Sunshine!!

The sun has got his hat on, hip hip hooray...if only he'd tell the wind to bugger off! Lyon, like England, is starting to remember what the sun is like after a seemingly endless winter. Having just come back from England, the difference between us and the French when the sun comes out is actually quite striking.

Firstly, the French know that once the sun starts, it probably won't stop much until about October, so now that it's starting to feel more like spring, they're getting ready for a long summer. Whereas in England, we're never even sure if there's going to BE a summer! So, once again, the old French 'bof' accompanied with the gallic shrug is out. You can tell that they're happy that it's not raining, but they're not really content until the sun is blaring on their backs and they can sit and eat their baguettes in full knowledge that no clouds will come to bother them. And even then they won't look like it's mid-summer...

There's a strange thing about us English. Slightest hint of sun and we're off having barbeques, wearing shorts and strappy tops and parading round as if it's August and we're in the Mediterranean. The weather here is the same as England at the moment, about 16-17 degrees, and sunny (there may be a touch more wind here), but over here, people are still in coats, scarves and I even saw someone in a winter hat! Before I left for France on Thursday I saw a man walking round without a T-Shirt on and girls in hot pants and little vest tops! That's quite a difference! I think the mentality in England is all about enjoying the sun whilst it's there, making the most of it and praying that it will stick around a couple of days longer. Here, they know that they'll probably have a pretty good summer, and if not they'll just travel to Provence for a couple of days and find one, so they don't need to strip off at the first sign of sun.

It is odd though, how our weather affects our behaviour. The only real difference in attitude compared to winter amongst the French that I can fathom is that all those things they couldn't do on a Sunday afternoon with the family they can suddenly do again (like going to the park), but there's no real hype around the weather, no-one really cares, they're just getting on with life. I'm not sure which I prefer, going crazy over it, or being indifferent to it. Whichever way, I'm going to make the most of the yummy ice cream parlours they have, and the fact that I can once again go for a walk in the sunshine. I'm a bit gutted I'm not here for the summer, so I have to make the most of what I'm doing now!