Cold, cold, cold...

I don't feel my hands! I don't feel my ears! I believe I'm becoming the first human ice cone in history! eheheh
In Paris, like other cities in Europe, the temperature dropped like crazy! Everything is covered in snow! Recently I described the snowy Paris, but the it's getting worse and worse. Besides having much more snow than usual, it's the icy pavements and roads that are the real danger now!
People walk like they were stepping on eggs... I mean, walk so gently in order to avoid to break... a leg! eheheh

When I thought I couldn't be more surprise by this, the incredible happened. This week the region of Marseille and Côte d'Azur (south of France), known for their sunny and nice mediterranean weather, was literally invaded by snow and ice! Instead of having cars covered with snow, they had boats and yachts turned into iglos! eheh
Yes, the end of the world must be really near! ;-)

I must get a toilet seat warmer! :-P

2009: no fireworks but with "car fires"

I welcome you all to this new year of 2009! All hopes and dreams are revived at the beginning of each new year... and they we wait 365 (or 366 days) to review the initial to-do list! eheheh

Yes, I survived cold from last night so it means I've started with the right foot so far! Most of the people prefer to stay at home or at private parties. I like to go outdoors, to see people celebrate, to cheer and to see the fireworks.

The problem in Paris is.... they don't have fireworks at midnight. When the clock reaches 12 the Eiffel tower lights up with some blinking lights. People stay along the Seine river and on the bridges just to watch these lights and open a bottle of champagne! ;-) But like I said on my previous post, I open a special bottle! eheh

It's sad to receive the new year without a small pyrotechnics show. I think they save budget for the big fireworks show for the 14th July, France's national day.
Ah, right... there's another type of "fire show", it's called "let's burn cars". Usually this happens around Paris city limits and is done by groups of people from these regions, usually immigrants from the poor and minority communities.
It's a very weird "sport", because each year the record of burnt cars is beaten! eheheh This year journalists say around 450 cars were burn in France, but the last official number is 1150! Yes, you read it right.

We have to agree this problem has its advantages: fewer cars means less polution and for the auto industry means more sales!
Who knows if in the future we'll have a special model: Auto Flambé! eheheh

Happy 2009 and keep up the spirit!

The last one from 2008

Back in Paris and ready for a new year! Here we are a few hours away from 2009! For this new year I'm opening a special bottle to celebrate a very long special year! :-)

This will be my last post from 2008. Some of you are already in 2009... and I hope to join you soon!

All the best for you... I'm going out and try to survive this very cold night in Paris, around 0ºC! I'll need to drink the full bottle in order to survive this winter night! :-)

I'll see you in 2009!

Happy New Year!

Feliz Ano Novo!

Ho ho ho

And here we are again, with another cliché on this special day. Yes, it's Christmas... what a surprise!
I would prefer to win the lottery and wish congratulations to myself, but on Christmas we have to wish all the best to our family, friends and ... all the others (yes, those who are "special" like politicians or terrorists... they're people too, they only need to be loved! eheheh).

I hope you enjoy another Christmas Eve with the ones you love (yes, like Angelina Jolie.... I wish! eheh), and with the presents you deserve... after all, there's a crisis out there!

Ho ho ho ... and a bottle of rum! Did you ever notice that pirates and Santa Claus have a similar cheer? :-D

Next stop: Porto

Every year it arrives that special time when people join their families in their homelands. Some of them more far than others.
I'm lucky because I'm only 2 hours away by plane, so I don't have no excuses to skip Christmas with my family! eheh

So my next stop will be the world's most beautiful city: Porto (or Oporto, if you're english! eheh). This award was given after a competing voting selection, and it was up the jury to decide... that means me! :-P

I'll try to take this opportunity to show you my city. The monuments, the iconic buildings, the food, and the most important and best part of Porto: the people :-)

Now let me get ready for real cold! eheh It's true Paris is cold in winter, but it's a dry weather. In Porto the temperature also drops, but there are some nasty winds coming from the Atlantic ocean.
I'm getting a cold just thinking of it! eheheh

Snowy Paris

It has been really cold this last few days around here, so it wasn't a big surprise when snow started to fall.

Fortunately (or not, it depends how much you like to ski) the snow precipitation level is very very low. Some long decades ago Paris would be covered in snow by this time of the year. But now we have this fancy "global warming" that completely changed the four seasons (I'm talking about the weather, not the pizza) :P

Still I was caught on surprise, because I entered into a subway station and when I got out on the other side of Paris the weather had completely changed! Like I travelled miles and miles... into the Swiss Alps! eheheh

It would be so much nicer if I was on the snowy mountains, with my ski boots on and a cup of hot chocolate... but it was time to wake up, so I headed to work. C'est la vie...

Evacuating a subway tram

The subway in Paris has the same problems has other subways: crowded, late most of the times, stops in the middle of the tunnels for traffic control, or when a passenger feels sick, etc.

Last week the tram where I was in was forced to stop once again, but this time the reason was a bit awkward: there was a kid running in the tunnel!!

It was like an horror movie: the tram stops in the middle of the tunnel, with only the emergency lights on (plus the tunnel lights). Without the engines running, there was almost a dead silence inside the tram.
Suddenly I see a "head" running along the tram (from the outside of course)! This could be the cue to start playing some eerie music in order to freak everyone who was inside! ehehe

Some minutes later, on the speaker, the subway driver requests everyone to calmly evacuate the tram using the exit at the front, which luckily was already next to the station.

Fortunately I always carry a digital camera with me. I made a short clip but I didn't see any kid around. The security agents at the station were saying the kid was hidding under the tram!!

Anyway, the station was completely evacuated and closed... maybe the parisian C.S.I. team was already investigating ;-)