Travel in the Time of Coronavirus

Before we begin our exploration of Paris History for the curious traveler, we must first address the elephant in the room.

As you can guess, this post has been re-written several times as the launch date approached and things changed minute by minute. But it is safe to say travel right now is pretty much not a thing. At the time of this writing, France is on lock down, travel (and everything else) is restricted, and we are all pretty much stuck at home.

If you are thinking of traveling for pleasure right now, I urge you to follow the current recommendations to hunker down and wait out the pandemic. Presumably the Mona Lisa will still be there waiting with her knowing smile when it is safe and easy to travel again. And if she isn’t, well, we have bigger problems.

This brings us to the question of why am I starting a Paris history and travel site in the time of coronavirus?  Admittedly, this enterprise has been in development for several months, before the world turned upside down.  COVID-19, in addition to being scary for humanity and extremely detrimental to my retirement accounts, did create a lot of doubt.  How viable is this?  Is this crazy?  Does anything matter except my toilet paper stash?*

But at the end of the day, we need places like Paris Gone By to go to.  When you simply can’t look at anymore news, PGB will be here for you.  When you need to dream about future travels or past intrigues, you can relax and do so here. 

It is my sincere hope that you will enjoy Paris Gone By as much as I enjoy creating it and together we can ride out the storm.  

Once we’re able to roam freely about the cabin, you’ll be able to explore Paris and all the places you’ve been dreaming about! Or you can stay comfy on your couch as your bank account recovers. PGB is there for you however you need. 🙂

In the interim, please enjoy Paris Gone By and 

For resources to determine the safety of your travel plans, please see the Practical Paris page.

*Don’t worry, I’m not actually hoarding TP. One, I’m not planning to build a fort out of something so flimsy and flammable. Two, I live in a 500 sqf apartment and anything more than a few rolls would need to become temporary furniture! Three, seriously, don’t hoard. Not cool. We’re all in this together.

Photo Credits:
Virus Image: CDC
Mona Lisa: Wikipedia
Keep Calm: Global Handwashing.org