Monday, July 05, 2010

Heat wave?


The past week has been terribly hot in Paris - and in France in general - and the fear of a Canicule (a heat wave) like the one we had in 2003 which killed 15 000 people (mostly senior citizens) is in all our mind. This past weekend has been much cooler, but the coming week will be hot again from Wednesday onward. Of course compared to the heat in Texas or Arizona, there is still a long way to go, but, remember, very very few homes have air conditioning in France... Anyway I chased this couple in the street because I thought  they were a perfect illustration of the current weather - and they look cute too!

27 comments:

  1. They make a lovely couple! I wish I would age as well as the lady on the left; would happily trade off the LV handbag for a Bottega Veneta though - to indulge my inner Bohemian, that is.

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  2. I'm pretty sure they were tourists actually. I'd say English.

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  3. Most certainly! The shoes give them away.

    Few Frenchmen are actually in favour of Louis Vuitton; fewer still go for a Victorian parasol.

    Man, in contrast to woman, is a mystery. Therefore, I am going to zip my lips (no pun intended) before I make a fool of myself.

    Shakespeare would have put it this way, "It is better to be a witty fool than a foolish wit."

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  4. I'd say English too, from the looks of his hat.

    I tend to like warm weather and dislike air conditioning. France is for me. I wish I could hop on a plane this minute!

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  5. It's been terribly hot in Croatia as well! And the weather forecast for the next week says it will be even worse. But that's the summer I suppose. Wouldn't trade it for a snow storm. :D

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  6. Heat wave? The country I live in is like a giant greenhouse 365 days a year! And I'm not referring to the dry kind of heat but rather, a humid, sticky and unbearable heat that persists even at night.

    We're talking about 34C during the day (that's 42C if you factor in the heat index from high humidity) and 29C (34C with heat index) during the night.

    The only 'relieve' we get here is when a huge thunderstorm comes along, and even then, the temperature never dips below 23C. To make things worse, the temporary rain is almost always followed by searing heat that rises from the roads, pushing temperatures back up to the mid-30s once again.

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  7. temperatures hit 100 degrees here today. not so bad since the humidity was low.
    High temps are supposed to continue through this week.
    I love this shot, they look so sweet.

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  8. Heat wave? I call it heaven! LOL
    "Give me sweat before snow" I always say!

    I wonder how far you chased these people Eric before getting their photo. I've seen you do this before, so am interested to know. Rather dashing I have to say... ;-)

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  9. We finally had a one-day heat wave here. It was lovely! It got to about 90 degrees, and was warm and humid. I like that a few days in the summer, just enough to warm your bones really well before the snow and cold sets in for months on end.

    (What a change from last year's 4th of July celebrations though! Last year, we were huddled around an outdoor fireplace with blankets and jackets on!)

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  10. So you stalked this elderly couple down the streets of Paris, Eric, tsk...tsk...tsk...
    You should have told them that they would be a part of the PDP hall of fame ;o)
    It's a lovely photo and they look like a lovely and graceful couple.

    We have a humid heat wave in Denmark as well, and I can't stand it.

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  11. Cute couple...well worth your stalking.

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  12. Great photo! Never realized so many people died during that last heat way. Try to stay cool!

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  13. A very nice Paris vignette.

    I didn't turn on my laptop yesterday, so I didn't get the chance to thank you for the U.S. Independence Day wishes. Merci.

    Saturday I watched a tv movie about John Adams, one of our "founding fathers", and the differences between Adams, Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and others. Of course, the fact that France bailed out our asses in the war was highlighted. People forget that, and how the French appreciated returning the favor in the 20th Century wars.

    Maybe everyone said this already in yesterday's comments. If so, je suis desolee.

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  14. Well, looking ahead to next week, it looks like the weather in Paris will be very comfortable, not hot at all, unlike here in NYC.

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  15. The difference in a Paris heat wave and an Alabama heat wave are too numerous to mention. I'm still puzzled that the French are still wearing coats and scarves in the middle of summer there. I find it mind boggling. So in a real heat wave, I"m assuming they forgo the knitted scarves wrapped up to their ears??:)

    I was lucky enough to get some nice cool temps on my visit last month. I am eternally grateful for that.
    V

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  16. Boy am I happy I found your blog :) This is wonderful. My husband and I are heading to Paris at the end of this month and looking forward to all of the wonderful food, sites, sounds of Paris. If you have any suggestions/advice on what to do,eat, see please email me at photohogger@gmail.com, it would be much appreciated!
    And if if makes you feel better, it feels like 42 degrees in Toronto, today! :)

    Bonne Journée!

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  17. @Michael, @Bettina. Here is the story: I was riding my scooter down rue de Courcelles, when I saw this lovely couple. I thought to myself "this would be a perfect illustration for a heat wave photo"! So I turned around, left the keys on my scooter and started chasing them...

    There was always someone in the way so I kept chasing them...

    Then I suddenly remembered I had left my keys on my scooter, so I ran back to it and... there it was!

    That's all nothing really interesting!

    @Virginia. We don't wear scarves when it's hot, do we? Only in Paris, even in the middle of the summer it can be chilly, so we don't know what to wear...

    @Photohogger. Welcome on PDP! About advice for restaurants. Well I cannot really give any. First of all because I spend half of the year trying to AVOID restaurants not to gain weight, and then because I'm not a good food connoisseur. If you click on Restaurant, in the menu bar, you will find a few. I hope you'll enjoy your trip to Paris (I'm sure you will...)

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  18. definitely BRITS.... :) It's the parasol AND the way the man holds his arm/hand plus seeing them in those flat & comfy shoes....!
    What a wonderful, lovely and utterly sweet photo - je l'adore!
    Cela me rappelle mon temps en Angleterre; ou les 'brollies' étaient non seulement utilisés rarement, mais aussi contre le soleil! People wanted to conserve those 'English rose's skins'!

    BTW; merci Eric, pour votre courriel à l'époque - je vous répondais lors d'un autre article mais cela n'allait jamais jusqu'au blog.... Mes 'postings' dernièrement se trouvent sous une étoile peu lumineuse... Mais ce n'est pas grave, c'est surement l'effet du soleil!


    With regards to the scarves; maybe Virginia means seeing people switching from the hot Parisian streets to air-conditioned places where you freeze? I often have a silk scarf folded up in my bag; in certain places it's chillingly cold. And when she sees them outside in the heat, it's probably the tourists, lol!

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  19. definitely BRITS.... :) It's the parasol AND the way the man holds his arm/hand plus seeing them in those flat & comfy shoes....!
    What a wonderful, lovely and utterly sweet photo - je l'adore!
    Cela me rappelle mon temps en Angleterre; ou les 'brollies' étaient non seulement utilisés rarement, mais aussi contre le soleil! People wanted to conserve those 'English rose's skins'!

    BTW; merci Eric, pour votre courriel à l'époque - je vous répondais lors d'un autre article mais cela n'allait jamais jusqu'au blog.... Mes 'postings' dernièrement se trouvent sous une étoile peu lumineuse... Mais ce n'est pas grave, c'est surement l'effet du soleil!


    With regards to the scarves; maybe Virginia means seeing people switching from the hot Parisian streets to air-conditioned places where you freeze? I often have a silk scarf folded up in my bag; in certain places it's chillingly cold. And when she sees them outside in the heat, it's probably the tourists, lol!

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  20. HA! Oh sure Eric, your Parisians , "Don't know what to wear!" And oui, you do wear scarves, big, long wooly ones in the summer. :)
    V

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  21. I can tell you, when it is this hot in Paris, it feels much hotter than it does in Texas at the same temperature. I was glad to be in Texas this past week. I'm sure Paris was stifling.

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  22. We are experiencing a heat wave in Toronto Canada too!!! I was in Paris last year about the same time and it was hot hot hot :)
    Well ... I am not complaining as the weather in Toronto can be very distinctive ... So a few days of heat and humidity I don't mind :)
    I will be back to Paris in June next year... It is always a joy to pack so light whilst traveling :)

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  23. Cette photo est parfaite. La lecture ceci me rappelle du temps ici. Cet a été très chaud.  J'ai fondu comme une bougie l'autre jour quand je travaillais. J'étais très chaud. Je n'aurais pas dû porter mon glace à l'eau. haha <> Est arrivé ! J'ai pensé les Etats-Unis recevaient le mauvais temps, mais Paris est mauvais aussi. Le temps est très inconfortable. J'espère que mère nature est agréable à nous le reste de nos vacances !

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  25. I always inspired by you, your opinion and way of thinking, again, thanks for this nice post.

    - Thomas

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