Paris 14.07

14.07 Seekordne reisisihtkoht oli viimase hetke otsus. Pidime Ailiga eelmisel suvel alustama Norra ja lõpetama Iirimaaga. Maailm otsustas aga teisiti ning broneerisin Iirimaa majutuse sellesse aastasse. Üks majutus tühistas paar kuud tagasi, põhjuseks omaniku terviseprobleemid. Juuni alguses tühistati üks paadireis. Umbes kolm nädalat enne reisi algust kirjutas üks majutus ning uuris, kas me ikka tuleme, kui peame enne kaks nädalat eneseisolatsioonis viibima. Mitte üldse kergelt tühistasin ka seekordse mineku. 

Võtsin ette kaardi ning uurisin riike, mis võtavad turiste ilma eneseisolatsioonita vastu. Prantsusmaal autoga ringi kulgemine oleks nii vähese ette broneerimisega liialt kulukas läinud ning ausalt öeldes ei kuulu minu eelistuste hulka. Samas kui reisimine on raskendatud aga valikuid napib, siis Pariisi kohvikute peale olin küll enne mõelnud. Aili oli nõus minuga ühinema ning tegin tavapärase reisiplaneerimise kolme nädalaga. Lihtsalt mainin, et mul on tavaliselt marsruut valmis vähemalt aasta enne väljalendu. 

Ei ütleks, et lennujaamas rohkem oleks rohkem aega läinud kui tavaliselt. Enamik inimesi olid maskides, kuigi mitte kõik. Enne pardale pääsemist kontrolliti meie vaktsineerimispasse. Kuna lendasime käsipagasiga, siis lennukilt mahatulek kulges kiiresti. Bookingu kaudu taksojuhiga kokkusaamine võttis natuke aega kuid peagi olime sõidukis ning liikusime Pariisi kesklinna suunas. Ööbisime nädala Les Jardins d'Eiffel'is. Väga mugav asukoht, ca 1km Eiffelist. Majutusega jäin tegelikult väga rahule. Tagantjärgi uurides selgub, et saime super hinnaga.

Saabusime Pariisi 14ndal juulil, Bastille vallutamise aastapäeval, mil riik pidutseb. Jõusdime kohale õhtul, registreerisime hotelli, otsisime süüa ning suundusime Eiffeli suunas, mis mattus rahvusvärvidesse ning mille ümbert lendas taevasse ilutulestik. Sobiva koha valik oli natuke keeruline, inimesi oli tänavatel palju. Ikka maskides. Võib-olla oleks ilutulestikku olnud parem jälgida Sacré-Cœur esiselt väljakult. 

14th July This time the travel destination was a last minute decision. Aili and I were supposed to visit Norway and Ireland last summer. However, the world had other plans, and I re-booked our accommodations for this summer. One accommodation had to cancel a few months ago, due to the owner's health problems. At the beginning of June, a boat trip was cancelled. About three weeks before the trip, a b&b's owner wrote and asked if we would still visit them if we had to stay in self-isolation for two weeks. Cancelling the rest of the trip was not an easy decision. 

I looked at an interactive travel map and researched countries that receive tourists without self-isolation. Travelling in France with a car would have been too expensive, considering the late booking. And to be frank, France is not one of my first preferences. I don't know why I have felt a longing for Ireland and the Great Britain for as long as I can remember myself. While traveling is difficult at the moment, and the options are scarce, I had thought about Parisian cafes before. Aili agreed to join me and I had to do the usual travel planning in three weeks. Just to mention, I usually have a route planned at least a year before departure.

We didn't spend more time at the airpor than usual. Most people wore masks, though not everyone. Our vaccination passports were checked before boarding. Since we were flying with carry-on luggage, we got off the plane fast. It took a while to meet the taxi driver that I had booked through Booking. But soon we were in a car, moving towards the center of Paris. We stayed at Les Jardins d'Eiffel for a week. Very convenient location, about 1km from the Eiffel. I was actually very satisfied with the accommodation. 

We arrived in Paris on the 14th of July, the anniversary of the conquest of Bastille. France's birthday. We arrived in the evening, checked-in at the hotel, bought food, and headed for the Eiffel, which was either blinking or decorated in national colors. We watched the fireworks. The choice of a suitable place was a bit difficult, there were a lot of people on the streets. Most wearing masks. Maybe it would have been better to watch the fireworks from the front square of Sacré-Cœur.