France in the time of Covid

For years I dreamt of taking Anjali to Paris for her 16th birthday, then Covid-19 happened.  I felt hesitant to take a long flight to a foreign country where we had less control over the risks of exposure to/infection from COVID.  Then, France announced detailed guidelines for US tourists in early June, and hubby’s persuasive reasoning coupled with the fact that we are all vaccinated, swayed me to be cautiously optimistic and book flights to Paris.  It was an anxious process of negative PCR tests 72 hours prior to flying, and the need to also test negative before we could return to the US.  We used the tousantiCovid app while we were in France to enter restaurants and public places (which turned out to be a very pragmatic use of technology and public health surveillance).

Paris Highlights

Paris is overwhelming, there are hundreds of interesting places of cultural and artistic significance, and many indulging activities.  We split seven nights between the Champs-Élysées area and Montmatre.  Doing one key activity a day made for a less-hectic and relaxing vacation.  

A highlight for us was the nighttime river cruise on the Seine.  It was a gorgeous night.  The Bateaux Parisiens boat set sail just as the Eiffel Tower light turned on.  All the historic buildings along the Seine glimmered like brilliant diamonds as the evening light turned to indigo.  My heart was so grateful at one moment, that tears filled my eyes.

I took a walking food tour with Paris by mouth that was an AMAZING EXPERIENCE. I highly recommend this tour to foodies.  I learned so much about baguettes, cheese, wine, chocolates and pastry.  I love the idea that instead of getting everything at the grocery store; the French have patisseries, boulangeries, fromageries and charcuteries, where quality is valued over convenience.

Loire Valley

We spent three nights in the Loire Valley, also visiting with some friends.  This was a nice contrast to the Parisian cosmopolis.  We used Amboise as our base within easy distance to Chateau Chenonceau, Amboise and Close Luce.  Chenonceau is seated on an idyllic bank of the river Cher, and represented a typical chateau of the French nobility.  It even had dueling gardens designed by a wife on one side, and the mistress on the other!  

Clos Luce was the last residence of Leonardo Da Vinci.  I realized his genius applying observations from the natural world into art, architecture and mechanical design.  We continue to benefit from his designs; from the bicycle gears to motor boat propellers.

This was also our opportunity to be introduced to the lovely wines of the Loire Valley.  My favorites were the blancs, Sancerre and the Vovrays.   The Muscadets and Melon de Bourgogne were the drier whites, which rarely show up on US shelves.

Gourmand Discoveries

Oh! The food in France… I wish I could remember the exact point in time when I realized I was a foodie.  I only know that the first time I visited Europe, I brought back a homemade tub of pesto from Italy and when I opened my suitcase at home, half my clothes were stained with olive oil and basil (my packing skills have since improved)!  

Baguettes are a national treasure, with a traditional version which can only be made of four ingredients, water, flour, salt and yeast, with specific length and weight limitations.  Biting into a warm freshly made baguette with melty spring cheeses and thinly sliced jamon is a life-altering experience (we did this while picnicking by the Eiffel Tower).  

The patisseries in France are a work of art.  You get your traditional morning pastries such as croissants and pain au raisins, but also the instagrammable  tart citrons and mille feuille.  Pierre Hermes and Christopher Adam are the patron saints of Macrons and Eclairs.  Gallery Lafayette’s Maison and Gourmet is a great place to sample some of the finest French delicacies.

One realization was that trip advisor reviewed restaurants where reservations were made a month in advance could be disappointing (Josephine Chez du Monde: traditional French cuisine tastes bland to my curry girl palette).  Instead, surprises can be found just browsing the sandwich boards in front of cafes.  Les Fistons was one where we had a seasonal gazpacho and a lovely poached fish.  

Despite fears and anxieties around Covid, we had a wonderful trip, and got around only with trains and the Metro.  We were diligent about wearing a mask, most everyplace had hand sanitizer dispensers (some even with foot pedals for hands-free pumping), and the national COVID app, tousantiCOVID worked fantastic; it provided a COVID pass (QR code) for anyone with a vaccination certification and a negative COVID test within 72-hours.  The app had daily updates of national and zip code level vaccination, positivity, and ICU admission rates, and was able to notify you if anyone who was within two meters of you has tested positive (based on place and time of QR code scanning).

Paris certainly claimed a larger place in my heart.

Notes to self:

1. City Mapper is great, especially when it tells you what exit to take when there are 14 exists to a metro station like Gare St Lazzare
2. Next time stay in Le Marais (4th Arr) or St Germaine de Pre (6th Arr), these are less touristy

How in the galaxy…

…did this happen?  Anjali has transformed herself into a Jedi and everything Star Wars.  We have to sit though long monologues (in the car, at restaurants, at bath time) about everything Star Wars related from Galactic politics, clone lineage to entire lines from the movies.  Recently she finished reading George Lucas’ entire screen play of the prequel trilogy.  At night she goes to bed announcing that she is off to the Jedi Temple (for her training, of course).  I enjoyed Star Wars as a kid and return of the Jedi was the first movie I saw with my beloved uncle at the Liberty cinema in Colombo.  I had a picture book on Star Wars, of which the center fold of Han Solo hung on the inside of my closet door.

It’s mostly boys who are into Star Wars, but the original story (as opposed to the clone wars story line) has kindled interest among girls her age, who are much more versed on the trivia than the boys.  It’s also a reminder that in our current age of ‘got it all right now’ kids are turning to a cultural phenomenon that is 20 years old, adding to the claim that lately, we are not so original in our creativity.   The family has been watching the prequel trilogy on DVD and Ranjeewa and I turn our heads and smile at each other often over Anjali’s head.  It is amusing to see a child being transfixed (albeit probably temporary like other passing phenomena such as the nutcracker, wizard of oz, and, little house on the prairie).  Shhhh... This awesome personalized find will be making a surprise on her birthday!

A child's imagination

Imagination is another wonder of childhood. As adults we know there is never enough time to indulge in this amazing gift we all have. But children inherently have plenty of this, and are gratified by their own make-believe activities than by the adult-made fantasies they are offered on the ever increasing list of 'plug-in' culprits.

The mini city that has taken over our living room is an example of this creativity. It all started with a child's-best-toy, a box. Then, three characters made a staggered appearance. First came 'bunny-bun' (a small plastic bunny we found buried in the mulch at the park), then came 'ducky-duck' (a tiny rubber ducky I got on a Virgin Atlantic flight) and 'horsy-horse' (a reward for walking to school). The city grew with the help of man's waste mostly cardboard and paper to include a mall with a pencil shavings pool, an emergency shelter (also with a pool), many toilets, and a park. I have been amazed by the amount of creativity and playtime it has generated.

So once again I sit back and marvel at her inner resource. And hope that it will always be her rock. Needless to say, I want to reclaim the living room, so we have had conversations about moving the city out-doors for the spring and summer.

Future President?

I hope she never loses her confidence. I was surprised to see that she put herself in a pantsuit. Even she thinks a woman can't govern in a dress!

Missed opportunities

As a parent there are many things that you never get around to. For me, one was making a baby book. I still have her foot prints from the hospital and my own thoughts on being pregnant, loosely lying in manila folders. Another was to sew play food like this. Now Anjali is barely interested in playing in her kitchen.

Tonight she was writing about slavery in her journal. She asked me why slaves didn't know their birthdays; And I didn't know the answer (we googled it).

How do they grow up so fast and where does the time go?

Read-o-rama

A miracle of childhood is how kids learn to read seemingly overnight. Anjali started kindergarden reading words such as ‘cat’ ‘hat’ and ‘pot’. By the end of the school year she is reading at the 3^rd grade level. I always wondered how the letters transform in their brains and make the sounds. Its still an amazing mystery to me. The books that have taken us by storm are the Mary Pope Osbornes’ “Magic Tree House” mystery series. These are delightful in their weave of mystery, fact, and fiction. She is on book 31 of the series! She reads so much that we’ve had to set limits. (Here she is reading while we are having a picnic).

I love to read out loud and a little sad that I dont get to do it as much now. Our present designated read-together book is the original Charlotte’s web. What a masterpiece!

Hiking

I love to hike (or even walk). And this photo of Anjali and me captures why.
When I was pregnant with Anjali I made a vow to myself to show her the beauty of the world as I see it (before she realized that it is not all so). Its a simple concept that your feet can take you to extraordinary places. And when you are in that place everything you know looks different, better. And you realize you are part of something much bigger. And its no small feat that she climbed 1200 feet in almost 4 miles!