Ah the joy of semi-freedom. For the first time in over two months I am allowed to go up to 100km from home. For the first time in nearly a year I drove a car. On the right hand side of the road too. For the first time in over two months, shops were allowed to open. There is a new rule in place that only 1 person per 4m2 is allowed, so this means only around 10 people at a time in a shop, depending on its size. In some, only 1.

Hand sanitiser is at the entrance and exit of each shop, and is compulsory in most shops. You are only allowed to move in one direction around most shops to avoid crossing paths with someone. One metre distance must still be respected. Most shops make you wear a mask, and they are compulsory on public transport, at train and bus stops. Which basically means most people are permanently wearing one on their face while walking around. Coming into summer, my biggest first world problem is how to avoid the tan lines I will have on my face.

One particularly entrepreneurial chap who seemed to be the proprietor of a vape shop has decided to diversify his offerings and sell masks and hand sanitiser. He was doing a roaring trade when I walked by. I only hope people don’t confuse his products…

I decided to rent a car for the weekend to enjoy my newfound freedom. So excited to be given a Fiat 500 Bambina to zip around in. Same as my one that I sold to come here! First stop was the supermarket to stock up on food and heavy items like milk and cat litter. Six enormous bags later and I remembered I had to get them up six flights of stairs in my apartment building. No lift. Think I’ve lost the extra two kilos of baguette weight around my stomach.

Next stop was the hilltop village of Chartres (see the wanderlusting tab for pictures) to see the famous Chartres Notre Dame Cathedral. It, too, was subject to COVID19 restrictions. You were only allowed to enter if you were there to pray, and only 8 people at a time. Every so often the priest at the entrance called out to remind the long line of people that this was the purpose and that no photos should be taken. No one budged. I’m sure they were all there to pray. Yeah right. Finally it was my turn to go in. They had a really ingenious hand sanitiser dispenser which looked like a water cooler. You opened the tap with your foot on a pedal and out comes the hand sanitiser. No touching a bottle that’s had everyone else’s hands on it.

I was glad to find a Sephora (more waiting outside) open. They had strategically placed their handmasks and hand cream by the checkout. Given the state of my hands after all the sanitiser today, I succumbed and bought several.

One final first: We opened up at work again for the first time in a month. No more work from home Zoom meetings. Long working hours retraining people in COVID protection measures and some sad stories of people who have lost loved ones during this time. But in general there is a positive vibe and people are glad to be back.

Life living with the virus has begun.