Catching Up and Down

Le Jardin du Luxembourg

I left France  with a heavy heart on November 4 after spending two soul numbing days of lockdown in Paris.  At the Hotel du Parc where I  faithfully stay every year, the anxious owner burst into tears overcome with fear about the future of her family's hotel business. I was actually the only guest at the hotel. What a strange and eerie couple of days!  By day, I walked for exercise in the practically deserted Jardin du Luxembourg. By night I wandered the streets unsure of which restaurants even did take out and ending up for the upteenth time at the grocery of the nearest Monoprix.  We needed an "attestation paper" proving that all outdoor excursions met the approved criteria. The atmosphere felt sad and dark, literally dark because the street lamps did not work around the hotel. My imagination flew to a war time Paris under occupation. By the time, I left Paris, I felt  truly sick to my stomach. 

So empty

So beautiful

So elegant

After 24 days at home, I still can't shake that eerie haunted feeling every time I think about Paris. Fortunately, the weeks spent in Monflanquin before lockdown felt light hearted  and fun. I caught up with dear friends, made new ones, and got to experience the seasonal delights of hiking in autumn in France.  It is good now to be back with Bill and Maggy in the United States even as we experience new restrictions.