Things change!

Paris March 13, 2013

Paris March 13, 2014

It's really incredible! Here are two photos that I took exactly on the same date, one year apart. The snow is fun, but the sun is fine, especially when you can lay in it, like these people in the Jardin du Luxembourg. It won't last forever, or course, but at least until  Sunday ;-)

Going back to the cold!

OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit (especially after I told you that this winter in particularly mild in Paris...), but after one month of heat in Bangkok I really feel like I'm going back to the - very - cold. Anyway, as you can guess I took this photo last year in the rue de la Paix (you can see the colonne Vendôme in the background). Next photo will not be a "canned" shot, but a live one (I'm surprised to have been able to last a month with my stock actually ;-))

Souvenirs from last year...

Last year around the same period, Paris was full of snow. Before leaving I thought it might happen again, so I took a few snow shots with me ;-) "Unfortunately", I keep checking the weather in Paris everyday and I don't see any snow alert (unlike in New York!). But I don't resist posting this one. It's the Opera and it's the first time I've this area covered in so much snow. Beautiful, isn't it? 

Snow storm

The Northern part of France and many countries in Northern Europe suffered a huge snow storm today! In Paris in snowed all day long, causing trouble in train stations, airports and in the streets. I personally love it, but that's because it gives a certain atmosphere to the city, leading people to behave with a much more friendly attitude than usual. Hence this cyclist who obviously was happy to be photographed! On a different note, I really want to thank you all for your very nice comments after yesterday's post. Thank YOU for being such true visitors - and Paris lovers ;-).  Update: make sure you have a look at this litlle ski at Montmartre video!

Umbrella(s)

I love today's City Daily Photo bloggers community theme day (It was apparently suggested by Kate from Visual St Paul). Of course living in the Northern hemisphere and being in February helps a lot, but still ;-) I took this photo earlier in the month - when it was snowing that much - on the Champs Elysées and I really chased that guy because I thought this red umbrella would make a cool photo with the snow. I'm glad I saved it for today... Happy theme day. Check what other umbrellas look like all over the world. 

More snowy moments

No it did not snow again in Paris this weekend (far from that, it's actually pretty "warm" right now), but I finally had enough time to select all the snow photos I took last weekend. I made a little video in which you can see them all and I chose to publish this one (the Tiber), from almost the same angle I took it on January 2nd, when it was sunny. Have a good week everyone.

Paris Tuileries gardens

I apologize for those of you who've already seen this photo on Facebook, but since everyone seemed to have liked it there, I though I would also post it here (for those of you who never visit Facebook!). I took it yesterday morning (Sunday), around 9:30 am at the Tuileries gardens. So much snow is really rare in Paris. FYI, this photo was originally taken in color of course. I like the black & white version because it gives it a little vintage flavor, but the color one has an interesting flavor to. So for once, I'll post two photos instead of one.

More snow...

Less original than yesterday's photo, maybe even a little tacky(!) but this is such an unusual scene in Paris that I did not resist posting it. Those of you who know Paris will probably have recognized the Grands Boulevards metro station... How? Because of the Hard Rock Cafe sign in the background,  precisely located on the Grands Boulevards. Pretty cool isn't it? FYI, there should be more snow tonight in Paris...

Snow!

Yes that's Paris! Can't you see the Eiffel Tower in the background?! I took it last evening on my way to a dinner party and you have no idea how difficult it was to reach Le Trocadero on my scooter in this weather! I even had to leave it and return home by metro. But it was fun too. I have more photos, but right now, I'm super cold, super tired and just wanted to post this before going to bed. See you tomorrow ;-)

Love, from Paris!

No, it did not snow again in Paris today (the weather is actually slightly warmer and is expected to be even more towards the end of the week), but I saved this photo from last week for today because it's... Valentine's day. Cute, isn't? I'll never know who L and R are, but let me dedicate this shot to all the lovers in the world.

Paris in the snow

It had to happen... With the cold weather we're having at the moment, you won't find it surprising to hear that it snowed in Paris. I thought of you and went out this morning around 11 am, took my scooter (yes!) and went up to the Sacré Coeur. The place was full of tourists, but I managed to take this pretty Parisian scene ;-) I hope you'll like it. If not, I'll show you some more, later this week ;-) A special thought to the poor people in Perth (Australia) who suffer from the heat at the moment!

Almost healed...

Thanks a million for all your get well messages (and grog recipes!!). I don't have the strength to reply to each of you individually, but I'm sure your nice word  played a large part in my - coming soon - recovery. The only attempt I made to go outside today was to reach my mailbox (which was empty!), so needless to say I did not take a photo today either. There is this one I've been willing to use for some time, though. I took it at Trocadero during one of the snow episodes last December. Tomorrow, I'm sure I'll be able to go out. One thing is sure, I must not be the only one in bed at the moment in Northern France. See the red parts in this map...

Snow remains

So I hear it's Northern America's turn now! I just saw a TV report about New York City in the snow and, well, the least I can say is that it's much worse than it was in Paris last week... And though there is still snow around here, for it's so cold that it does not melt. I took this photo in Montparnasse where they have a large Velib station. Needless to say that at the moment Parisians are a little reluctant to biking nowadays ;-)

Lost in the snow!

It was Monday yesterday and, as usual, I went to La Défense. I looked for photo opportunities as it had just stopped snowing and suddenly I saw this "lady in red" cross the snowy "field" between two paths. FYI, I took this photo from the office where I was, on the 33rd floor. Isn't IT cool?!

A new snow disaster?

Funny how when something "bad" happens, people (I mean the French in particular!) like to blame it on someone. IE last week when the massive snowfalls disorganized the whole city, the people blamed it on the government, the government blamed it on the meteorologists and well, the meteorologists blamed it on someone else! So today, as there is a slight chance of snow, there has been warnings everywhere, inviting the people not to take their car, nor to even think of going out of their home! I'm ready to bet that nothing will happen though... I'm glad I got to use this photo that I took last week though, for I really like it!

Snow

Paris is not Montreal, so when an exceptional amount of snow falls, the whole city is paralyzed. That is exactly what happened yesterday (Wednesday) after 5 hours of constant snowfalls that lead to a semi record: 11 cm (4,33 inches) and... almost 400 kilometers of traffic jams (250 miles)! I even had to leave my scooter at Le Web and take the metro back home. It was fun, but a lot of people are still stuck in their car as I am writing this caption. They say that now the snow could turn into ice during the night... This photo was taken on the Pont Alexandre III, as you may have recognized it.

Morning Snow

I don't know what's happening in Northern Europe at the moment, but we keep having cold waves and snowfalls! I took this photo in the morning near the Opera (at Boulevard des Capucines, more precisely), the ceiling was really low and the light could not really go through the clouds. At first I thought the garbage cans would not really look nice in the picture, but on a second thought I think they match the leave pretty well LOL! Today is the first day of Le Web, so I'll be pretty busy.

Snow White?

There was more snow this morning (Saturday). It did not last very long but it was pretty strong. I found this little lady pretty cute so I could not help taking a photo of her. That's all, have nice Sunday everyone, I'll try to stay warm - and so should you! (of course the ones who live in the Southern hemisphere won't find it too hard ;-)

The first snow (for real!)

It's very rare to have snow in Paris, but it' seven more rare to have snow in early December. And though I swear, I did take this photo today near the Gare de l'est at the rue de l'Acqueduc where there is this magnificent metal bridge that runs over the train tracks. I had to wait for the traffic to stop which was pretty painful, because of the cold LOL! The snow should stop tomorrow and the cold weather on Saturday. But I'm sure there will be plenty of other occasions to take snowy photos (I love Paris in the snow)...

Ice rink closing soon

Hurry, hurry! There are only 10 more days before you can enjoy a nice ice skating in front of the Hotel de Ville. The ice rink will close on March 6 and, as usual it's been a big success. I love the way this lady keeps her handbag no matter what... Like, she did not know she was going to ice skate on that day - Well, maybe she got dragged into it, like some people recently!