The last tourist in Paris
There’s one thing about Covid-19, if nothing else, it makes you feel like you’re the last tourist in Paris. For a while we’ve seen more visitors coming back to our museums and we could hear quite a few American voices in the cafés in St Germain des près. The 5th wave has definitely put a stop to that.
Do not travel to France due to COVID-19. Exercise increased caution in France due to terrorism and civil unrest.
Read the Department of State’s COVID-19 page before you plan any international travel.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for France, indicating a very high level of COVID-19 in the country. There are restrictions in place affecting U.S. citizen entry into France. Your risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing severe symptoms may be lower if you are fully vaccinated with an FDA authorized vaccine. Before planning any international travel, please review the CDC’s specific recommendations for fully vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers.
source : France travel advisory – Dec 6, 2021
As a result, floating restaurants are moored and it’s pretty quiet out there. Ideal time for me to reclaim that space and act as if I were the last tourist in Paris. As it happens, most of the time I don’t have time to potter around. Work has been demanding and when I jump on my bike I ride at breakneck speed to visit my clients and there’s little time to spare for tourism.
The other day I went to my favourite photo store and bought a very small lens for my Nikon Z7 mirrorless camera. It’s a lightweight 40 mm f2 lens and as I was flying past the Seine on the bike lane at river level, I grabbed my camera and decided to take a few pictures. We were on a Saturday, I was coming back from my photo studio where I’d arranged things and done some DIY and I had a little more time on my hands. As I passed l’Ile aux cygnes, I couldn’t fail to take a picture of the Statue of Liberty, as smaller replica offered by the American people to us in Paris so that we could have one too. Some sort of homecoming.
Travelling along the river provides a different perspective, somewhat more industrial I should say, on the landmarks of the city including the obligatory Eiffel Tower. The blue ray coming from the top is quite a feature. Not a tourist in sight in Paris though.
Cycling past Iena, one can catch a glimpse of the Iron Lady from below.
Last but not least, the Solferino footbridge and in the background the Farris wheel in the Tuileries. On that day I was the last tourist in Paris, how long will it last?
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