Lockdown No.3

Well, twelve months on and we are back into lockdown - for the third time. Every time it's a little different and even if President Macron refuses to use the term "confinement" we all know how this will go down. No restaurants, bars, theatres, cinemas, discos, stadiums, galleries or any other social gatherings allowed for another 4 weeks.

The attestation is now TWO pages long and has so many option you do not know which one to tick without getting into trouble. Fortunately, even the government realized this and less than 24 hours later word has spread that we do not need an "attestation de deplacement" as long as we remain within a 10km radius of our home. Merci M. Castex.

Given you are allowed out the house for exercising, all of a sudden Parisian have become sporty. A year ago the population took to the bikes as our green city mayor took full advantage of the trend extending Paris' bike paths to over one thousand km... literally!

Today the river banks were overflowing with joggers, bikers, boxers, zumba dancers, yogis, weightlifters and capoeira athletes working out in the sun.

We will all be fit and ready to hit those restaurants when they finally open... in the meantime, my Swiss chocolate stock is diminishing rapidly as my exercise level intensifies.

A view down the Seine onto Le Grand Palais

All that is left of the tourists... lovelocks!

Working out in front of Musée d'Orsay

Picture perfect

Time for lunch on the go

Enjoying the last rays of sun...

before the clouds take over! 

Turning off the noise?

Listening to the news non-stop... it seems to be my new normal... CNN, BBC, BFMTV, FranceInfo, even Al Jazeera to allow for a different perspective. 

Will France go into lockdown or will we not? Will the vaccines make it to Europe or will they be hogged by the UK? Which executive orders will President Biden sign today? My latest discovery NZZ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) US podcasts. It's an eclectic list of sources - conservative as they all may be - which has kept me company over the past weeks and months of lockdown. 

Obviously glued to CNN during the Presidential elections and the storming of the Capitol Hill which reminded me more of France's gilets jaunes protesters than US rioters... and left me wondering WHY was there absolutely no riot police in sight?!?

Maybe it is time to turn off the TV for a while and listen to some music... oh but then there is Netflix and Amazon Prime.. and what about BEIN Sport? 

So, here is the question: do I dare act on my mother's advice and turn it ALL off.. even if only for a day?!?

Those were the days...

Gone are the days when restaurants and bistros were open for business. Paris' social scene has come to a screeching halt during Covid times. We are into our second confinement and no one could had ever dreamt that the year would end in such a desolate manner.

Hospitality sites may not be permitted to reopen until next year, as "non-essential" shops and religious sites wait to find out if they will be able to reopen from December 1st. It has been decided to postpone Black Friday from Friday Nov 27th to Dec 4th! Imagine someone would have told you last year that Black Friday would be held a week late?!? If the government can do that, it can get away with anything!

While some restaurants in other countries have managed to adapt to lockdown conditions by offering a takeaway or delivery service, in France the traditional eat-in model has been harder to reinvent. The good news is that florists will be able to sell Christmas trees outside their shops beginning today.

Hanging in there until further notice... President Macron is scheduled to hold another speech on Tuesday.

Go Philly!

This has been a rare week in which all-consuming coverage of the pandemic has been overshadowed by the extraordinary electoral battle going on across the Atlantic. It was the perfect excuse to take my mind off the lockdown and be transfixed by the drama unfolding in America.

I've been glued to the TV since Tuesday evening waiting to see how the US Presidential elections pan out. Never had I expected such a reality show... and it is still unfolding three days later. 

I went from hopeful to disappointed, to frantic, to nerve wracked, to disgusted, to hopeful, to excited. I am still waiting for victorious to kick in but it's looking pretty good right now.

My Dad was born in Philly and Pennsylvania flipping to blue would have made even him rejoice albeit being a life-long Republican. I have missed him dearly these passed days knowing he was a big CNN fan ever since they launched in 1980 and would have enjoyed following the US Election live coverage 24/7 together with me. 

This year the integrity of the US election process has been put to the test and I truly hope that the traditional values such as diversity, racial equality, women's rights, immigrant rights, working with foreign allies will be fully embraced again and taken back to the White House... meanwhile I will return to watching TV and continue to lose track of the day.

It's not over until it's over

 ... glued to the TV since yesterday...

Vote! Vote! Vote!

It seemed vital last time around... back in 2016... when it was hard to believe that Donald Trump would actually win the US presidential elections... need I say more?

This time around casting my vote seems even more important. New York State has voted Democratic in national elections since 1988 so I am not sure how much of a difference my ballot will make but I have the freedom as well as the right to vote - a privilege not every citizen in this world can claim - so, I WILL VOTE!

A few months back, my teenage daughter asked me if she could participate at a black lives matter demonstration in Paris... after we had just been confined for 3 months due to Covid outbreak?!? Honey, get real! 

Instead I sat her down and asked her to join me while I registered to vote. There are ways and ways to make a difference and timing is everything! This weekend we sat down in front of the computer together casting my vote. However, Expat daughter was not impressed with the format and I don't blame her. 

Having to print your electronic ballot is one thing but having to tape your printed template of an envelope to send the other end of the pond seems mighty old-fashion for the world's leading technology power. Whatever the process might be, whatever nationality you are... if you have the privilege to vote.. USE IT!

I'm back

It has been a while. Yes, I have been busy and all is good!

This summer might have been the longest we have ever spent away from Paris but it has definitely been the most productive one as well. Between suntanning at the beach and enjoying a freshly grilled seabass with a glass of Albariño at the chiringuito with family and friends, I was working hard at my computer coordinating a series of projects.

My kids thought I had gone made, my hubby felt a bit abandoned but business needed to be taken care of and emergencies handled.

Searching for new tenants, setting up contracts, reflooring a flat, replacing broken 20-year old dishwashers, polishing wooden doors, managing not one but two water leaks, concluding two kitchen projects,  preparing a house refurbishment, visiting a uni campus and leading an important school mission, all while being PA to my family and supporting them in their new projects.

Let's just say there were a lot of balls to juggle and most of it needed to be done virtually to add an extra layer of complexity. But hey, as of yesterday I am back in Paris and ready to hit the ground running...

So, what else is new?

Today I registered to VOTE!

Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, 

one another, this country and this world!

Make a difference. Register to vote!

La grève... a French particularity

The long dreaded Dec 5th has arrived. Everyone has been bracing themselves for a complete shutdown of the public transport and to make things worse teachers' unions have called for schools to close down as well.

Of course, Air France could not miss this chance to raise a little havoc just before the weekend... so they joined in! Postal workers and other public service staff are expected to protest and even the police intend to hold action in support of the strikes from 10am to 3pm across all police services.

It continues with lorry drivers intending to blockade major French roads from December 7 onwards. Ambulance drivers and hospital workers, who by the way were on strike last week already, will likely join the fray and recent striking firefighters might be added to the mix.

Bienvenue en France! Even for a country with a reputation for strikes, today's walkouts could be the biggest the country has seen in years.

What are they protesting against? The French government’s proposed pension reforms. What's worrying is that the RATP (Paris transport network) have called for “unlimited strikes” and want this to be only the first, so it’s likely to continue.... some say even until Christmas.

Jogging past some main road accesses this morning traffic around Trocadero, Porte Dauphine and the Arc de Triomphe did not seem worse that usual. I was a pleased to see a great deal of people walking and clearly taking the annoyance of not being able to ride their beloved metro with a pinch of salt.

There were many more joggers than usual out in the freezing temperatures this morning which I took as a good sign. Clearly the French are used to this kind of disruption in their daily routine, they even support it.

Growing up in a country where strikes were against the law, it is beyond my understanding how an entire country can be so stubborn. France has the 5th highest GNP in the world where 22% of its workforce are "foncionnaires" occupying civil services. The 35-hour week is the official length of the working week in France, one of the shortest working weeks in Europe.... and STILL they are complaining.

But in France today it’s simply business as usual... nothing works the way it should!

Vous n'avez pas le droit...

Sitting on a sunny terrace in Madrid enjoying my morning café con lèche with sugar-coated churros I am happily browsing through today’s news on my phone when an article captures my attention.

President Macron giving a news conference with the football stadium as a backdrop (yes, France has been hit by female football fever and the Americans won the WorldCup final against the Netherlands last night) talking about the French baccalaureate.

The education ministry is trying to push through some reforms that are not being appreciated, it seems. Am I surprised?!?

I am struck to hear, however, that the official test examiners have decided to go on strike leaving thousands of young high school students hanging and waiting for their exam results which should have been published last Friday.

I am disgusted! I am shocked and I feel for the kids and their families who have been sitting on needles for weeks waiting for this day which for many marks an important milestone in their future career.

I am so, so, so, so fed up with the French bureaucratic system .... and I am not even IN France at the moment.

The gilets jaunes have kept us hostage over the past six months, Air France systemically goes on strike on long weekends, the TGV trains run on and off, snails are faster than the French postal service, taxi drivers blocking access to the airport because of Uber competition... do I need to carry on?!?

To hear that France’s examiners refuse to announce the students’ baccalaureate results just rattles me down to the core.

This is France not some third world country. France which holds its education in high esteem, which even subsidies it’s education system across the globe via over 500 “lycée français” in 135 countries, how can they sink so low?

Seriously I am furious. I am disheartened. I have had enough of this counter-productive French attitude. Yes, you have the right to manifest (and you are world champions at it) but not at the expense of ruining other people’s lives especially not children who have been working hard for years towards this important exam and now are falling victims to a political power struggle.

The French mantra might be “J’ai le droit” but sometimes - lately all too often - this liberty of having the right to express an opinion by way of striking has been taken too far. Les étudiants aussi ont des droits!

According to Denis Meyer "education, the learning of a trade, a craft, is a fundamental if a society aims to evolve, share, and not exclude anyone. »

Sebastian Salgado narrates the history of human rights at the Musée de l'Homme.

J'ai le droit d'avoir des droits!

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70 this year. On the occasion the Musée de l’Homme has come up with "En Droits!" exhibition.

Swiss German interpretation of the Gilets Jaunes protests

Meet the Swiss Late night show host Dominic Deville. His amusing, provocative view of current events and his refreshingly straightforward style are shaping the character of this comedy show on Swiss Public television.

When your home country takes the "gilets jaunes" for a ride you know somewhere someone went too far...

What really made me giggle is that the Deville's 35-minute format is broadcast from Zurich's "Mascotte club" a place which used to be my favourite disco club back in the 80's.

Forgive me if this is barely comprehensible to non-speaking Swiss Germans but it really did make my day today!

When Switzerland's airline disappoints...

After a rather bumpy trip from Paris to Lugano which took us 24 hours... yes, twenty four hours... SWISS airlines got a piece of my mind for extremely poor standard of handling flight cancellations and delays!

As loyal and very happy SWISS traveller over the past five decades I grew up with SwissAir and followed on to SWISS. Stepping onto a SWISS flight always feels like coming home before you even arrived in Switzerland.

Booking a family weekend return flight from Paris to Lugano (via Zürich) we were informed a week beforehand that the return LUG -ZHR flight was cancelled without further explanation. This meant Expat Boy needed to cut his weekend short in order to take the train from Lugano to Zürich to catch his connection back to Paris.

However, things took a turn for the worse on departure day. First the plane Paris to Zürich was delayed and then cancelled making us lose the connecting flight and leaving us stranded in Paris.

We waited in line at the boarding gate for information, another line at the check-in counter only to be told that the officers were only booking hotel rooms and that tickets need to be rebooked with the group ticket desk. Another queue! Finally we waited for our luggage until four hours later we caught the shuttle to the hotel.... compliments of SWISS. I was NOT trekking back into town at midnight to hit the road at the crack of dawn on Saturday with all of Paris departing for the holiday week.

A good company should make sure the service level is assured in every airport. In Paris, the cancelled flight, the absence of a responsible in charge to direct the stranded passengers, the lack of information on how to get the luggage back... all was a huge disappointment to the usual SWISS standards. It was 20:30 and no SWISS representative was around leading.

Most unfortunately we were then further blocked in Zürich the next day due to bad weather conditions and experienced a two hour delay before we finally headed towards the Ticino. It took us exactly 24 hours to get from Paris to Lugano!

SWISS should be Swiss! Unfortunately it seems SWISS is becoming just another company and it hurts to see this happening!

Waiting, waiting, waiting and waiting....

... the morning after... is that our plane from Paris to Zürich?

Made it to Zürich... and the bets are on for the Zürich-Lugano flight!

Yesss... we are nearly there. Circling over Lugano.

24 hours to get from Paris to Lugano... a new record!

It could have been worse: Milano Malpensa was on strike!!!

Absurdity of French administration

The time has come to throttle someone from our French insurance company. If I weren't already used to France's bureaucracy I believe I would be having a serious breakdown. I am very close to staging a major tantrum only it would be of no use.

Over the weekend I just read somewhere that Thomas Jefferson once said: "When angry count to ten before you speak: if very angry count to a hundred." Well, I've been counting since this morning...

I will not bore you with details but I have been fighting it out with the public health service and the private additional health insurance that is customary in France since beginning of November last year!

We are going round in circles and although at least my phone calls are being answered, none of the terribly bored-sounding assistants the other end are able to assist me. My twenty something e-mails have been left unanswered (not one has received a response!) and every letter I send - including original prescriptions and invoices - comes back in its integrity asking for more proof. We are now at round 7 I believe and the paper trail just keeps getting heavier.

The French phone company is making a fortune off my telephone calls. If I did not speak French I would have learnt it over the phone by now! Thank Goodness I can communicate in their language but the lovely bureaucrats still don't seem to understand what I am saying... or, they just could not be bothered.

I feel like I am battling with a computer that just keeps on producing the same monotonous moves and can do so until eternity. So, where can I pull that plug?

Is there even a chance of out-living French bureaucracy? I fear they will ALWAYS get the better of you in the end... and should anybody ever be in doubt the bureaucrats will go on strike the Friday before Easter weekend just to make sure you remember who rules the Nation!

How much is 36 hours without internet worth?

Flying on a high over the past few days mainly thanks to high temperatures and sunny weather lulling me into thinking spring has finally hit the city, I was brought back to earth not only by a 15 ° C drop in temperature but also by a sudden breakdown of the internet system.

Finally having reached the local provider Orange I was informed that there was "une panne générale". What does a "panne générale" entail I politely asked fearing for the worst. Turns out part of our neighbourhood would be without a connection until 7pm the following day.

You have got to be kidding me... 36 hours without internet, landline or TV, all of which are connected to this little black box that is not receiving the signal from outer space?

If I didn't know better I wouldn't believe I am sitting in the posh area of Paris and the year on the calendar is 2017. This kind of breakdown might happen in other continents... not at my door step. On second thought, might it be the Russians and the Renault incident?!? I am starting to wonder...

The following day once the signal was back on track, the Orange operator DID phone to offer a 15 Euro discount on my next bill. Again, I needed to lay out that 36 hours is a long time in business units whereupon he offered me a further 5 Euros. In my head I am thinking how many hours would I need to spend haggling with Monsieur and how much would I managed to negotiate out of him... such very unprofessional behaviour for a highly renowned French multinational telecommunications corporation.

On the other hand I am now so used to living in this country I just felt grateful I actually received a phone call from Orange to check if the internet was working again. Let's just leave it at that shall we?

The show WILL go on ... somehow?!?

This week, I am appalled to read that the U.S. president-elect has issued an official order which requires politically appointed ambassadors to leave their overseas posts by his Inauguration Day.

Now while this is usually a pretty standard procedure, the mandate issued breaks with the tradition of providing even the “briefest of grace periods”. Supposedly HE will not even allow a handful of ambassadors, particularly those with school-age children, to remain in place until the end of the academic year.

This hits very close to home since postings abroad are often motivated by a job offer but ultimately revolved around the children's school calendar.

The order threatens to leave the United States without Senate-confirmed representatives across the globe for months. It's as if a Multinational company were to call its General Managers back to headquarters and expect all the affiliates to fend for themselves. It's just not good for business.

So, as an Expat I feel for all the families who will be uprooted in the middle of the school year! As a voter I am shocked to observe how little thought goes into these actions! As a citizen I need to hurry up and renew my passport...

In the meantime, I'll just post my photos taken during a holiday tour around the American Ambassador's residence in Paris just before Christmas.

The inner courtyard of the Hôtel de Pontalba on Rue Faubourg St. Honoré. The estate was acquired by a Rothschild in 1876, then sold to the U.S. Government and is today, the residence of the American Ambassador to France.

A gigantic Christmas tree adorns the staircase of this hôtel particulier, a grand 60,000-square-foot residence in central Paris.

Flowers are prominent throughout the residence...

... as are the little feminine touches...

... and festive decorations in red, white and green.

Playing with reflections

A quiet corner in the ladies' garderobe 

The back terrasse looking onto the gardens

The only photo spotted of Mr. President

You'll never guess who did the Christmas decorations?

The Ralph Lauren creative team!!!

The "Art in Embassies program" is an arrangement whereby the ambassadors can chose local, Americana, or contemporary art to decorate their residence while in office.

One of the living rooms...

...in a whole row of reception areas.

Another Christmas tree in the entrance hiding the fountain

In true American style the US Ambassador's residence is all decked out in extravagant holiday décor. 

Get out and vote!

I am good to go.

I have never voted in the United States before but the time has come to change that!

The process has been surprisingly easy even for someone like me who had never registered to vote before. It took filling out a form online, two e-mails to the Board of Elections in my county due to some doubts about my last address of residency - you don't want know how many decades ago - a phone call to a very kind clerk on the other end of the pond and a week later my ballot arrived in the post this morning.

So, wherever you may live in the world: are you ready to vote?

To New York with love from Paris, France

My personal absentee ballot received this morning.