Greetings from Provence! We couldn't wait to return to Europe. So we didn't wait. (This post is an excerpt from our free email newsletter.)
We landed in Spain early in the morning on the first day Spain allowed vaccinated Americans without pandemic restrictions. And then we flew to France early in the morning two days later on the first day France welcomed vaccinated Americans.
Anti-covid restrictions were and are still in place in both Spain and France. And the practical effect of Spain's rules resulted in needless futility. Indoor restaurants and bars were open, and a general mask mandate allowed for no mask while eating or drinking. That all sounds reasonable, but in practice it meant that in Spain, everyone suffered mask wearing outdoors in the heat where a mask is pointless. But as soon as anyone sat down indoors, the masks would come off. And so everyone wore masks when they didn't need to (outdoors), but did not wear them when they would have been effective (indoors).
In France we noticed that nobody was eating indoors, but the outdoor restaurants were booming.
France's response to the pandemic was different from most countries. They used restrictions on distance — for example, dog owners were allowed to leave their homes to walk the dog, but were not allowed to walk beyond one kilometer from their home (a little over half a mile). They also used curfews.
At the beginning of the year, the curfew started at 6pm, which changed to 7pm in March. The significance of this is that the French normally eat dinner after 7pm and in Paris, often times after 10pm. So the regular schedule of dining out was seriously disrupted in this restaurant-loving nation.
When we arrived in Paris, the curfew was 9pm, and within a couple of days it was extended to 11pm. In other words, normal restaurant dining was back! The elation of locals was palpable, and we felt so privileged to join them in their elation.
A few days before our Provence Experience began, France stopped requiring outdoor mask wearing.
Tourists from English-speaking countries have been allowed in France for three weeks, but even now there are almost none. In Paris and Provence, you hear French almost exclusively. In sweet Provencal towns, like l'Isle Sur la Sorgue, where we are currently living, visitors from nearby towns flood the streets, cafes and markets on weekends. But foreigners are rare or nonexistent.
All our French friends and other locals that we meet tell us how happy they are to see American visitors again, and for three reasons. First, Americans are the world's best tippers. At restaurants, Americans tend to order more expensive items than average, then tip a high percentage on that purchase. Because French law dictates a 15% service charge to be added to every restaurant bill, French diners often don't tip at all. If they do, they might tip 5% and never more than 10%. Americans usually tip between 15% and 20% on top of the service charge. Both, restaurant and waiter make bank on yanks.
Second, Americans are vocally appreciative. Americans love France, French food, French wines, French landscapes and French buildings and towns, and aren't shy about saying so. Smiles and effusive praise are cultural norms for Americans.
And third, Americans are large in number — by far and typically the biggest group of visitors to France from outside of Europe. When there's no pandemic, American visitors to France number well over three million, which represents around one third of the total visitors from outside Europe.
France's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, and that's especially true of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, which includes both the Provencal countryside and the French Riviera.
When the pandemic hit, restaurants, hotels, wineries and other such businesses took a massive hit and barely survived.
For French providers to see members of that big, loud, appreciative, generous-spending nation back in town is a symbol of a return to normal.
Another universal we discovered is a wider language barrier. All our English-speaking friends have substantially regressed in their ability to speak English. And our French has suffered, too.
Above all, here in France, the joy of freedom, the joy of gathering, the joy of sitting at a table with good food and conversation is almost overwhelming. We felt that joy every day during our Provence Experience.
What an amazing time to be in France!
And, finally: Happy 4th of July, Americans!
