The day we have been longing for...

The road trip from Paris to Madrid is 1250km long. This year given the circumstances we decided not enjoy our habitual pitstop in San Sebastian. We would skip the long walk along La Concha, the crescent shaped urban seaboard of the city and the delicious Basque "pintxos" the local word for small bar bites otherwise known as tapas in the bustling old town.

We would rise at the crack of dawn to avoid the Parisian rush hour starting at 7am and hopefully make it to our destination in time for dinner... Spanish dinner time that is to say is anything after 10pm.

We had cool runnings, we cruised out of Paris watching the long queues form coming into the city. We sailed around Bordeaux, usually a hotspot for traffic riddled with speed cameras. We hardly noticed the border crossing... no check points, no police, no nothing... and were in! Loud cheers and yelling followed by a feeling of accomplishment that we had finally managed to get out of Paris, past the 1km radius, further than the 100km radius and the realization that confinement was definitely over.

We were lucky, the journey took us 12 hours door to door with a few coffee stops along the way. No tourist cars in sight, petrol stations were deserted but trucks were lining the right hand lane of the road from Paris to San Sebastian. We assumed this magnitude of the single queue sometimes denser than others was due to the Iberian border just having opened up and the air transport still extremely limited. Thankfully, however, the lorry drivers stuck to their side of the highway and let us sail by to make it home in time for dinner.

Let the summer begin! 

Free at last

It is the moment we have been waiting for since confinement started on March 16th. We have been following the news daily hoping the borders would open in time for summer. We had visions of us spending July and August in Paris OR setting off to the South of France with the half of its residents squeezed together in a TGV or stuck in a humongous traffic jam.

But... we got lucky! After a few false alarms Spain's border with France finally opened up on June 21st and we were in that car heading south. Olé!

Never have I been happier to arrive in Madrid with the prospect of spending the next months enjoying my pink cava (prosecco) and basking in the sunshine... but let's start with breakfast and catch up on the local gossip first!

 

A week in photos

Just your regular Parisian entrance by Hector Guimard (1867- 1942), French architect and designer, and a prominent figure of the Art Nouveau style.

Homage to Luís Vaz de Camões, Portugal's greatest poet.

One of the favorite points of photographers and considered the most beautiful staircase in the city.

The frothy double-decker Belle Epoque carousel sits right in front of the iconic Eiffel tower and is the perfect setting to take a souvenir snapshot.

A colourful riverboat is moored right below the Eiffel Tower.

Many a water-loving entrepreneur has turned their houseboat into a lovely business or venue.

The Wallace Fountains in Paris are named after Richard Wallace who designed and paid for these drinking water fountains. In 1870, 50 fountains were spread around the city. Today, there are around 120 of them, dotted all over Paris and still providing Parisians water for free.

An expensive bunch of Lavender!

When a blackboard tells a story...

Guimard designed metro stations, with and without glass roofs. Built in cast iron, they make heavy reference to the symbolism of plants and are now considered classic examples of French art nouveau architecture. 141 entrances were constructed between 1900 and 1912, of which 86 still exist.

The local hang out spot while waiting for tourists to return.

"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" is the national motto of France.

Strawberries, chocolate and Prosecco... the best ingredients for a "Déjeuner sur l'herbe"!

Counting lovelocks in absence of tourists

Now that the confinement has been lifted and Paris is finally back in the green zone - who would have thought we'd ever make it into the green zone before summer break - it is a pleasure to stroll around Paris.

Tourists have not found their way back to the city of love yet. Orly airport is still closed and most airlines have grounded their planes, however, the local residents are doing a good job of filling the city.

Everyone is out and about either exercising, going for a walk, hanging out along the Seine, enjoying a coffee on the terrasse or queuing at the fresh produce market. 

Picnicking in one of the "bois" (the bigger parks) is high on everybody's priority list! It is easy to score one of the green metal chairs dotted around the fountains and under shady chestnut trees in the city parks. The Mayor has allowed cafés, restaurants and bars to annex more space on pavements and added pedestrian-only streets, giving the city a joyfully chaotic vibe.

Paris welcomes about 50 million visitors, making it the world’s top tourist destination, but for now only the lovelocks remain proof of their presence. So, don't tell everyone yet that Paris is back in business, let's enjoy this unusual opportunity of having the city to ourselves.

When the days start blurring together...

It's been three months now... 13 weeks since the corona pandemic exploded and lockdown began in France. Three weeks ago we were slowly allowed to venture out albeit parks, museums and restaurants remaining closed. Most Parisians continued to work from home and the world had definitely not gone back to normal.

Then, the terrasses opened up as did the green spaces in town, the sun was shining and people came out in hoards to enjoy a glass of rosé dangling their legs along the river Seine banks. Slowly the city's heart started beating again. Traffic began to intensify and Parisians regained their defensive posture towards the rest of the world. It seemed as if we were heading back to routine.

Only... there is now more routine. I now have to manage my virtual schedule with my "real live" and somehow the two don't always seem to synch. I have one leg in each world trying to decide which way to go. To be honest the virtual sphere has become quite comfortable to live in but so uninspiring. I need people to watch, places to go, things to see, corners to discover. The days have started to blur into one another. Wednesday could be a Saturday and nothing changes really. 

I have been out and about with my bike exploring and taking pictures, I have enjoyed picnics in the park with my girlfriends, we even ventured out for a dinner entre amis sur la terrasse on a freezing cold evening but ... for now... I will say I do not like the new normal!

Bonne fête Maman

Kukuwa, my latest discovery

So, you've heard of zumba lessons and maybe even barre classes but what about Kukuwa?

Covid-19 had forced us to exercise indoors and I can't help but think back to the days when Jane Fonda instructed us how to grapevine on her VHS video tapes. Home fitness has been shaping our lives for longer than we think only now it has taken on a much more conscientious part of our daily routine. 

Clothing brands, apps, and trainers were all offering workouts for free on various digital platforms. Given the amount of chocolate being consumed in our household during confinement, I had decided to launch myself into the exercise offer online trying everything from Vinyasa yoga to Zumba and from mindfulness meditation to African dance. 

At the top of the list and by far the most fun discovery of my quarantine is Kukuwa! A dance workout blending African soukous, makossa, and soca rhythms into a low impact, high energy cardiovascular, fun-filled energetic class that challenges my fitness ability and my coordination. It feels like I'm on an exotic expedition through Cameroon, Zambia, Namibia, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Malawi all the while moving my boomsey!

The workout is great fun. The moves are sexy, fast and really get those muscles in shape and that heart rate up! The music is upbeat and the instructors a good giggle. 

Kukuwa is definitely the best discovery during my confinement. What 's yours?

The cafés are Paris' beating heart

Hurray, Paris' cafés and restaurants have opened up their terraces this week. It has been a long awaited loosening of government restrictions. 

Parisian cafés remained open throughout virtually every historic challenge that has come their way. They didn’t go dark during the Nazi occupation in World War II or even after the terrorist attacks of November 2015, which targeted precisely the joie de vivre they represent.

Parisians have never surrendered that stronghold but along came Coronavirus and things changed! Overnight, literally, everything closed down and it seemed like the city's heart stopped beating.

The usually gloomy gray skies were absent during the past two months of confinement. The weather has been extraordinary and when the sun shines in Paris, residents immediately stream out of their tiny flats to soak up the rays in parks and on terraces. Only in our dreams have we been able to do so... until this week. 

Paris -  still under temporary restrictions - is now allowed to open the outer spaces, at least for the next three weeks.

Finally! The café chatter is back, the chaos on the pavements welcomed and the local community is enjoying each others company in absence of the hoards of tourists. The arrondissements have turned back to becoming villages and we are all able to chill, work on your tan or sip a glass of rosé.

Café Carette is a Parisian institution: delicious and over-priced!

Open for business

Let the sun shine in

The perfect view from the Café du Trocadero 

Happy to be out and about again.

Today I registered to VOTE!

Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, 

one another, this country and this world!

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A reconnaissance mission

What to do when your hubby's snoring wakes you at six am on a Sunday morning and you cannot get back to sleep? You sneak into Expat Girl's room to pinch her Vélib card and head out into the deserted streets of Paris to soak in the sun rays.

After living in Paris for nine years I have finally rented a Vélib from the city's public bicycle sharing system which has defiantly risen to the challenge over the past months by providing citizens a way to get around during general transport strikes and confinement rules. Apparently during peak hours more than four Vélibs are picked up from a station every second?!

On a reconnaissance mission before the new normal sets in, I decided to enjoy Paris to myself one last time before all the governments restrictions are revoked...

A heartwarming "Welcome back" greeting from the Mayor of Paris

Palais de Chaillot bathing in the sun at 7am on a Sunday morning 

The Eiffel Tower all to myself

Majestic view onto a very calm River Seine

It's just my Vélib and I

Place de la Concorde, Paris' largest square is abandoned 

Paris' Town Hall

World-famous Café Les Deux Magots should be back in business next week

No tourists on Place St. Germain

Paris as it was in the olden days....

All of Paris' parks and gardens are opening today after three months

One of my favourite Parisian icons: 

public drinking fountains designed by Sir Richard Wallace and sculpted by Charles-Auguste Lebourg 

Not a soul in sight

Place de Fürstenberg, labeled as being one of the most picturesque squares in Paris

Rue de Rivoli has just been declared off limits for cars this month.

Biking through Paris has never felt better!

Iconic Champs Elysées deserted by tourists, cars and public transport.

It's a beauty!

Merci Paris pour cette sublime ballade un dimanche matin.