L'Église de Saint-Aignan

I've spent a good hour this morning looking back at some of the photos I've taken in Saint-Aignan in past years. These are from June 2006.

Saint-Aignan's church was built in the 11th and 12 centuries. This is the newer church — the upper church — which was built on top of an older church. The lower church serves now as the crypt. It's known for the ancient paintings that adorn its walls. I'll have to find some photos of those to post.

Thinking back, I realize that 2006 was one of the busiest we've had in Saint-Aignan since we came to live here in 2003. We had so many visitors from the U.S. We did so much driving in the little Peugeot, including trips to see the Mont Saint-Michel and to spend time in Paris. We did the "grand tour" of famous Loire Valley sights many times over, and we had a lot of fun.

This year, 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be just the opposite. I doubt we'll be going anywhere. Short trips to an outdoor market or a supermarket will be our main entertainment.

I went out yesterday. I drove the Peugeot down to the bakery in the village center, two or three miles from our house. The village seemed deserted. I wanted both bread and wine, and the bakery sells local wines — the ones made by our neighbors.

Yesterday was the day our grand confinement was loosened up again. We no longer are restricted to staying within 100 kilometers (60 miles) of our legal residence. We can go where we want. Cafés and restaurants are now allowed to re-open. The Beauval zoo, Saint-Aignan's biggest attraction, with probably a million visitors in 2019, re-opened too. I was surprised to see almost nobody in our village. There was one customer ahead of me in the bakery. I put on my mask, got out of the car, and waited outside until he exited the shop. My shopping trip was a success. I figured it was better to go get wine from the bakery than to go into a big supermarket. I haven't done that since March 14.