The confinement
How are you doing? This is the question everyone is asking and we are asking everyone these days. Whether by text, Zoom calls, FaceTime, WhatsApp messages or emails, we all want to know how our loved ones, friends, family and acquaintances are doing. Thankfully, the answer on our end is, “so far, so good”. We are still healthy, well and, mostly, sane.
We are trying to absorb and adjust to the changes that have taken place over the past couple of months. Our world has become, bit by little bit, much, much smaller than it was before. Even after the French government made the decision to close schools and then non-essential shops, museums, and restaurants, we still had much in Paris we could enjoy. I had plans to take long walks to neighbourhoods I had not yet explored, to visit iconic statues and monuments, do some power walks with friends, visit our local cemetery (yes, really!), and take the kids to the parks to master ping pong.
Then, on March 16th, President Emmanual Macron told the nation, through a televised address, that we could only leave our homes for essential shopping, medical needs, and brief periods of exercise. We could not exercise with others: goodbye to walks with friends or sharing games of ping-pong. We were required to carry an “attestation dérogatoire” along with our identification with us at all times stating our purpose for leaving the house. We had to stay within one kilometer of our home, limit our outings to one hour, and the police would patrol the streets and enforce a fine for those flouting the rules.
Overnight, our Paris became a one-kilometer circle around our apartment.
We are incredibly fortunate that within this radius we have access to wonderful food including bread, cheese, pastries, fish, seasonal produce including fresh strawberries, blueberries, asparagus and greens, and a butcher who prepares amazing roast chickens and potatoes. We also have a large format grocery store that has most things in stock. Flour can be difficult to come by so I am grateful that I stocked up early on. Trust the French to consider chocolate an “essential” and in the week leading up to Easter, the chocolate shops opened and allowed people to purchase without entering the stores, thereby ensuring that Parisians would not be without their beautifully wrapped treats for the holidays.
Within our one-kilometer circle we can also walk along the Seine and cross a few bridges to get some iconic city views. The water in the Seine is looking much cleaner and fresher than it was a few months ago and with only cargo barges moving along it, it is very peaceful. We can get to Trocadero, the best place in Paris to look at the Eiffel Tower. Normally this spot would be packed with tourists, live music, people selling souvenirs and, often, protesters. These days we can enjoy the view without another person in sight. We will always have these private moments in our memories. If I stretch the one-kilometer rule just a little (I admit that I have been known to do that) I was able to run in the Bois de Boulogne around the two lakes and imagine that we are not in Paris at all. I bought a scooter so I could keep up with the girls and we found a few long wide boulevards in our neighbourhood perfect for getting up some speed. We also have the Jardin du Ranelagh where we can surround ourselves with lawn, plants and flowers and where they have a closed off road that is the perfect place for practicing our new favourite outdoor activity: skipping.
Then, on April 7th, the city of Paris announced that all “activites sportives” such as jogging, yoga, and yes, skipping, would be prohibited between the hours of 10AM and 7PM. This has been the biggest adjustment we have had to make. We are still allowed out during the day to do necessary shopping and it is permitted to go for a short walk but the activities that made our outings “fun” are no longer allowed. They also closed the pathways in the Bois de Bologne, making our circle smaller. The police are out on the streets enforcing the rules. I have been stopped four times and have had to show my identification and paperwork. Terrifyingly, on a run, six police jumped out of a van and demanded H and Sophia show their documents. The fine if you are too far from home, are out too long or do not have appropriate documentation is 135 euros for a first offence quickly rising to up to 3750 euros plus jail time for repeat offenders.
Our days have a new rhythm and it is based on the rules, not on how we would like to structure our time. We need to ensure we wake early enough for us to take our turns getting outside for a run before 10AM. With distance learning, the girls are flexible on start time but we make sure they are home before their first call of the morning. The weather in Paris is glorious but we spend all day indoors with the exception of going out to do the shopping. We feel like it would be good for us to get outside again in the evening but between dinner, connecting with people from home, and needing to be in bed early enough to make sure the morning wakeup is not too difficult, we find it difficult to get out.
In our new smaller world, life happens in the apartment. The girls do their schooling sitting in their rooms or at the kitchen table. They connect with their teachers and classmates using GoTo Meeting. Our kitchen has become our workplace and play space. In my last post, I spoke of butter, milk, flour and eggs and baking continues to be a bright spot for us. It has given us challenges and rewards and trying to recreate some of the French treats we have fallen in love with has helped me feel as though I am continuing to discover France, albeit from my kitchen. We share our baking when we can and have been thrilled to introduce our Concierge to banana bread (she loved the “gateau”!) or drop off cookies or cupcakes to people who live within our radius.
The family iPad and my computer have become our social life as we connect with friends and family from home or do online apèro with locals and through technology we have expanded our world. I am so appreciative of artists, creatives and companies who have created new or newly made available content we would never have otherwise discovered. We are using audiobooks, Mavis is making her own playlists on Spotify, we have connected with communities of bakers and cooks from home and from France, with French fashion bloggers, have listened to live lectures on Paris history, watched live shows by local Calgarians, and discovered new music through streaming concerts. I have made a list of some of our favourites below.
A friend pointed out that the word “confinement”, especially when you say it in French, is so much prettier than “lockdown”. I like the associations the word confinement creates for me too: it makes me think of “couchément” which is the French word for lying down and “cocoon”, our English word for getting cozy. Living in a smaller way, in terms of distances we can travel, activities we can do, things we can buy, has certainly focused our attention on home and loved ones and I think this is a positive we will take away from this time. Each evening we open our windows at 8PM to clap for the health care workers and the moment of sharing gratitude with our neighbours reinforces how fortunate we are to be able to stay at home. We are also confined here together for which I am grateful. H managed to get on the last flight out of Calgary and come to Paris. He has written his own blog post about the experience which I will publish shortly.
Today is day 38 of France’s confinement. The French government says that we will continue with the existing rules until at least May 11th after which point they may initiate the “déconfinement” starting with opening schools. They have declared that restaurants, museums and tourist sites will not open until at least July 15th but a number of France’s most well known chefs are appealing to the government to say that if they do not find another solution, France will not have a restaurant industry.
The list of things we do not know is longer than the one of things we do. We do not know when there will be flights available to take us home to Canada, how we will be able to complete the necessary steps to give back our apartment under the existing conditions, if our girls will really be able to go back to school, if we will see our friends again before leaving or if we made the right decision in not returning to Canada earlier. There is nothing we can do right now to answer these questions. We need to live inside of our circle. Our questions can live there with us and one day we will have the answers. In the meantime, and while we are living in our smaller world, we will continue to ask, how are you doing? And hope the answer continues to be, so far, so good.
Thank you to these wonderful people for making our circle brighter:
Julie Van Rosendaal
Local Calgarian, cook and cookbook author, we have loved using her cookbook, “Dirty Foods” while living in Paris because it is fun to serve things that are not French to French people. We are now loving following her on Instagram and being inspired to make the things she is making. She is also a positive, community minded person who brings the right energy into our days and our kitchen. It is because of her that I asked my girls to make homemade tortillas for my birthday.
Instagram: dinnerwithjulie
Molly Wilkinson
An American, Cordon Bleu trained, pastry chef living in Versailles. We did a class with Molly in her apartment learning how to make cream puffs and have LOVED doing her surprise-bake-alongs where she tells you about the ingredients in advance but not what you are making. You watch on Instagram Live and bake along with her. I joined her first online pastry class and would definitely do more.
Instagram: mollyjwilk
David Lebovitz
American cookbook author and blogger who lives in Paris. I enjoy him as much for his stories about living in Paris as for his recipes. I bought his most recent book, Drinking French, at his Paris Book Launch and it is very timely. He is hosting a Live Apèro Hour every day on Instagram where he teaches us to make a French drink, sometimes non-alcoholic but often cocktails. His cookie recipes are amazing. I also recommend all of his books.
Blog: www.davidlebovitz.com
Instagram: davidlebovitz
Yoga with Adrian
I actually do not know much about Adrian or who she is but I love her. I started doing her 30 day Home yoga series on youtube and I think I might learn to love yoga because of it.
Dave Kelly Live
A local Calgarian, Dave Kelly, that has taken his live show (that we loved) onto FaceBook Live for daily entertainment, insights and lots of laughs. We love it because it makes us feel connected to home. It is a morning show at home but for us it is during apèro hour at 6PM.
Facebook: Dave Kelly Live
Aloïs Guinut
A Paris based Stylist and author of “Dress like a Parisian”. I love her low key approach to French fashion advice that focuses on making the most of what you have instead of buying more. She is posting Instagram Stories every day about how to wear different pieces you might have in your wardrobe. On Saturdays you get to ask questions!
Blog: www.dresslikeaparisian.com
Instagram: aloisparisian
The American Library of Paris
We have always relied on the library for English books. Thank goodness I made a trip there the day before they had to close their doors. They are taking many of their programs online and we really enjoyed their talk with local author Elaine Sciolino whose book I am currently readying: The Seine: The River That Made Paris.
The Earful Tower
A podcast about Paris with host Oliver Gee. He normally talks about things to see and do in Paris but during this time has been talking about Paris during confinement. His interviews with people from around Paris give you a feel about what is going on the city outside of the neighbourhood you live in. He is also hosting weekly Pub Night Quizzes which have gotten quite popular.
Podcast: The Earful Tower
Instagram: theearfultower
The Big History Project
An online course that takes you through 14 billion years of history using videos and quick quizzes. We are watching and doing the quizzes together. Maybe by the end of the confinement we will have earned a Big Historian Sticker!