(The world from my window, April 20, 2009, 9:00 am)
Bitching and moaning about the weather are not among my priorities for this blog. But the weather-related blues have hit a critical point here in Aveyron.
It's not just me. I've seen my colleagues grit their teeth every morning as they say, "Oui, ça va, à peu près..."
Last night I went to one of my favorite restaurants and since I was the first in my party to arrive, I chatted with the owner for a few minutes about, what else? The lousy, depressing weather. The place has a lovely outdoor terrace that they can't wait to open...someday...
The minimum temperature in Rodez tonight is supposed to be not quite 34° Fahrenheit -- that's one meager degree Celsius, which may well mean freezing here where we live.
This is not simple complaining about April showers that will bring May flowers. Let's look at the facts. We got our first snowfall in late October this year, and it snowed again early this week, not only on the Aubrac plateau, but in some of the outlying areas of Rodez.
I was happy to move here to Aveyron, to an area with "real seasons." But half a year of winter wasn't in my meteorological plans.
Enough already!
It's not just me. I've seen my colleagues grit their teeth every morning as they say, "Oui, ça va, à peu près..."
Last night I went to one of my favorite restaurants and since I was the first in my party to arrive, I chatted with the owner for a few minutes about, what else? The lousy, depressing weather. The place has a lovely outdoor terrace that they can't wait to open...someday...
The minimum temperature in Rodez tonight is supposed to be not quite 34° Fahrenheit -- that's one meager degree Celsius, which may well mean freezing here where we live.
This is not simple complaining about April showers that will bring May flowers. Let's look at the facts. We got our first snowfall in late October this year, and it snowed again early this week, not only on the Aubrac plateau, but in some of the outlying areas of Rodez.
I was happy to move here to Aveyron, to an area with "real seasons." But half a year of winter wasn't in my meteorological plans.
Enough already!
18 comments:
Yay, winter? ;-)
Betty C.,
Good morning from SoCal. I won't even tell you about the weather here. Suffice it say that I went out to do errands yesterday in a short sleeved dress made out of cotton T-shirt material on top and Indian crinkled up cotton on bottom. I had to wear a slip or risk having my dress stared right through!
I forgot how cold France was in springtime and packed all my winter clothes. Now I have to go and liberate them so that I might be able to use them some time in the near future! Drats!
I hope spring comes for all of your very soon.
If it helps at all, we got 97.7 inches (248 cm) of snow this year in Spokane and the last of it fell last week, when we woke up to 3 inches on the ground. Maybe the summer will just be that much better.
(this is me...jody)
Isn't that exceptional weather though? To bring a smile to your face, you should look at "Venice daily photo". The gentleman takes the most beautiful pictures of that slice of Paradize. Which is your favorite restaurant in Rodez. I know that the one in Laguiole is pretty amazing.
I totally feel for you - although at present I'm in Greece, where it's sunny and warm enough for t-shirts during the day. Hehe.
Be patient, sping is round the corner!
My parents have burnt more wood this last winter than any other winter since they arrived in France and are still lighting a fire everyday - normally done by the end of March. There were some lovely sunny days in the Lot last week BUT they resulted in thunder storms :o( Spring will arrive I'm sure!
Randal -- The overall effect is to feel a bit less worried about global warming.
Fram -- I moved to France in April and froze for a month. May was better, even hot, but that was in the Tarn department.
Jody -- I just knew that was you! I have heard about Spokane's horrible winter, partly through you on FB -- Oly's hasn't been so "hot" either.
Nadège -- In Rodez, my favorite elegant restaurants are Goûts et Couleurs and Les Jardins de l'Acropolis. I've been to Michel Bras in Laguiole four times, but all before he got his third star.
Tinsie -- Greece sounds like a wonderful place to be.
PAN -- The problem is, spring has been here for a month!
laquet -- Hmmm, I guess it's been cold even in the milder Lot.
TO ALL -- Thanks to this post, the sun came out -- sort of -- over the weekend. Still pretty brisk, though.
But it is so hard not to complain about the weather when it rains for 10 days straight!
Betty, I hate to tell you this, but we've had almost no rain in Touraine since Feb. 15, and the weather has been warm by our standards for the past two or even three weeks. I have a tan from sitting out in the back yard in the afternoon over the past few weeks.
Spring is often nicer and earlier in northern France than it it is in the south.
Ken, that seems to be the case this year. I've heard about the nice weather up in Paris and Touraine! Sigh...
That was not necessarily the case for the springs when we lived up there, though. I remember one year where it rained, no, poured, every single weekend from January until May.
The sun did come out some this WE, but it was a mixed bag.
With 1m50 of snow on the Aubrac and still 50 cm left, it must have been a hard winter. Too much rain too often is not fun, but no rain at all is hard too. At least summer is coming and the weather will get better soon for you. Not a chance here. It is going to be sun, sun and more sun. I am looking to plant native plants, and finally in the L.A Times today, an article about grey water. I think the weather is much nicer around Millau.
Betty, our day is similar - about 40 and rainy. We had a lovely Friday though and it was 70 yesterday. Our first break. And it's past mid-April.
I'm with you on this one Betty. Sunny Provence is not exactly living up to its name.
I thought we might bring Los Angeles sun to the Aveyron when we moved here but instead we got the coldest winter in 12 years....March was nice but April has been a bit of a disappointment. Enough with the rain already. We spent last week in Belgium and thought we'd get rain but instead we got sunny skies and 65 degrees. What's going on!
oh Betty, hang in there it is coming! It was actually lovely the first week up in the Loire region~so, good weather is close by!
When it's cool and gloomy outside (like today in SoCal) I remind myself how much I prefer it to the 105F days of August and September (and last Monday in San Dimas).
With weather like that, you could be in England.
Please check my blog if you're interested in a new crime thriller, Cut Short.
Si vouz aimez les intrigues policieres, le suspense et le frisson, ce livre est fait pour vous!
Hope to welcome you to my blog.
Post a Comment