want to splurge… you do it! John and I held nothing back on our culinary tour of France and Spain. Laura and Lily indulged in a crepe every day without fail. They also loved sampling the cheesecakes and croissants.

And let’s not forget the night Laura indulged in Steak Tartare!

Lily made it a point to find a boulangerie each day that served up her favorite ham and cheese baguette. I indulged in veggie baguettes or tuna. Cost for lunch – 2 euros max.

And then there was the day we went to Plaza Athenee for high tea…

I had to stop at the price tag but we had the same exact experience as the other guests in this 4-star luxury hotel. We simply ordered a tea, a water and an espresso. The muffins came complimentary and we had some treats in our bags that we nibbled on discretely as we marveled at the other folks paying $200 per person to enjoy a pastry cart selection of goodies. It was great fun hob-nobbing at “The Plaza” and now Lily knows where to go next time she comes to Paris with someone willing to pay that price tag for a pastry.

And now it time for me to close out this amazing three-week long adventure and bid you adieu. France was just put on the list of CDC’s high-threat destinations as of last night. I find it important to mention that there is a great deal of anger and resistance to the vaccinations in France.

There were small anti-vax rallies daily and as you can see, large rallies occurred while we were there also. I kept abreast of the action via twitter and stayed on top of the changes occurring daily.

I feel so very blessed that John was able to join us and was there when Lily “graduated” from school. They had a blast together and he was able to see the beaches in Biarritz where she surfed.

We are so grateful for the new worldwide friend group Lily developed while in school. She now converses daily with friends from Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland in addition to friends she has here in Montara.

And I am so very grateful to reunite with Laura. She is a very special and treasured member of our family and we will continue to include her on all of our adventures going forward (and will continue to try to convince her to come live with us permanently!).

Thank you for joining us on this journey. I look forward to sharing the next grand adventure with you. Until then, mask-up, stay safe, and treasure all the blessings that come your way.