After consistently running out of water every two days, and painfully yet slowly depleting all our exciting cooking ingredients, it was time for the big shop. This meant a two-person job was needed, which meant I finally got to (had to?) leave the house.
At the moment, it’s absolutely necessary to wear a mask if you want to go out, because (surprise!) the virus appears to be airborne, which means you can inhale it while unsuspectingly going about your business at an allegedly safe distance from others. My chemical farts post from day 11 now feels more relevant than ever. We wore our masks, gloves, and sunglasses, which is basically how Armani would envisage a bank robber outfit, and headed to our nearest Carrefour while guiltily enjoying the sunshine.
The queue was lengthy yet tidy, which never ceases to surprise me. People even ask if ‘this is the line’, and instead of jumping in front of you, they walk all the way to the back. Social distancing rules were obediently followed, and people from the same household (us) even maintained a safe distance of two metres while queuing. The Berghain queue analogy once again came up, where people go and stand in line in the middle of the day, pretending they don’t know their friends who happen to be standing behind them, so they can increase their chances of getting in. When the security guard at the Carrefour entrance asked me if I was with someone else, I almost said “Ich bin alleine”, but then decided to be a responsible citizen and admitted I was, indeed, going to the supermarket with one more person. In the end, I was allowed to go in and then, once I had made it to the till, my fellow household member could enter.
The orderly social distancing of the outside world became plain awkwardness once inside. People were standing in each other’s way, there were passive-aggressive attempts to overtake using one’s shopping cart, and it all felt strangely normal for a minute.
Once I’d made it out, my shopping partner was allowed to go in to get two six-packs of water, so I waited patiently with three bags weighing approximately 5kg each, for about fifteen minutes. Needless to say, I skipped my workout for today. I did have a moment with a small dog, who seemed to be mesmerised by my look and stopped its walk to try and get me to pet it, while its owner was trying to pull it back. I still wonder how that happened, since my entire face was covered so I could not have communicated any positive intent to it. Looking back, it probably didn’t want any love, just the content of my shopping bags.
By the time we had made it home, the sun had gone from our balcony, so I enjoyed my newly purchased rosé (spring has sprung) in our kitchen.
I also made the following impulse purchase, which I’m incredibly proud of.
I can’t wait to make them and someone asks me how my beans were, so I can reply: “They were sick”.
Brunch: Breakfast burrito, consisting of bacon, pepper, onion, scrambled eggs, feta and avocado, topped with chopped parsley and Sriracha sauce (which you can surprisingly find in Italy, at the bargain price of €6 per small bottle)
Song of the day: Queen - I Want To Break Free