Day whatever—six weeks of lockdown!

Our daughter got married!😀  And we weren’t there!😠

It was a long and winding road, this love in the age of COVID. Nina, our daughter, and Ricardo, her fiancé, have been together for over a year.  Ricardo is a native of Seville, Spain, and they met while Nina was visiting us there. Drawn by the promise of jobs, they settled in the Los Angeles area, and set up an appointment to get married at the end of March.

Then, the COVID “stay at home” orders came, the job offers evaporated, and the courts closed. After many ups and downs they left LA, and are now living in our place on California’s Central Coast.

Once settled in our cozy pied de terre in Los Osos they revisited their marriage plans, found a court system still open for business, and got a license. And finally, just the other day they had a wonderful outdoor wedding where they exchanged vows and rings. Friends of ours created a beautiful ceremony, complete with bridal bouquet. There were just five of them, the bride and groom embracing while the other three kept their distance, in a lovely but isolated bit of nature.

Then, the next day they hosted a “Zoomception,” inviting family and friends from around the world to a Zoom session. It was remarkable, watching our computer screen fill with two dozen tiny boxes, each with a smiling face or two (many with kids, as well).

We are thrilled to welcome Ricardo and his family into our family, and look forward to a great fiesta in Spain some day!

So apart from the joyous occasion of the wedding, what’s been happening?

 

A major street, calm now in the midst of the lockdown.

It’s a strange thing: now that we have nothing to do and lots of time to do it, we’re having trouble getting motivated to do anything at all. I’ve spent many hours sitting at this keyboard, staring at this screen… and nothing happens. We’ve got shelves full of books in both English and French. I look at them and think, I’ll pick something tomorrow. Endless on-line events and classes, plenty of special movies and theatrical shows available, and I stare out the window. (In case you were wondering what happened to the blog these last months…) 

These little concrete stumps keep cars in the street. Apparently someone painted them a few years back. How fun!

But we’re slowly coming out of it, which perhaps reflects the larger society—this week there are decidedly more people out and about, more cars on the streets below our windows. More joggers along the river. More cyclists tearing up the streets. More of those damned motor scooters with their loud tinny engines.

A once-busy shopping street, quiet now. 

Eglise St.-Roch, church of the patron saint of Montpellier

Another shopping street, now quiet.

So what do we do all day? A couple of times a week we go food shopping. There’s a major supermarket a short (urban) hike away; in addition to its wide well-stocked aisles, walking there provides an extra bit of exercise. We used to take advantage of their home delivery service, last October-November when we lived in a fourth-floor walk-up (we were so happy to have someone else lug those bags up the stairs!). But these days, with the dangers to which delivery people are exposed, I just feel better doing it myself. We have an elevator where we live now, and besides, we can use the exercise we get from lugging our own groceries.

Another popular square.

Something about these narrow streets really grabs me. Especially with the spire of St. Anne's!

We also have a small, well-stocked supermarket just below us, where we get heavy and bulky things (i.e., beer and wine). Like most supermarkets, they bake bread, too, although we prefer the bread from a boulangerie a block away. Every morning at 6:30 we hear the trucks being unloaded to re-stock the market; an on-going reminder that the supply chains are operating and we won’t lack for food… or toilet paper.

OMG! Unguarded TP left on the curb!

Our friend Gary ventures out into the street.

`With the nearly-empty streets, the old town offers much better access, without all those annoying people getting in the way. The core of this city dates back to the Middle Ages, and I have often wanted to photograph its decorative doorways, narrow streets, and ancient stone walls. Now we have the time to wander (within the one-hour  "exercise " period we are allowed each day, of course!), admiring views we were always too pressed to appreciate before.

An overgrown store front

Whimsical art adorning a door.

The impressive Chamber of Commerce building, with no one on the steps!

The French government just announced the beginning of the deconfinement, the measured lifting of the stay-at-home orders. May 11 we finally get out! Oh, there will be restrictions: cafes and restaurants will still be closed (a big, big deal here in France and Europe in general); no large gatherings (so no concerts or sporting events). Museums will stay closed, and those stores that do open will have strict policies controlling the number of customers. Better, but certainly not a return to “normal”! I wonder what the beaches will be like this summer? Montpellier is not right on the coast, but about 10 km (6 miles) from the beach. Will they be patrolled? If your towel is too close to another’s, will you be fined? Stay tuned and we’ll find out...

We live on top of an 8-story building with great views of the city. Here's a little time-lapse video of a sunset and sunrise.

Click here to see video if the above link does not work

Well. I certainly hope the next blog will be out in less than a month! But things are starting to happen, so there will be plenty to report.