There is always a silver lining...

We have successfully completed out first week under lockdown. We have established our little family routine and if I am honest all family members are working diligently in their rooms on their respective projects. We might get up at different times but we always gather for lunch and enjoy our dinner together as a family. Definitely the best silver lining in this dire situation.

The French have not taken to singing as much as the Italians but every night at 8pm we stand on our balconies to applaud all the hospital workers for their heroic work in saving lives. It might be the unusually cold temperatures but the Parisians are not hanging around on their tiny balconies or open windows...

... rather a habit of virtual happy hour has taken over the daily routine. Be it via House party, Skype, FaceTime or Zoom it has not taken long for most to get organised online. Tele-travail happened pretty instantly since it has already been a coming trend in this country but since we have just skipped into virtual reality - or so it seems - rather than just sharing a screen with your work colleagues why not switch to your friends at the end of the day?

We are into our third virtual aperitivo in three days; some encounters are fun and silly others are more intellectual and even confrontational, either way, emotions are running high and there is clearly an urge to communicate with each other.

For the time being we are establishing a new routine and I am wondering how these "aperòs" will evolve? Is it just the novelty of the situation or are people more inclined to pick up the phone or switch on their digital communication tool to get in touch? Only time will tell... for my part I am very thankful to have a dear circle of friends who are staying in touch more than usual. Hang in there. We are all in this together... in the meantime... chin chin!