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Posts tagged ‘Antibes’

Mar 21

2 Comments

on catching the light in antibes

If I could only catch the light. That is all I want. In order to do that, I will visit villages in France when the sky is clear, the air pristine, and the sun shines at high noon.

In some villages, along the Mediterranean Sea, for example, it easier because the building walls are not so high. They are fishing villages and may be two or three stories high. Martigues, to the west of Marseille, is a good example and one of my favorites.

The perched villages in France, those with a middle ages provenance, pose the most problems. The walls are high, and more importantly they jut up from narrow streets, more like alleys, and block out the sun.

I want to catch the light because I want to take pictures, and it is that sunlight which provides the light and shadows for taking those photographs. Without the light striking past those walls and into the streets of a village, I will only have a shaded or dark passage.

So, I tend to stay home and not venture far away when the sun does not shine. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail. Cliquez sur une vignette pour l’agrandir.)

But wait, there’s more!

Feb 17

4 Comments

On what I am seeing with a pass vaccinal in the pocket

“Chers clients, Pour toute venue dans notre restaurant, vous allez devoir présenter un ‘pass vaccinal‘.” –un restaurant

“En application des mesures gouvernementales de lutte contre la propagation de la Covid-19, un passe vaccinal est exigé pour les visiteurs de 16 ans et plus. Les visiteurs de 12 à 15 ans inclus doivent présenter un passe sanitaire. Le port du masque de catégorie 1 (non fourni par le musée) est obligatoire pour tous les publics à partir de 6 ans.”  —Musée d’Orsay

In order for an American to enter France today in early 2022, two vaccinations are required and possibly a booster shot if you are over 65 years old. You must test negative within a 48 hour period before boarding the airplane.

It is not clear to me if no booster would prevent entrance. When I traveled to France on February 1, 2022, I was not asked specifically whether I had a booster or not; the authorities at the various airports asked for my vaccination records and whether I had been tested for Covid before boarding the plane in Portland and before leaving the United States.

Three times at three different airports—Portland, Seattle, and Paris—I needed to show my vaccination records and my recent Covid test. Before I could go through passport control at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, I was separated from other passengers and sent to a red area where my recent Covid test was checked. France has designated United States and its citizens as a high risk for having Covid and red is our color. (Click on any photo to see it larger and in more detail. Cliquez sur une vignette pour l’agrandir.)

Not having the booster shot while in France, if you are over 65, is a risk not worth taking.

France has instituted a passe vaccinal. It replaced the passe sanitaire.

But wait, there’s more!