The Past Few Days

I thought I would keep you up-to-date on the past few days in Paris, as we actively work to flatten the curve.

Friday, March 13:

As I reported last week, President Macron put a plan in place to start slowing down the spread of CV.  All schools in the entire country were to close on Friday; people were encouraged to work from home, to stay in their neighborhoods, and limit gatherings.  And if we could, he asked us not to ride public transportation.  As you saw in our last post, we readied ourselves by stocking up on food and such, and making lists.

Edy's list of things to do that don't involve screens.

Will's list of things to do that don't involve screens, but do involve terrorizing his sister.

I gave up, giving up wine for Lent.  

Saturday, March 14:

We had planned to be gone this weekend, exploring the Loire Valley.  But when things started escalating in Paris, we decided to cancel our trip.  Because we were to be gone this weekend, we had celebrated Will's 11th birthday last weekend.  See photos below.  

Happy EARLY 11th Birthday Will!

Thank you, Bash Family, for his favorite books.

Thank you, Grandmama and Pappy for the train set.

Will goes all out when unwrapping presents.

Breakfast treats from the boulangerie.

He was content to play with his Legos all day.

I attempted his favorite pie with ingredients my mom shipped from the U.S.

Ready to bake!

Success!

So now we were in Paris, on his actual birthday, and he couldn't do the one thing he would love to do - visit the Army Museum.  The question became, how do you celebrate his birthday and be socially distant?  Luckily, we have a park less than a kilometer away that is 2090 acres, called the Bois De Boulogne.  So we set out with a picnic lunch and our comfortable walking shoes.  Many Parisians had the same idea on this beautiful day.  While there were many of us, we all kept our distance.

Last night as a 10 year old!

Morning snuggles with Edy!

The perfect card from Great-Aunt Jayna!

So many cards!

Bois de Boulogne

Picnic lunch, social distancing style

The boats, just waiting for us...

FRIENDS?

We were fortunate in that the park was still allowing people to rent boats and row around the lake.  After Jeff secured us some euros for a deposit, we rented two boats and set off.  We truly were the only ones of the lake for the first hour.  The kids snuck onto an island in the middle to explore, and Jeff and I worked our underused muscles by rowing.  Before heading home, we got to see a sailboat race, of miniature model boats. 

Family photo!

Love this photo of the boys.

Edy exploring the island.

Watching the sailboat races at a safe distance.

Not everyone gets a rainbow on their birthday.

The exact "Paris" time when he was born.  

Will tried steamed artichokes for the first time on his birthday.  He loved them.

That night we learned from the Prime Minister that too many people were out and about and not taking precautions seriously enough.  It was then decided that all non-essential places of business were to close.  That meant all cafes, restaurants, movie theaters, stores, etc.  Gas stations, pharmacies, and supermarkets would remain open.  

Sunday, March 15:

We mostly stayed inside on Sunday, venturing out only to exercise.  I noticed that people were still out running and walking in the Bois De Boulogne but when passing, they swept six feet out and around the person they were passing.  With church closed, we were able to watch a prerecorded service from the American Church in Paris.  We then made sandwiches for the homeless that live in our neighborhood, which I delivered, while the kids stayed home.  I can't imagine things are going to be easy for them.

Sunday morning run in the Bois de Boulogne.

Neighborhood cafes closed.

Plenty of wine still available in the supermarket.

Shelves still full.

American, we have toilet paper! 

The flower market was still open.

Painting and drawing while watching the church service.

Our service ended with this image, from above the entry way door, at the American Church in Paris.
This is Jesus with his hand raised in a blessing, holding the world in his hand.  He's got this!  

Making sandwiches

Our friends voting on Sunday, in the national election.  CV won't stop Democracy!

Then, as we went to bed last night, we began to hear rumors of the impending lock-down that the government is about to enact.

Monday, March 16:

Rumor has it that the lock-down is scheduled to begin sometime tomorrow.  From what we know so far, a lockdown means that we will need to stay in our homes and that we will only be able to leave to go to the supermarket, pharmacy, or to walk our dog.  At this point, I don't think we will be able to leave to exercise.  I believe there will be police or military patrolling the neighborhoods.  There may also be a curfew of 6:00 p.m.  

For the first time, I woke up this morning sick to my stomach.  I was fine when it was restrictions that confined us to our neighborhood.  Now we will be confined to our home, and that feels suffocating.  I love to exercise and desire fresh air to feel healthy, happy, and whole.  With that possibility being taken away, it will be a lot harder to cope.  At the same time, I also completely understand why the government is doing it.  We need to slow this down.  

Trying to capitalize on our last opportunity for exercise and fresh air, we went for a walk.  We decided to go to one of our favorite places, Trocadero, to see the Eiffel Tower.  We had the entire place to ourselves.  

We had Trocadero to ourselves.

Even less cars were on the street.

We will remember this day...

There wasn't even any boat traffic on the Seine.

With all the stores and many of the business closed, there were a lot fewer people on the streets.  Most people, who were out, had their shopping carts, going to and from stores.  Many more people were also wearing masks today.  The pharmacies and stores had lines out the doors.  These places are limiting the number of people allowed in at a time.  The people in line waiting, are spaced out, keeping a good 3-4 feet apart from each other.

Deserted streets.

Line to go in the pharmacy. 

Today feels like our last "free" day for a while.  Other than our walk, we are staying inside.  I did make another round of sandwiches to deliver, not knowing if that would be something I would be allowed to do starting tomorrow. 

Tomorrow starts our new normal.  Luckily Jeff has his job, and the kids and I have school.  We will continue to keep that routine the same.  But our afternoons will look a lot different.  I look forward to sharing with you all what that might be, once I figure it out!

I thought I would close with this photo.  I took it today on our walk back to our apartment.  This a replica of the Statue of Liberty, given to the United States, as a gift from France.  In Paris, she sits on an island in the middle of the Seine River, looking off towards the United States.  As I passed her one last time today, I thought to myself, I hope that what I am writing here and sharing on Facebook is making a difference, because this is real, this is happening, and ALL of this is coming to the United States.  We are days behind Italy.  The U.S. is days behind us.  It is scary, and anxiety provoking, and worrisome, and heartbreaking, and...  

But we can, and we will, survive this.  

See you in a few weeks, Lady Liberty.  

Love,

Betsy