Yesterday I arrived back to Lyon after 41 straight days traveling. I am left wonderstruck by a trip that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to see Europe without tourists. It was absolutely wild. I mean, I saw the Roman Colosseum with just a couple of other people in the arena for company. Rome itself was empty compared to normal summers. I can’t emphasize enough how unique this was.

Of course, there were other travelers, but they were mostly from fellow European countries (I heard a lot of French). While the coronavirus has stabilized here, there are no hordes of tourists. For one, traveling is mainly restricted to members or residents of EU countries; secondly, vacation time and spare money are in shorter supply after months of lockdown; thirdly, there are no cruise ships with their masses; finally, the risk of infection is obviously greater when traveling, so some have understandable reservations.

Sometimes I felt weird about traveling, knowing many back in the States were still stuck in a pandemic purgatory. However, it would be unthinkable to just sit around in Lyon all summer when I could go on adventure. After all, travel is pretty safe again in Europe, and economies are in need of tourism money. Borders are open; flights, trains, and buses are running; hostels are bookable; restaurants are reservable. And so off I went.

Health-wise, I felt rather safe traveling this summer. Seats and surfaces on public transport were disinfected. Most hostels only reserved rooms at half-capacity, to ensure social distancing. Everyone wore masks. My temperature was checked on a daily basis, whether at museum entrances, hostel reception desks, or public monuments. Hand sanitizer stations were never more than a few feet away.

I traveled alone half the time, and the other half I was either with my friend Ana (in all my French voyages) or with my Italian and Dutch friends, who generously let me crash at their respective houses.

And though I spent a considerable amount of time solo traveling, I never really felt alone as I made friends from the world over. This is the beauty of hostels! I was lucky to have awesome roommates wherever I went, and together we got drinks, watched sunsets, chilled by canals, explored cities, and ate pizza at midnight in front of the Trevi Fountain.

It was also interesting to be one of the rare Americans traveling. People often assumed I was British (due to the American travel ban) and I soon learned to add “but I live in France” when people asked where I was from, or else face the inevitable “but how/why are you here” follow up question.

Over the coming weeks I plan to write all about my travels. But for now, here is a list of the places I visited.

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Piper’s Summer 2020 Travel Itinerary

• South of France (July 12-19)
  • Les Calanques
  • Nice
    • Éze
    • Saint Jean Cap Ferrat
    • Monaco
    • Menton
• Italy (July 19- August 5)
  • Rome
  • Florence
  • Cinque Terre
  • Venice
    • Vicenza, Verona, Padua
• The Netherlands (August 5-12)
  • Amsterdam
  • Utrecht
  • The Hague
  • Zaanse Schans
• France, again (August 12-21)
  • Paris
  • Hossegor

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Life Update

And one more thing! I was supposed to leave France today to head home. However, I decided to extend my stay until Christmas. My host parents’ next au pair is American (and also a Chapel Hill graduate! I guess they like Carolina girls) but due to the virus it will be a while before she comes. So I decided to stay because I love it here, and I want to improve my French even more.

I felt so relieved after deciding to stay. I couldn’t imagine having to get on a plane today. Lyon feels like my home, too, and I’ve become so close with my host family. I’m excited for the coming months, which I am viewing as a creative sabbatical. I will write more— I’m planning to draft pitchable articles about my experiences this year, as well as play around with creative non-fiction and keep up my blog— exercise more, and reflect on my future while looking for jobs. I’m excited for what’s to come.