After two months, I was able to walk again around my neighborhood last weekend. The feeling was exhilarating. I have been to the same area so many times before, but that time, it felt refreshingly different.
The familiar sight of the Eiffel Tower greeted me. The sky looked dull though, or perhaps, the more appropriate term would be “subdued.” There were fewer people than the usual– one carrying a bag of groceries, one jogger, three groups of friends seated along the banks of the Seine, two couples on the bridge, and two men who stopped at Le Pont Mirabeau one taking photos of the Eiffel Tower and the other just chilling with a can of beer/juice in hand.
It was around 9 in the evening, the time when various hues appear in the sky, making it into a lovely canvas as the night approaches. But the sky maintained its color. Even the birds didn’t seem to be present. I just saw one in the sky and I made sure to take its photo. 😉 The shops were closed. One that usually closes at 11:45PM was already closed by 9PM. The cafés that were once brimming with diners were quiet.
It’ll take some more time for the liveliness, cheer and glitter of Paris to come back. But being able to take a one hour walk (albeit wearing a mask) is already something to be thankful for. 🙂
Beyond Routes 
Sa wakas tapos na ang lockdown. Yesterday I did my first swim and, yes, returning to the little things we were used to before the Covid crisis has such a special flavor.
Maganda ang Paris, once I walked from Montmartre to the Opera and from there all the way to Les Marais…long miles indeed. I have been there 5 times but I haven’t taken my wife there yet. Sa Pilipinas na lang gusto niya
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Hi, Eduardo. Thank you for your comment. You’re right. Some of the things that we took for granted before have become special.
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Sana makapunta rin sa Paris ang wife mo. Maraming pwedeng puntahan dito na maganda ang view, masarap ang pagkain at maayos na lakaran.
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Oo nga, napakaganda ng view mula sa Montmartre.
Gusto ko rin ang Latin Quarter at Les Marais.
Dati may kaibigan ako na nakatira sa Rue Cailancourt, sa ilalim mismo ng Montmartre hill.
Masarap ang pagkain sa Paris at, higit sa lahat, ang wine.
Natatandaan ko ang isang bistrot na tinatawag na Chez Papa sa bandang Belleville kung saan kumain ako ng talagang masarap na pagkain at tinikman ko ang wine ng Aurvegne region.
Pipilitin ko si misis na pumunta, tiyak na magugustuhan niya ang lugar
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