Les Miserables

I wish it were the popular musical/novel to which I was referring to. What I actually mean though is the immensely lousy weather that seems to have descended upon France and decided to wreak havoc in our happily mundane lives. It has rained like there’s no tomorrow over the entire week. And by that I don’t mean a convincing downpour. I mean an annoying in-between thing which is halfway between a drizzle and a downpour. Something with wind and something with wrath. It has torn down 2 umbrellas of mine, has had me soaked on more than 2 occasions and returned my dreaded cold back to me -- something that prompted my first ever doctor visit in a foreign country (yes including my stay in the US). Add to that we had visitors over the last 4 days, who I am sure have not left with a happy impression of Paris, thanks to the soggy weather, the chilly winds and early darkness.

Add to that I was in Lille on Monday and yes I brought my readers on MindBlogging a soggy postcard from a rain-filled day. This is the main station at Lille.

Gare de Lille Flandres – Lille main train station.

Lille, which is predominantly a University town probably has less to offer in terms of sight-seeing and such. It only boasts of modest sights like a church and an opera, something you can find in most cities in France. Its popularity stems from its proximity to Belgium and the kinds of beers available there.

But every cloud has a silver lining, right? Ours is a long weekend that’s already begun. Bon weekend!

That first snow of the season

 

Ah how we hate it… the biting cold, the numb fingers n toes, the reddened nose, the dry mouth and stretchy skin. We all hate the side effects of winter. Yet there’s something magical when the ground is covered with that first snow of the season. Suddenly all that cold doesn’t bother us for those few instants that we marvel at the beauty of nature, that pristine white cover that makes everything seem better almost immediately. Snow has a way of lifting spirits, maybe because it makes everything look brighter from reflecting the light off of it. Up above is a picture of the first snow outside my window (I apologize for the quality of the image – I took a hasty picture on my cell camera just to make it count). Time for some hot chai now to make up for the icy cold outside. Happy Winter!!

Second skin

You know how you buy something and it fits so well that you couldn't be happier? Now then, you know how that happiness just multiplies when you didn't actually buy it? I do! One of the websites on which I had shopped a few times decided to send me a surprise gift from their winter clearance... an awesome light grey sweatshirt that's dressed up like a trench-coat. I was totally impressed. Not just that they'd sent me a free gift but that they sent me such an awesome free gift. And it fits like a glove. I get that total "glow" feeling the way Harry Potter feels when he grasps his wand for the first time. I've liked my skin lesser sometimes.. ok, that's a bit exaggerated but no harm done. They sure know how to keep their customers. And what a nice way too! Yoo the hoo.

And.. welcome back to school

My title's cheery... this post is not. Today's the worst weather that Paris has had in weeks/months. It's about -4°C and snowing continuously. There's a beautiful sheet of white outside my office window, which by the way won't hinge shut tight. Add to that the fact that this office is medieval and lacks a heating system means I am left with numb fingers, a numb nose tip, ears and cold cold feet. This, despite the fact that I am wearing 2 sweatshirts, one of them a hoodie. I just walked out my office into open air and I could feel no difference in the temperature... so go figure. Before I catch pneumonia or pneumonia catches me, I think it's a wise move to adjourn my work to the warm library.

What a 'warm' welcome back to school, to research, to work from a 29°C Madras. Hmph.