Paris trip brought unexpected delights to Oklahoma couple
My husband and I fell in love with France some years ago during an organized bike ride through Provence. We have returned in the 10 years since nearly every year, typically renting an apartment in Paris for a month.
This year was different, of course, due to COVID-19. Our September 2021 trip was actually a carryover from our 2020 trip which never happened. Leading up to this year, we had many moments when we thought we would have to cancel again — the US State Department issued a Level 4 alert for travel to France, then France announced that they would require a Health Pass for its citizens — proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test — but gave no immediate path for foreign tourists to obtain the pass. The U.S. cases of COVID-19 surged, causing us to wonder if we would be infected or grounded before the trip. Right up to the point of our scheduled flight we wondered if the trip would really happen.
I remember the time when my tip to people traveling overseas was to bring both an electricity converter and an adapter plug and to know when to use each of them (this after learning the hard way that an unconverted U.S. flat iron will turn the texture of human hair to that of a dandelion in June). Today’s travel tips are a bit more complicated.
For the first time ever, we registered our trip with the U.S. State Department at https://step.state.gov/STEPMobile/Default.aspx so that we would receive notices about health, protests, and terrorism threats during our trip.
For more than a month leading up to our trip, we attempted but failed to receive France’s health pass. We still did not have passes when we arrived in Paris, but this was no trouble since every restaurant, museum or store we visited accepted our U.S. vaccination cards for screening. We did finally receive our health passes halfway through our trip two weeks after application at https://www.demarchessimplifiees.fr/commencer/passe-sanitaire-etrangers.
From the time we left Oklahoma City, the trip felt different. The Dallas Fort Worth airport was not teeming with activity. In fact, the international terminal was nearly empty. Though we flew business class, the cabin perks were stripped to the basics. My husband and I were not seated together and there were several empty seats. I felt completely unnerved when someone started coughing violently on the plane. I wanted to complain to the flight attendant but had concerns. Was it too late to throw the offender off of the plane and would they know I was the one who filed the complaint? It was a predicament to be sure and one made more complicated because the culprit was my own husband.
After landing, the customs line was non-existent. Our cab driver was not able to meet us inside the terminal due to COVID-19 restrictions. That no one could throw their body in front of us and demand our business made it a
more pleasant experience for us. Our cab driver, on the other hand, was waiting for us, smashed against the outside window clutching a crippled sign.
Immediately, we realized that Paris was changed and it was glorious. The French were friendlier, perhaps understanding that tourism is their primary economic engine. Traffic was less congested, drivers were more patient. At the Louvre, the few people forming a casual line replaced the usual snaking queue. We ate at restaurants with no reservations. A trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower took less than 30 minutes. The ubiquitous café terraces of Paris were still there but even larger, having expanded permanently into former street side parking spaces.
Two of my sisters came for a week. By coincidence three other family members arrived for their rescheduled trip at the same time. The seven of us took a trip to Versailles. We bought food at the market and shared a picnic on the chateau grounds then took a bike ride along the Grand Canal — all free of crowds.
We enjoyed a nearly private visit of the Versailles chateau itself. The magnificent Hall of Mirrors was empty — if only long enough to snap a photo. That photo tells the story of traveling in 2021. There we were, alone in the Hall of Mirrors, but masked. Never again will we have it all to ourselves. Never again (oh, please, oh, please) will we be masked.
Masking has been moderately enforced and is required indoors including on public transportation. Here, it will cost about $152 in fines if you are caught without a mask.
Though we left the US with some trepidation as COVID-19 cases were increasing significantly, on arrival in France we have experienced a gentle relief. Not only are COVID-19 cases and deaths decreasing here, the vaccination rate has exceeded that of the U.S. Additionally, there are no less than six places to take a COVID-19 test just on a two block stretch of road near our apartment. There are temporary sidewalk testing tents all over the city. France, which is the geographical size of Texas but with twice as many people, has half as many active COVID-19 cases as of this writing.
Our flight home is next week and we will have to present a negative COVID-19 test before we can fly home. An antigen test is currently accepted but there is some speculation that PCR tests will soon be required by some airlines. As our return date approaches I am beginning to feel that same trip anxiety I had when we left Oklahoma — what if we test positive? What if our flight is canceled?
The decision to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic was a personal choice. We did not come to decision to go without a great deal of pause and reflection but I am grateful that we had this experience. I believe it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Paris during a temperate September, with some of my family and without the usual congestion.