I miss walking around my neighborhood.

When the French government imposed a lockdown starting on the 17th of March requiring every resident to limit their movements outside their homes, following it up with even stricter restrictions on the the 24th, to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country, I had to stay at home, and only went out twice for work and for groceries.

I am not a fitness freak (only a few minutes of exercise at home is enough) but I walk when I want to think, when I feel like it and during weekends when I have a lot of free time. My area offers such a great place for that. Just several minutes and I’ll be along the Seine River. A few more and I’ll be near the Eiffel Tower. Around the neighborhood, there are also gardens where I can stay for a while, read a pocket book or simply look at the trees and the sky. It’s also safe such that late-evening walks wouldn’t make one worry. But, now, at least temporarily, that wouldn’t be possible.

So, in the meantime, I’d like to share a few pictures taken during my one-hour walk on the Sunday before the lockdown.

By the way, it is possible to go out actually, but only for essential tasks and activities and of course, one should have the signed Attestation. Among these allowed activities in the list is a physical exercise not more than one-kilometer from one’s residence and for a maximum of one hour. But there is no logical reason for me at this time to finally start my long-overdue plan to jog regularly.

I look forward to the time that I can walk around again and see Paris again, both its lively and quiet corners, both its twinkling lights and calm night sky.

Kudos to all frontliners at this challenging time. Thank you and take care of yourselves. To all the others, keep safe, stay healthy and stay at home.