Joyous Reunion in the Nick of Time

On Friday morning at 5 a.m. Earl and I got in the van we had borrowed from friends and drove to Barcelona to pick up Grace and Jack.
They had gotten on their cruise ship, Allure of the Sea, on March 1 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and they docked on Friday the 13th in Barcelona, Spain. I'd felt anxious that the ship might not be allowed to come to port because of coronavirus and worried that we wouldn't be allowed to leave France to get to Spain to retrieve them.
People texted me asking if the borders had been closed. Each time it made me turn quickly to the news, searching to see if there was a report I hadn't heard about. But borders remained open, no one was on "lock down" in either country.
The drive to Barcelona took three hours and then we got a little lost around the Port of Barcelona and ended up following Grace's iPhone signal to find her amidst a crowd of people who had disembarked from the 16-story cruise ship.
What a relief to see the two of them.

What an excellent opportunity to share their wedding photo

We piled up the four big suitcases and a few carryon bags into the van and escaped the throng of people waiting for taxis or buses.
Originally, Grace and Jack had planned to spend a few days in Barcelona before we picked them up, but with the virus gaining strength, we agreed to fetch them early.
We aren't worried about them bringing the virus to Quillan since they've been on the ship 13 days, but we're feeling a bit guilty about bringing them here where the virus has struck.
As I understand it, a local doctor and his wife visited Egypt. Then they returned to Quillan and the doctor began to see patients. Fifteen days after he returned, he and his wife were diagnosed with Coronavirus. Last week, the number of people diagnosed in our village of 3500 people or so was up to 14. That's a lot of cases here.
My anxiety focused on getting Grace and Jack home though. So, after we picked them up, feeling hugely relieved, we followed the coast for awhile, debating if we should find a place along the Mediterranean to have coffee. Jack pointed out that they had been at sea for two weeks so really didn't feel the need to have breakfast along the waterfront.
Instead, we booked it toward France, admiring the mountains that jut along the coast between France and Spain.
With little fanfare, we crossed into France, feeling a sigh of relief that they had arrived and we had returned to France with them.
We stopped in Perpignan and the sun decided to come out. We sat along the canal eating lunch

Sunshine and the first French meal for them. 

 and then we returned to Quillan along the windy road, Grace snapping pictures of random castles on mountain tops and accusing me of underplaying the beauty of the countryside.
If I haven't told you that I live in a beautiful place, and I think I have, it's amazing.

Morning in Quillan

On Saturday, we learned that the Port of Barcelona had been closed. No more ships could dock there. That same day, France and Spain announced lockdowns. No more restaurants or bars would be open. Only essential stores, like grocery stores and pharmacies would be open.
We came very close to not getting Grace and Jack home.
For now, we're spending a lazy Sunday, grateful that we're all together. We'll deal with the virus if it comes our way.