snow!!!

January 7, 2009

The whole two years I that I lived up in Paris, I wanted it to snow so that I could see the city covered in white.  Not just flurries, but inches and inches of the fluffy white stuff.  It never happened.  As soon as I left, I heard about how it started snowing.  It's snowed off and on ever since I left, and this past week, it's finally been all covered just like I'd always wanted to see it.  But I'm down in sunny Marseille...where it never gets cold enough to snow.

Or almost never.

I'd read on the weather forecast a few days ago that it was supposed to snow today.  I thought it would be a few flurries, if it was anything at all.  I woke up at 5:21am because one of the shutters kept hitting my window.  I woke up excited like I'd used to do in grade school and looked out the window to see if it had snowed while I slept.  It had not.  It was raining...just like I thought it would.  I didn't even bother fixing the shutter and went back to bed.

At 5:48am I couldn't stand the banging of the shutter any longer, and since I had to get up at 6 anyway, I went ahead and got up.  (Yes, Mom, I got out of bed before 6am and before my alarm went off.  Hard to believe, I know...)  As I was drinking my coffee, I looked out the window and was shocked...the rain had turned into snow!  It was snowing!

For the next two hours, I ran back and forth from my bedroom window (which faces the street, where I could see if it was sticking on the road and where I could watch as it did stick to the trees), and my balcony window, where I could see it fall so clearly (and where it was warmer, since the balcony is attached to the living room, where the heater is).  My language teacher called and said that she could not make it to class...the bus was completely stuck on the autoroute.  

I bundled up in leggings, pants, two pairs of socks, three shirts, a polar fleece, a sweater, a jacket, a scarf, ear warmers, a hat, a rain/windbreaker, and gloves and went out to play in the snow.  For the first two hours that I was outside, it felt like I was practically alone.  The world looked like a winter wonderland.  I was amazed by the beauty of it all.  I haven't seen snow fall like that since I lived in Alaska.  

I came inside for just a minute to make a plastic covering for my camera, and saw on my phone that I had a message.  The BG and his wife, who were flying to Marseille from Senegal today, were stuck in Casablanca because the Marseille airport had closed.  They wanted to know if it was true that there was enough snow to close the airport.  I really don't think anyone will believe what Marseille looked like today until they see it!

I went back out and wandered through the city.  It seemed as if every single person had come outside!  The French, who are normally very stoic on the street, and quiet...were loud and rowdy and jovial and laughing and smiling and playing.  There were snowball fights everywhere and it didn't matter that they didn't know you.  Guys would throw small snowballs gently at girls to flirt.  Or big ones at anyone to be mean.  Parents everywhere were teaching their kids how to make snowmen.  I saw two different sets of people on cross country skis!  (Which is a smart idea, since all the trams and busses were shut down completely, and the metro was only running at 50%, and not at all to some stations.)

I got down to the Vieux Port (the port where all the boats are) and was shocked to see it iced over!  Really?  Is this my Mediterranean town?  I laughed to see all the outdoor cafes with their tables and chairs still set out...and buried in a foot of snow.  

Apparently, it hasn't snowed like this in Marseille in over 20 years.  One guy, about my age, said that he'd never seen it snow like this in Marseille in his whole life.  Amazing.  I'm so glad I got to see it!

Click HERE to see photos.