Isolation and Socialization

We’re not very good at isolation. 

We had every intent to isolate 10 days. Then a friend said the rules say 7 days, but they’re a suggestion. 

We let our friends know we’d be happy to see them in the garden if they felt safe. 

But the weather was rainy and chilly that first day so Lou and Steve brought us dinner, and Derrick and Kris joined us, all of them with their dogs, so 4 dogs and our surly cat roaming around. We ate and played board games until 9 pm when I put away the wine and kicked everyone out. I figured I’d done well to stay awake that long. 

Quillan is preparing for the Tour de France to visit.

On Monday, our friends Sue and Steve came for drinks. Drinks turned into dinner before they raced home to beat the 9 p.m. curfew. 

I suggested that Jo might want to drop by for a glass of blanquette on Tuesday after I finished teaching, and then invited her husband Matthew to join us for dinner as well, so they both arrived and we grilled chicken on the grill and talked late into the evening, including a bit of poetry recitation (thank you, Matthew.)

On Wednesday, the bars and restaurants opened outside in France for the first time since October. Did I have a choice but to meet Derrick early at a café where we had a café crème on the terrace overlooking the river Aude. 

The flowers grow out from the bridge each spring. 

I'd already asked the belly dancing group, which meets outside on the tennis courts, if they would feel safe having me there since we dance outside. Everyone was fine with it. Meanwhile, the husbands of the belly dancers were gathering for a drink at an outdoor bar and asked Earl to come along. 

When we finished learning some Bollywood moves, my friends urged me to join the husbands for a drink too. So, I did, drinking a monaco, beer, lemonade and grenadine, glowing a beautiful red. 

I returned home to work on taxes where my frustration grew, as you can see from my previous post. 

On Thursday, I met Derrick for a coffee again and then a drink later that day, all outside. We talked about dinner, and agree to combine our meals -- I had pork in the crock pot and he made potato salad. We made an attempt at playing Password, but my brain apparently is not over jet lag. Earl and Kris did quite well, so maybe it isn't jet lag. 

After I finished teaching on Friday, we hosted my friend Linda from Frenchless in France and a friend. It's always fun to catch up with friends from far away. 

Friday was fish and chips night. The van parks in Quillan near a local bar, the PMU. The PMU provides the drinks while the van doles out fish and chips which we must order ahead of time. We hadn't seen our American friends Jim and Theresa yet, so were happy to meet with them and walk over to fish and chips. Some red wine, some greasy chips and breaded fish. Earl and I share one order and that is plenty.  

Saturday, technically seven days after we arrived, is another market day, that meant more coffee alongside the river, plus coffee from the van that kept us in take away coffee throughout the lockdown since last October. And finally, our first real meal out in France since October 30th. We returned to Les Platanes, the restaurant we last ate at. 

The nine of us sat at two tables, a limit of six adults is in place even for outdoor tables. I ordered duck and fries, something I haven't eaten since October. We were all so happy to be out for the evening, although we remained aware of the 9 p.m. curfew. The duck was a bit overdone, but the wine flowed and I enjoyed ordering a café gourmande, a mix of desserts and tiny cup of espresso. 

Earl finished his dessert and looked my way. I loaded up the remaining cake, ice cream and chantilly (whipped cream) and sent it his way. 

It was in the midst of this week that Earl began asking when we would have a day off - and day without anything scheduled. Like a race horse in mid-stride, it took me a minute to remember that maybe he didn't feel the urge to catch up with everyone like I did. 

But we'd already committed to an afternoon at Sue and Steve's on Sunday, an afternoon that ended shortly before curfew with way too much cheese and nibbles. 

And on Monday, we planned an outing. We ended up going to the sea in the morning since the weather forecast warned of higher winds in the afternoon. The water was cold, so I satisfied my sea urge by walking in the sand. Earl and Kris went in and they report the water was breathtaking, not in a good way. 

The sparkly sea. 

After being told all the restaurants along the beach were full, it was a bank holiday, which meant no one was at work and many people were at the beach, we drove into Beziers. We'd enjoyed a stop in Bezier four years earlier when searching for a place to live. 

We found a restaurant with outdoor seating. I tried duck again and was much more pleased by the thick magret de canard cooked rare and juicy. I shared only a bit with Derrick and with his dogs, eating the whole thing. 

Yum. Hand cut fries, duck and salad. 

We finished the meal and went walking along the park that stretches through the center of the city, Plateau des poètes. A lovely walk in the sun admiring all the poets who were born in the area. The fountains are impressive. 

A moody sky over the fountain

And finally, today, Earl got his wish. A day without dinner plans. I met my friend Isa for coffee in the square this morning.

Cappuccino with chantilly

 And I might have gone to meet some other friends for a drink after they signed papers on a new house. But other than that, an evening for two stretches in front of us. 

As my British friends might say, We're rubbish at isolating. Luckily, we were vaccinated and tested so felt safe that we weren't spreading Covid. 

The South of France is Calling

If you’re American, do you remember commercials when you were a kid tempting you to travel to Florida during the cold winter up north? I do. My brother and I would sing along, “when you need it bad, we’ve got it good. When you need it bad, come to Florida...” We’d bug our parents to take us on vacation. 

I feel that way now about the south of France. Every picture I take, I think, everyone must be longing to join in. Of course, France is closed down now, slowly handing out vaccines, and people can’t travel here for vacations. 

My husband looking like the lone person along the Mediterranean at Narbonne Plage. 

I also realize that my life may always be split between wanting to be here for my French life, and wanting to be with my parents (in Florida) and my sons (in Ohio) and Grace and Jack (who are in lockdown in Dublin). 

Sunday morning was glorious as we set off to Esperaza market. The quirky market continues to offer a bit of everything. 

View from the bridge

Plenty of vendors. The gendarmes patrol and warn people to wear masks

We bought a bag from this vendor. She makes them out of saris from India.

This booth has so many musical instruments that would torture our
 nieces and nephews if we bought them for their children. 

That afternoon, we went on a 16 mile bike ride, stopping for a drink in a friend's garden at the halfway point. The sun, the sky. It feels exhilarating.

Then Monday, I had another day off. 

The temperature was predicted to be warm here 21 degree Celsius, 70 Fahrenheit. At the beach, the temperate would be cooler, but signs have indicated that France might be going into lockdown again, so I wanted to take any chance to (safely) break away from our town and explore. Our friend Jo came along, which added to the fun.

Narbonne Plage

We bought lunch to go from a restaurant across the street from the beach, offering three courses for 19 euros, but we settled for a starter and entrée for 16 euros. Salad with avocado, lardons and radishes. A main course of chicken Senegal style with rice and plantains in coconut milk sauce. 

We took the food across the street to the beach, and the restaurant owner gave us actual silverware to use after we promised to return it. 

If you have been able to eat out for the past six months, you may not understand how luxurious it feels to get food from a restaurant. We barely even complain about cooking anymore since we're so used to cooking every meal. But nearly every time we take a local trip, we make sure we can get take away food to enjoy.

After a nap in the sun and a walk on the beach, we had ice cream cones for dessert.

On the way home, we stopped at a winery for a wine tasting. Another luxury in these Covid times. We tasted four of the six wines offered and ended up buying two of them before hurrying home to beat the curfew, or as the French say, couvre feu, which literally means cover fire. 

Macron is slated to speak Wednesday morning. He may be closing down France again. Although our region is not very high for Covid, France overall has 100% of its ICUs full. Our ICUs in Occitanie are at 67%. It's time to get this virus under control, again.