At the end of July, we took the train to visit Paris for five days. Our trip was inspired by reading in mid-June that the Louvre would be reopening July 6 with limited capacity, creating the opportunity to visit the museum without the normal massive crowds. We thought it was a great chance to finally travel again, still going somewhere relatively close, while Europe was experiencing some stability with respect to the level of COVID-19 cases.
We quickly made a hotel reservation, getting a great rate in the center of the city, knowing the reservation could be easily cancelled without penalty. We hesitated on reserving train tickets to see how the case numbers evolved. As the date of the trip got closer, having investigated the train safety protocols, and despite somewhat higher case numbers, we decided to bite the bullet and buy tickets. And then we watched to see what happened as our departure date approached.
Unfortunately, the COVID situation continued to deteriorate in Spain during July, albeit mostly in Catalunya and other areas not very close to where we live, which resulted in some European governments issuing travel advisories. France also had some outbreaks, but nothing alarming in Paris at least. We began to wonder if travel restrictions would impact our trip, but ultimately none did, and we left the morning of July 26..
We knew we were taking a risk by travelling, but we figured it was a calculated one with the overall benefits outweighing the risks. The biggest risk would be the train ride. While obligatory face masks and high-tech air filters might lessen the risk of contagion, it is still a five-hour ride in close quarters with lots of people. And watching people put their masks below their noses, and hearing people sneeze and cough was nerve wracking. With everyone getting off the train at the same time and exiting into a crowded Montparnasse station, the experience was not the typical relaxing one we enjoy. We arrived in Paris a bit stressed out and with a headache likely caused by wearing masks for such an extended period (nearly 6.5 hours door-to-door). Thankfully, the train rides were the only negative part of the trip.
Paris, in the middle of the pandemic, was a dream. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, there weren’t many tourists, and there weren’t a lot of crowds. It was like Los Angeles on a holiday weekend when everyone leaves town and you get to enjoy the city in a way you normally cannot. Paris has added a lot of bike lanes (designed primarily to get people off the Metro), which were filled with bikers and people on scooters. It was easy to get around and it felt laid back and effortless. We also got lucky with the weather with most days in the high-70s or low-80s. We even found we could socially distance on the metro.
Lots more details to come about our adventure in a quiet Paris, but we will leave you with a photo of the jazz band we sat and enjoyed after a visit to Shakespeare and Company, Jeff's favorite bookstore in Paris, which is right across from Notre Dame:
Au revoir,
Shana & Jeff
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