Lockdown in Paris: Day 26
Photo essay. After nearly a month, I’m tired of my view. Same buildings day after day. Same street. Same rooftops. Same windows. I bet you’re sick of my view, too. […]
Category Archives: Being Brave
Lockdown in Paris: Day 25
I miss Paris. Currently, I’m confined in a small village called Sainte-Marguerite.* It’s a nice place, we have some modern conveniences like grocery stores, but no parks or restaurants to […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 24
After 24 days, I finally made another trip to the dreaded grocery store. Yes, I take my social distancing very seriously. Frequent trips to the store mean frequent exposure, and […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 23
Wednesdays are now Anything Goes Day. Each Wednesday I’m going to devote this space to something creative: an essay, poem, photos—whatever suits my fancy, and hopefully yours. This is something […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 22
Would you turn your neighbors into the police for violating the rules of confinement? That’s the question for today, one that troubles me. I’m thinking of reserving Tuesdays for discussing […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 21
Paris looks more like its normal self today. That is to say, it’s been raining. That’s fine with me; I’m nice and cozy inside my little flat, video chatting with […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 20
Palm Sunday. It’s is a glorious day, summery with bright sunshine. No mass for us in Paris—the church is not opened for service. Instead, I filled out the official form […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 19
The birds are chirping their little hearts out today. It’s another sunny, springlike day here in Paris. We’re spoiled for good weather. It’s not lost on us that we are […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 18
I don’t know about you, but I’ve lost weight since I’ve been in confinement. I think it has to do with the fact that I’m eating out less, and drinking […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 17
I wake each morning with a sense of dread. Oh God, we’re still in this thing. And I’m not alone. I’m reading on Facebook that people are not sleeping through […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 16
It’s April 1st already. Crazy how time flies when you’re…well…doing nothing. I’m going to refrain from April Fools jokes since we already seem to be the brunt of a pretty […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 15
We’ve reached the 15-day mark of our first planned national confinement here in France. They’ve extended it officially to mid-April. It’s too soon to tell if these measures are flattening […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 14
Yesterday, I sang. Well, more like my mouth opened up and out came a song, as if my body knew what it needed at that moment. What came out was […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 13
I suffer from FOMO. Fear Of Missing Out. I’m a homebody but I’m also very social, and that creates a sense of guilt, of FOMO, if I’m inside, especially if […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 12
Another sunny day in Paris. It has to be some kind of record. The air this morning smells of earth, of growing things, as if I am in the middle […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 11
Today, I broke down and dyed my roots. I have a strong gray streak on one side that started after 9/11, and kicked up after my mother died—and let’s just […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 10
How’s the compulsive cleaning going? Oh, you know who you are. You can’t control the virus but you can control the dust and microbes in your own home. Am I […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 9
So, I had a little meltdown on Facebook last night. The panic and negativity had reached a fever pitch on the toxic conveyor belt that is our Facebook newsfeed these […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 8
Silence. My street is usually very noisy for such a small lane. I’ve complained about it before. There’s a technical (was a music) school across the street, an elementary school […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 7
Coming up on week one of confinement here in Paris. Too early to get reliable data on the effects of this, but there is definitely a change in the city […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 6
What to do, what to do? Nowhere to go and all this time on your hands. My Facebook feed is filled with friends’ posts of cooking projects, spring cleaning, doing […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 5
I didn’t sleep so well last night. My head started spinning, my heart pounding. My new worry: the economy, and how much I have to lose. Yup, I broke all […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 4
A gorgeous day for a lockdown here in Paris. The sun is out; it’s warm. I have my windows open. Such a mood-booster. You have to embrace the good stuff […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 3
Here we are. Day 3, midday. Things are very quiet in Paris. The schools are all closed so there is an eery absence of the sound of children playing in […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 2
Catastrophist \ kə-ˈta-strə-fist \ noun One who imagines the worst-case scenario as something so completely horrific that it borders on the absurd. A catastrophist usually starts by asking, “Yeah, but […]
Lockdown in Paris: Day 1
Hello, dear readers. I know it’s been a while. I’ve been spending a lot of time over at my new pet project Save the Paris Café. But here I am […]
Feeling the Fear; Doing it Anyway—Gabrielle Luthy on Launching Paris Writing Retreats
I’ve known Gabrielle Luthy since she was my editor at Bonjour Paris, around 2003 or 2004. I was living in New York at the time; she in Paris. We finally […]
Write with Me in Paris this June
Imagine you’re in Paris, staying in an historic home in a charming local neighborhood. You’re writing every day in a café or garden, being inspired by the city. You’re meeting […]
The Big Spring Clean Chez Moi (& Chez Toi)
A few days ago, I started to tidy up my Paris place to prepare for a visit from some New York friends. My apartment is only 258 square feet (24 […]
This is YOUR Year (If You Want it to Be)
“Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!” Auntie Mame pronounces. “Live!” she urges her mousy assistant, Agnes Gooch. I’ve seen the film Auntie Mame about […]
My (Parttime) Paris Life 